We're looking forward to going back to Portugal. We really miss those Natal pastry and Espresso coffee we found all around the country. Here's a real treat that we think you'll enjoy!:

5/8/2012

Tagliatelline napoletana
The best pasta for this recipe, Tagliatelline with 2% Spinach, may be hard to find. Substituting a good Fettuccini is still permissible, tho.

Ingredients:

¾# Tagliatelline Casarecce pasta
¼ # pork loin
1 onion
1 small bunch basil
4 Roma tomatoes
2 tbsp grated parmesan
2 pats butter
Dash olive oil
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Peel, rinse and finely chop the onion. Rinse the loin, pat dry and cut into bite sized chunks. Rinse the basil, pat dry, devein and coarsely chop. Blanch the tomatoes for a minute, drain, deseed, peel and chop. Place them in a strainer and let them drain for about 15 minutes over a bowl. Mash to a lumpy tomato paste in the bowl with the liquid. Heat 2 pats of butter and a dash of olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add the onion and half of the basil, fry the onion until soft but not golden, then add the meat and brown until evenly golden and cooked through, turning the meat with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste, season with a pinch of salt and ground pepper. Cover and simmer for half an hour over a medium heat. Keep stirring and add water if necessary. Then boil the pasta in plenty of salted water. Drain the pasta al dente, and mix with the meat sauce. Mix well, toss the pasta in a serving dish, sprinkle with basil and grated parmesan and serve immediately.