Rigatoni with Beef & Zucchini Ragù

🥘 Ingredients

• beef stock concentrate
  1 unit
• black pepper
  ¼ tsp
• butter
  1 tbsp
• cooking oil
  1 tbsp
• cream cheese
  2 tbsp
• garlic
  2 cloves
• ground beef
  8 oz
• italian seasoning
  1 tsp
• parmesan cheese
  ½ cup
• rigatoni pasta
  7 oz
• salt
  1 tsp
• shallot
  1 unit
• sugar
  ½ tsp
• tomato paste
  2 tbsp
• zucchini
  1 unit

🍳 Cookware

• large pot
• grater
• fine-mesh strainer
• large pan

1. 

   1

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add rigatoni pasta to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente ⏱️ 10 minutes . Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain.

   rigatoni pasta: 7 oz
2. 

   2

   Meanwhile, wash and dry produce. Halve, peel, and finely dice shallot . Peel and mince or grate garlic . Trim and grate zucchini on the largest holes of a grater . Place zucchini in the center of a clean kitchen towel. Gather into a tight bundle and squeeze over the sink to remove as much liquid as possible. Alternatively, place grated zucchini in a fine-mesh strainer and press down with a spatula.

   shallot: 1 unit, garlic: 2 cloves, zucchini: 1 unit
3. 

   3

   Heat a drizzle of cooking oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add ground beef , shallot, italian seasoning , salt , and black pepper . Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and mostly cooked through ⏱️ 4 minutes .

   cooking oil: 1 tbsp, ground beef: 8 oz, italian seasoning: 1 tsp, salt: 1 tsp, black pepper: ¼ tsp
4. 

   4

   Add tomato paste to pan with beef. Cook, stirring, until tomato paste is well combined and beef is cooked through ⏱️ 1 minute . Stir in zucchini, garlic, and a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until zucchini is tender ⏱️ 2 minutes .

   tomato paste: 2 tbsp
5. 5

   Stir in cream cheese , beef stock concentrate , ½ cup reserved pasta cooking water, and sugar . Simmer until sauce has slightly thickened ⏱️ 1 minute . Season with salt and pepper. If you have some on hand, add a pinch of chili flakes from your pantry for a spicy kick.

   cream cheese: 2 tbsp, beef stock concentrate: 1 unit, sugar: ½ tsp
6. 6

   Reduce heat to medium low. Stir drained rigatoni, half the parmesan cheese , and butter into pan with sauce until combined. If needed, stir in more reserved cooking water a splash at a time until pasta is coated in a creamy sauce. Divide pasta between plates. Top with remaining parmesan and serve.

   parmesan cheese: ½ cup, butter: 1 tbsp