Creamy Soy Milk Ragu
Whenever Jasmine is craving a quick pasta dinner, I will usually whip this dish up in 15-20 minutes. It’s made of mostly pantry staples: Tomato paste, frozen sukiyaki beef, garlic confit, white wine. I usually supplement this with whatever vegetables we have on hand. The key here is the soy milk (you can use heavy cream as well). I reduce it to the consistency of heavy cream with alliums like garlic and shallots to help fortify the flavor.
Ingredients
2 portions spaghetti (170g)
400g soy milk
5 sprigs thyme
1 head of garlic, halved
1 shallot, halved
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
5 sprigs thyme, picked
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
15 slices frozen sukiyaki beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 anchovy
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic confit
White pepper
Black pepper
¼ cup white wine
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely minced
Parmigiano Reggiano
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil with enough salt so it tastes like a properly seasoned soup. Add the spaghetti and cook to package instructions until al dente.
Combine the soy milk, 5 sprigs of thyme, halved garlic and halved shallot into a tall pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook the soy milk until reduced by half. Set aside.
Sweat the garlic, shallots and thyme in olive and butter until translucent over medium heat, 2-3 minutes. Add the beef and cook through, 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, anchovy, Worcestershire sauce, garlic confit, white pepper, black pepper and a large pinch of salt and cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn the heat to high and add the white wine and cook until dry, 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium low, add the pasta and a ¼ cup of pasta water. Adjust the seasoning with salt and sugar and plate.
Garnish with the parsley and parm. Serve immediately.