Spaghetti, ragu

I had remaining in the refrigerator a remnant 1/4 pound ground Angus chuck.

So this is a remnant 1/4 pound ground Angus chuck worth of ragu that was made by combining tomato paste squeezed from a tube like toothpaste which turns out to be a lot more tomato paste per remnant 1/4 pound ground Angus chuck than one toothbrush covered with toothpaste. And believe it or not, that's

Maths !

I want to tell you two things about this that distinguish a regular guy with mad chefery skillz from a regular bloke with no advantage. One: the tomato paste is burned in the pan initially. Seared to partially black. The paste is already cooked but the product has an odd rawness to it that singeing alters. Only part of one side of the squeezed product is actually burnt so all the layers of doneness between raw (cooked really, but oddly raw tasting) to burnt become evident by allowing that one little minor tragedy. It's how flavors are built up. The paste is treated the same way as the spices, started off first in a hot pan, then the liquids are added. 

Two: the pasta is only half cooked when it is transferred to the sauce. It finishes in the sauce exchanging part of its starch for part of the sauce's flavor. Pasta and sauce are combined, united, wed, amalgamated, an exchange of essences occurs, the sauce becomes thicker because of this plus evaporation, it is not just one thing being added to another. 

Three: fine, I lied, there are three things. The whole pile is served before the pasta is completely soft. I almost didn't mention this because it is so obvious, so really just two things, this one doesn't count.  Al dente. This pasta was so fun to eat, positively delicious in part because the noodles themselves are toothsome. These are the de Cecco brand and it is a very good brand. I am impressed.