Pasta Russian Navy Style (Макароны по-флотски)
2024-11-26- Cuisine: Russian
- Course: Main Course
- Skill Level: Intermediate
- Servings: 6
- Prep Time: 30m
- Cook Time: 2:00 h
- Ready In: 3:00 h
In its simplest form, Pasta Russian Navy Style is just spaghetti mixed with cooked ground beef and sautéed onion but here we’ve enhanced it with pepper and scallion. The key to authentic flavor is to grind the meat after boiling it as opposed to sautéing fresh ground beef – a more common cooking technique. Grinding beef after boiling it is also used in other recipes such as making a filling for meat blintzes (блинчики) and stuffed buns (пирожки).
What kind of pasta product should you use? We’ve seen anything from Rotellini to shells to noodles used as of lately. It’s our strong opinion, however, that using thick spaghetti makes this dish the most authentic. Even though its Russian name for this dish has “macaroni” in it. That’s because in the bad old times, the population of the USSR used the wrong word to describe what in reality was spaghetti!
Finally, it’s important to cook spaghetti at the very end, when all other ingredients are ready for mixing.
Ingredients
- 2 lb. lean beef (whole chunk, not ground)
- 3 bay leaves
- pinch whole black peppercorns
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 onion
- 1 sweet bell pepper
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1 lb. (one box) thick spaghetti
Method
Step 1
Place beef in a cooking pot and add enough water to cover it. You will not need a lot of broth for this recipe.
Step 2
Add bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt and simmer on low heat for 2 hours. While the beef is boiling:
Step 3
Peel and finely chop the onion.
Step 4
Clean the bell pepper and chop it in small pieces.
Step 5
Dice the scallions in small pieces.
Step 6
Saute the onion in olive oil until it is medium brown. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Step 7
Add oil to the skillet if necessary and sauté the pepper until it is soft.
Step 8
Very briefly and lightly sauté the scallion.
Step 9
After the beef is ready, let it cool to touch.
Step 10
Strain the broth to remove peppercorns and bay leaves. Set it aside.
Step 11
Grind the beef in a meat grinder. Set aside.
Step 12
Break the spaghetti into 2-3 pieces and cook them according to package instructions plus 2 extra minutes because Russian style pasta should be softer than al dente although not mushy or slimy. NOTE: prepare the spaghetti only at this stage, when all other ingredients are ready and set aside for mixing into the final dish. As soon as spaghetti is ready, drain them, and immediately proceed to the final step.
Step 13
In a large cooking pot, toss cooked spaghetti, ground beef, and sautéed vegetables until everything is mixed evenly.
Step 14
Adjust moisture and salt levels. At this stage, the mix will feel quite dry, so gradually add up to 1/2 cup of the saved broth to make it moist but without turning this dish into a noodle soup. If you need more salt, dissolve a teaspoon of salt in half a cup of beef broth and add, little by little, while thoroughly stirring and frequently tasting, until you are happy with the results. You can do this step over low heat to prevent the dish from going cold. If it's still too cold to your taste, microwave it!
Step 15
Serve right away.
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