Missing everything about Italy, especially friends and food, I decided to try to replicate one of my favorites dishes. In Italy, pasta con ragu is pasta with meat sauce. The dish varies based on the region and the person in the kitchen, but it is usually a combination of meats stewed in tomatoes for hours.
At AD in Cortona, they call this paccheri with braceria sauce. Annalisa the chef says it is what her grandmother served every Sunday in Napoli when she was growing up, as it was an inexpensive means to serve many people. This is my attempt at her recipe.
I assembled my ingredients:
©Blogginginitaly.com
©Blogginginitaly.com
Browned the meat:
©Blogginginitaly.com
Sautéed the onions, then added tomato paste, herbs, and some figs for a slight sweetness:
©Blogginginitaly.com
©Blogginginitaly.com
United the meat and the onions:
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Added the tomatoes, then turned the burner to low and started the slow, slow cooking:
©Blogginginitaly.com
Like Annalisa’s grandmother, I decided to share my Sunday dinner, so I made a few calls, then whipped up some appertivo:
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And after about eight hours, we were rewarded with this!
©Blogginginitaly.com
Great food (if I say so myself!), great conversation, great gathering! Felt just like Sunday dinner in Italy…
©Blogginginitaly.com
Oh, and yes, we did have dessert… sautéed peaches with a dab of gelato and a ginger biscuit.
©Blogginginitaly.com
Ciao,
Judy
Blogging In Italy 
Sounds delicious!!! We are less than 3 weeks away from the peaceful Cortona life. Barbara
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Oh lucky you!!!
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Dear Judy,
You have had a beautiful idea…we can be so distance but very near with the good food and good friends….
Hugs,
Fernanda e Carlo
Inviato da Tablet Samsung
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And thank you for your cena photos! They made me very happy! xo
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Oh my gosh, Juju, this is gorgeous!
Alexis Colianni amcolianni@gmail.com phone: 630.779.0612
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Thanks…especially as it’s not something you would eat! xo
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