Nothing bleak about Bleeker

I love to stroll down Bleeker Street in search of delicious things to fill my fridge, pantry and ultimately my belly. Bleeker between 7th Ave south and Carmine Street has pretty much everything I could ask for, well except for fresh produce. Ottomanelli's Meat Market, Faicco's Pork Store (which sells so much more than just pork), Murray's Cheese Shop, The Lobster Place and Amy's Bread are all within a few steps of each other. If only every neighborhood had these five shops!

For lunch today I thought I would try something new. I know what you’re thinking...Pasta with meat sauce, Kusum you're a freaking genius! How in the world did I come up with that one!?!? Right? But this isn't any regular meat. It's bison also known as buffalo!

It was actually really good and definitely worth trying. It's not gamey tasting and is leaner than pretty much any other meat out there. So next time you're really going for it with all other ingredients in your dish you can at least cut back a little on the calories and fat by using buffalo meat.
I shared today's lunch with two growing young men so I didn't bother trying to make it figure friendly or make any effort to figure what the nutritional info might be.
To make this pasta I used tagliatelle pasta and fresh tomato sauce from Faicco's, part-skim fontina cheese from Murray's cheese shop, ground buffalo meat from Ottomanelli's, a splash of heavy cream and a little bit of fresh ground pepper. If there was a produce shop on this little strip of Bleeker then I probably would have also picked up some fresh parsley to add to this. Should you prefer a bolder cheese statement then use fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano instead of the part-skim fontina.

From start to finish this dish took less than 15 mins to make. Start by boiling salted water for the pasta in a pot. In another pan add the room temperature ground buffalo meat and gently brown the meat over medium heat, better that the meat is undercooked than overcooked. Next add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for about 7-8 mins. Now add the tomato sauce, a splash of cream and some fresh ground pepper to the ground meat, stir together and heat through for about a minute or two. Remove the meat sauce from stove top and stir in grated cheese. Drain the pasta and stir the pasta together with the sauce. Mangia!

PS Forgot to mention... if you are trying to avoid refined flour, as found in the pasta, then serve over polenta instead.