Leftovers as Ragù or pasta sauce

The day after blues.  You know, that morning wakeup after a momentous event when everything just feels, oh, so NORMAL again.  Ah well.  What's a man to do...

A man is to do this : make a darn good lunch for himself.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a small amount of the Daube Niçoise from a few nights ago left in the fridge.  I also had a fair amount of some homemade Oricchiette from a few months ago in the freezer.

Stew makes an excellent pasta sauce.  The meat by that point is just perfectly ready to fall apart into that stringy consistency that makes a good pasta dish into something far more elevated, and the stew itself is reduced enough to have a strong flavor that is enhanced by the additional time for the flavors to marry.  In fact, most stews are made in the exact same style as traditional Ragù or meat sauce of Italy.  The word Ragù actually comes from the French word Ragout, which in turn comes from the old French verb Ragouter, meaning to revive the taste. 

Which is exactly what we are doing here.  See, food makes that full circle all the time.

You just have to follow a few simple steps to extend the sauce, or "revive the taste" if you wish:

If the sauce is too thick, thin it with either some stock (as I did) or pasta water (more traditional).

Split the meat up into ribbons if desired to have a homogeneous consistency and an equal opportunity pasta clinging ability.

Add any herbs you wish for a fresher taste after the heat is off.

Cook the pasta until just before the point of al dente, then without draining the pasta, use a skimmer to spoon pasta into the pan with the sauce.  Add cheese if desired and cook for about 1-2 minutes, or until the sauce has absorbed into the pasta and the desired pasta consistency is reached. Add any herbs you wish for a fresher taste after the heat is off.

Eat and revel in your new found pasta sauce secret.