I prepare a pasta sauce that I had often called Boscaiola. Then I found out that there is a Boscaiola and it has nothing to do with what I make. So I am in need for a name for my pasta sauce (at the risk of finding out that it is not original and it already has a name).
I am not planning on selling it in any way, so this is all for personal consumption. I just like to give food decent names instead of just saying the whole recipe. I love it that when you say Alfredo or Bolognese, everybody knows what they are. This is a real crowd pleaser and one of the very few recipes I prepare consistently without much variation from one batch to the next.
Without further ado, here is a simplified version of the recipe. (if someone needs further direction to try this at home, feel free to ask, of course).
Start to brown bacon. Drain fat.
Brown mushrooms over the bacon.
Add ground beef and brown.
Add finely diced tomatoes (optional).
Once the whole thing is sticking to the skillet, add abundant red wine (I normally use a whole bottle minus a glass or two from last night to a pound of meat and a packet of bacon).
Let it all reduce to sauciness over low heat.
When ready to serve, add two large fistfulls of chopped parsley. (enough to make it all look green). Add plenty of crushed black pepper. Mix well. I normally don’t add parmesan cheese, but many friends prefer it that way.
So you get the idea of what it is like. The point of it is that it captures the feeling of a forest with the wild boars (well, kinda), the mushrooms, the green feel from the parsley and the woody taste of the pepper.
I actually like it better without the tomatoes, but sometimes I add them for volume or if things are drying out. I feel the tomatoes are not a match for the season of the sauce, which speaks more autumn than summer.
At any rate. I am all ears for name suggestions.
Actually, I have often referred to it as “Pasta del bosque” (pasta of the forest). That does bring some bad jokes in spanish.
Del bosque? De bosque te cagaste (de vos que te cagaste)
It does not translate at all. Sorry.
The problem with Pasta di Foresta is that it sounds a bit too Italian (and it doesn’t really have that much of an italian feel to it). Boscaiola or Boscaglia are ok in that they are a single word and importing words is more acceptable than importing phrases.
You know, the whole trufle hunting experience is what I am after with the recipe (yeah, I know, it doesn’t have truffles). That is exactly the vignette I get in my mind when I prepare and eat this sauce.
Truffle sauce is a bit misleading, though. Any other way we can work that into the name?
