Crossed Forks

As I have mentioned before, growing up, my parents had the attitidue that if I was hungry between mealtimes I could find a snack for myself without adult intervention (for the most part). I have always been a pasta lover, so one of the first things I learned to cook for myself was a big bowl of spaghetti with butter and parmesan. That’s still one of my favorite comfort foods.

But even 8-year-olds get stuck in a rut sometimes. I don’t remember exactly how I stumbled upon this combination, but my simple bowl of pasta and cheese eventually evolved into sauteed peppers and onions (oh, the glorious smell!), chopped up deli roast beef, and pasta. Stir all that together with some parm and you have yourself a delicious meal. I think I even cooked it for my family once or twice.

I could happily down a bowl of that concoction today, but I’ve grown up a little and wanted to take it a bit further. That’s when I realized: I had essentially reinvented the classic Philly cheese steak as a pasta dish.

So here you have it, grown-up Philly cheese steak pasta. It’s guaranteed to be a pleaser.

Philly Cheese Steak Pasta

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 box short pasta, such as fusilli
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp dried dill
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1.5 lbs beef, such as top round
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 5 slices provolone cheese, or about 1/4 pound

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, mix all herbs and spices together. Slice the beef against the grain into ~¼ in. strips. Spritz a little oil into a large pan. Brown beef strips in a single layer on medium high, stirring every 4 minutes until browned on all sides. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture over the beef, stir, then remove from the pan.

Slice the pepper into strips, removing the membrane and seeds. Slice the onion into strips.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and bring to temperature. Add in the peppers and onions and the remaining spice mixture. Sautee the vegetables for about 5 minutes without stirring, then stir and cover, cooking for another 5 minutes until the onion is translucent and the bell pepper is soft.

Add ¼ to ½ cup reserved pasta water to the vegetables to make a sauce. Reduce for 5 more minutes.

Add in the cooked pasta and the beef; stir well to combine. Turn off the heat, top with provolone slices, cover and let rest for 5 minutes until the cheese is fully melted.

Spice mixture adapted from Chowhound.