3 ounces dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups hot water for 10 minutes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1½ pounds ground veal shoulder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup double-concentrated tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup basic tomato sauce
1½ pounds farfalle pasta
8 ounces baby spinach, trimmed
½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Drain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid, and coarsely chop the porcini. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, and set it aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until it is lightly toasted. Add the veal and the chopped porcini, and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the meat is well browned, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add the tomato paste. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the paste turns a rust color, 5 minutes. Then add the wine and 1 cup of the strained porcini soaking liquid, and cook for 5 minutes, until the wine has almost completely evaporated. Add the tomato sauce and reduce the heat to a very low simmer.

Bring 8 quarts of water to a boil in a large spaghetti pot, and add 2 tablespoons salt.

Drop the farfalle into the water and cook for 1 minute less than the package instructions indicate. Just before the pasta is done, carefully ladle ¼ cup of the cooking water into the veal mixture. Stir the baby spinach into the veal mixture.

Drain the pasta in a colander, and add it to the veal mixture. Toss over medium heat for about 30 seconds, until the pasta is nicely coated. Pour into a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately, with the grated pecorino on the side.

SERVES 8 TO 10 AS A FIRST COURSE, 6 AS A MAIN

Recipe Courtesy of Molto Batali (ecco 2011).