Adapted by Rocco's Real Life Recipes
One of my fave hottie chefs is Rocco Dispirito, and I recently bought this book off Amazon because I was looking for a variety of recipes that would be fast and simple. This book definitely has plenty of good meals to make, some take maybe 30 minutes or longer. He breaks it down for the simplest chef, by cookware, ingredients, and time. Eric & I really enjoyed this meal, it was a nice change from the typical pasta dishes. I made this because Rocco used to work for Tom Coliccho, and this is one of the dishes he learned while working for him. Tom Coliccho is another fave chef of mine because of the show "Top Chef" and his restaurant Craftsteak is on my top restaurant list that I'm dying to visit!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 lasagna noodles, preferably fresh
7 tablespoons EVOO
1 medium onion, diced
2 teaspoons garlic paste or 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
2 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
1 11-ounce log goat cheese
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
**Optional**2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Preparation:
1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, heat 4 tablespoons of the EVOO in a very large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring often, for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute more. Add the beef, stirring to break into small chunks. (If using dried oregano, add 1 tablespoon at this stage.)
3. Season meat with salt and pepper and cook until the beef is just cooked through. Gently toss in the tomatoes and cheese (if using fresh oregano add tablespoons here**add fresh basil), and cook until mixture is hot throughout, about 2 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, whisk vinegar with remaining EVOO and remaining fresh or dried oregano, and season to taste with salt & pepper.
5. Lay down one lasagna noodle on each plate and divide the beef mixture over the noodles. Top off each plate with one more noodle.
6. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the raviolos and serve!!
Enjoy!
