I bet you saw this email and the words “sun-dried tomato” and were like, “nah.”
BUT TRUST ME WHEN I SAY TO RECONSIDER!
Sun-dried tomatoes will be the tinned fish of 2024. The 90s are back and so are SDTs (that’s what we’re calling sun-dried tomatoes now — keep up!).
Not only are sun-dried tomatoes making a comeback, but fresh oregano is our new favorite herb. It immediately transforms a dish.
Listen, I think we can all agree that herbs are one of the unsung heroes of cooking. Everyone cheers on the protein or dresses up the salad, but nobody shouts out our fragrant leafy friends for doing what they do — and I don’t just mean that they add color.
Fresh herbs can add subtle flavor or pack a punch, depending on how much you use. In this recipe, some minced fresh oregano takes this one-pan pasta meal and makes it POP.
Maybe you’re thinking: “Couldn’t I just use parsley for this?” Nope. Basil? Basil wishes.
Go grab some oregano or don’t even bother.
(but also, it actually does take just as good with no oregano FWIW.)
Sun-dried tomatoes are fun! We’re puréeing the contents of the entire jar, oil and all, and using that in this recipe (along with our homemade tomato paste!!). The concentrated flavor of the puréed SDTs plus the tomato paste really make this the perfect cold weather tomato dish.
I didn’t grow up eating Hamburger Helper but I am a big fan of it. I say it in the video, but I think the reason why I love these kinds of prepackaged foods and meals is because my parents didn’t buy it for us growing up; instead, they mainly cooked for us from scratch (UGH).
(Just more proof that my parents didn’t love me.)
To be perfectly honest, I don’t even know if I would call this Hamburger Helper. The only thing that makes it kind of like that is that I use a pound of ground meat and some pasta and cook it all in one pan.
F*ck it, I’d say that makes it a Helper! Less dishes! Plus sun-dried tomatoes! PLUS fresh oregano!
Sun-Dried Tomato Hamburger Helper FTW.
Sun-dried Tomato Hamburger Helper
Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces|225 grams ground beef
8 ounces|225 grams sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
3 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon chile flakes
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons homemade tomato paste (but store bought is fine)
1 (8-ounce|237 ml) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, puréed (purée the oil + tomatoes)
2 cups|500 ml beef stock
1 cup|250 ml heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
8 ounces|225 grams small shell-shaped pasta
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano, plus more for garnish
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
freshly grated parmesan cheese, to serve
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add the beef and sausage and cook, breaking it up into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned all over, about 6 minutes. Add the shallots and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, or until the shallots are soft, then stir in the dried oregano, chile flakes, and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes longer, then add the tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes, then add the beef stock, cream, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and stir in the pasta. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until the pasta is al dente and has absorbed most of the liquid, about 14 minutes. Stir in the fresh oregano and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh oregano and grate on some fresh parmesan to serve.
Sun-dried Tomato Hamburger Helper