Italian Goulash

This is from one of my favourite cookbooks, ‘The Wiseguy Cookbook: My favorite recipes from my life as a goodfella to cooking on the run’ by Henry Hill, the gangster immortalised on film by the beautiful Ray Liotta in Goodfellas. He has a real passion for food that really comes through in the book. He writes in great detail about ingredients and has masses of really useful tips. He may have once been a properly scary gangster but the man knows how to write a good cookbook. This is a proper hearty monster of a pasta dish from the ‘Fast Recipe List’ - “ Here are the recipes you can make ‘on the run’. Any one of these will take you less than an hour to make from start to finish.”

I’ll quote Henry’s words exactly. When cooking I find it helpful to imagine Ray Liotta reading the recipe out for me. Sigh

“I call this goulash because it reminds me of a Hungarian goulash I used to get in New York. You can make this dish with any type of steak; it doesn’t have to be expensive. The liquid from the tomatoes will tenderize the meat.
Americans like more meat in their sauce than Italians – don’t skimp on the protein! If anything, add extra.”

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1-1.5 pounds steak (any kind) cut in 0.5 x 2” pieces
2 medium or large red peppers, cored, seeded and diced
One 28-ounce and one 14-ounce can plum tomatoes + their juice
Quarter cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried
Half teaspoon salt
Quarter teaspoon black pepper
Dash cayenne or red pepper flakes
Half cup dry red wine
1 pound penne, cooked and drained, reserving 1 cup pasta water
Grated Parmesan for serving

“Heat the oil in a large skillet or pan over a medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes (do not brown). Add steak pieces, raise heat to medium, and cook until almost done (barely pink inside). Remove steak to a bowl.
Add red peppers to remaining oil in skillet. Cook 2-4 minutes until beginning to soften. Drain tomatoes and add juice to peppers. Either crush tomatoes well in your hands or chop fine on a cutting board and add to the skillet along with the parsley, salt, black pepper, and cayenne or red pepper flakes. Cook 2 minutes. Return meat and any juices in the bowl to the pan. Cook 20 minutes, skimming off any oil or foam that rises to the top and stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are beginning to break up and get ‘saucy’. Add red wine and reduce sauce, stirring, about 4 minutes. Sauce should be medium thick. If it gets too thick, add 0.5-1 cup pasta water. Adjust salt and pepper seasoning. Toss steak and tomato mixture with pasta and serve immediately with Parmesan on the side”

"Red meat mixed with pasta is a hefty combo. It'll satisfy the biggest appetite around"