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RCP /FoodLetter: Ragù

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RCP /FoodLetter: Ragù

by Robin Garr » Thu Nov 02, 2006 12:58 pm

Ragù

What's a <i>ragù</i>? The easy answer is "Italian comfort food."

Most English speakers, pitifully, probably know this Italian dish primarily because of the adoption of its name by multinational Unilever Corp. for prepared spaghetti sauces sold in jars. Unilever, idiosyncratically flipping the accent over the "u" from grave to acute, declares its Ragú brand "America's favorite pasta sauce," which may help us understand Mencken's famous remark about nobody ever going broke by underestimating the taste of the American public.

Italian <i>ragù</i> bears more of a phonetic and etymological resemblance than culinary kinship to the French "<i>ragoût</i>." The words are pronounced similarly - "rah-goo," in English - and both come down to us from Latin roots meaning "restore the appetite." French <i>ragoût</i> is a stew-like dish, though, while Italian ragù is a thick, hearty and comforting meat sauce for pasta.

Which came first, the <i>ragoût</i> or the <i>ragù</i>? I'm betting on the Italians, although in fairness, <i>ragoût</i> was adopted into English as early as the 1650s, while <i>ragù</i>, outside Italian immigrant communities, anyway, had to wait for Unilever's attention in the 1930s.

Marcella Hazan's <I>Ragù Bolognese</I>" (<I>ragù</i> in the style of Bologna) is a long-time favorite, limited in its usefulness only in that it takes four or five hours to make it in the traditional way; I offered a not too badly compromised one-hour version in the Oct. 17, 2002 <i>FoodLetter</i>).

Thanks to Hazan's influence, I've always assumed that ragù is strictly a dish of Emilia-Romagna, so I was a little surprised - and inordinately pleased - to find it hugely popular in Tuscany as well. I ran into it at least three times, in variations featuring duck, beef and wild hare, all essentially similar: Meat long-simmered with a <i>soffrito</i> or <i>battuto</i> of finely chopped vegetables and a scant but perceptible touch of tomato until the sauce is thick, dark and intense, served over long, wide pasta shapes such as fettuccine, pappardelle and the Tuscan <i>pici</i>, a hand-rolled fresh pasta about the size of bucatini.

My Tuscan friends were quick to assure me that this <i>ragù</i> was in no way Bolognese but Tuscan. Whatever the geographical adjective, though, it was good, and I came home intent on re-creating the recipe as soon as I could. Based on notes from my Siena dining diaries, hints from the chefs over there, and a quick peek at a basic rendition in the English edition of the Italian Silver Spoon cookbook, I came up with this easily adaptible version the other night. It tasted a lot like Tuscany to me.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves two)

12-16 ounces (1/3 to 1/2 kilo) beef, duck, game, etc.
1 medium carrot
1 stalk celery
1/2 small sweet onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil (or 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon chopped pancetta)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup (240ml) beef broth or chicken broth
2 tablespoons (30g) tomato paste
Salt
Black pepper

PROCEDURE:

1. Cut the meat into small dice and set aside.

2. Peel the carrot and trim the celery; peel the onion and the garlic. Chop all the vegetables very fine (you may want to process them in a food processor with the steel blade) and put them all in a bowl. You should end up with about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chopped veggies.

3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a good-size saute pan. (If you're using the oil and pancetta option, cook the pancetta in the oil until it starts to brown.) Then put in the vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 or 20 minutes or until the veggies are thoroughly wilted and starting to caramelize and turn brown. If they show signs of sticking, you can put in a little water or broth, although if you didn't skimp on oil and stir frequently, this shouldn't be a problem.

4. If you're using raw meat, stir it in at this point and cook until it loses its raw color. (I made a ragù recently with leftover cooked steak and held it until the last minute, however, just cooking it long enough to warm through so it wouldn't lose its rare tenderness and color.)

5. Add the wine, stirring to deglaze the pan and incorporate any browned bits; then add the broth, using beef broth if you've chosen a meat that calls for a darker, richer color and flavor, chicken broth if a lighter liquid seems appropriate. As soon as it comes back to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and stir in the tomato paste. Add a little salt and pepper to taste; you may not need much if your broth was salted.

6. Cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes until the liquid reduces and thickens somewhat. If it dries up too much, add a little water or broth, but remember that at the end you want a fairly thick, meaty pasta sauce.

7. Check seasoning, and if you're using cooked meat, add it toward the end of the process, cooking only long enough to warm through. Serve over long pasta - wider shapes like fettuccine or pappardelle work well - and pass grated Pecorino Romano cheese for topping.

<B>MATCHING WINE:</b>
I wanted a Tuscan red to go with this dish that I learned in Siena, but alas, the Toscana "mini-Super Tuscan" that I chose was corked, so I quickly grabbed an earthy, tannic 2004 Dolcetto d'Alba instead, and it worked fine. I can hardly imagine having anything but a dry Italian red with this hearty Italian pasta dish, although I can't say a Southern French or Spanish Grenache, Syrah or Mourvedre or a blend wouldn't work.
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Re: RCP /FoodLetter: Ragù

by Jenise » Thu Nov 02, 2006 3:46 pm

Great recipe, Robin, and good educatin'. This is very similar to my the pasta sauce that I grew up on--short cooking, lots of vegetables and meat. I doubt if she ever had a recipe but instead would have been imitating something she'd had in a restaurant, and raising four kids she wasn't inclined toward any prep that took longer than an hour to get dinner on the table.

Except that, I hate to admit this, my mother added a packet of Lawry's spaghetti sauce seasoning.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: RCP /FoodLetter: Ragù

by Jeff Yeast » Fri Nov 03, 2006 8:11 am

We made this last night and it was really good. The only thing I did different was to add a bit of cayenne for just a little spice, and I served it over penne. Unfortunately the cheapo chianti I picked up at Meijers was slightly cooked, but otherwise the meal was great. Thanks Robin :)
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Jim Cassidy

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Very nice recipe...

by Jim Cassidy » Sat Nov 04, 2006 1:02 am

Made this tonight with stew beef, canned beef broth and 1/4 cup NZ SV Blanc; served over pappardelle, with leftover Smoking Loon Syrah. This is a winner, will be making it again. Thanks!
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Re: RCP /FoodLetter: Ragù

by Amy Vermeulen » Fri Nov 17, 2006 4:55 pm

We used recipe as proposed, pheasant breast for the meat, and fettucini as the pasta. It was fabulous and a great recipe for anyone looking to use up those pheasants.
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Re: RCP /FoodLetter: Ragù

by Jenise » Sat Nov 18, 2006 3:35 pm

Gee, Amy, wish I was looking to use up "those pheasants". A hunter in your family, or just lucky?
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: RCP /FoodLetter: Ragù

by Amy Vermeulen » Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:35 pm

Many hunters in the family. We live in South Dakota and are in the middle of the pheasant season. I would entertain a proposal to get you a few after Thanksgiving.
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Re: RCP /FoodLetter: Ragù

by Bob Ross » Sun Nov 19, 2006 2:08 pm

Thanks for the recipe, Robin -- I followed it exactly without the salt and using a beautiful piece of bison steak. Delicious and a real winner here. Ya knows how to make a guy look good. :)

Thanks, Bob
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Why not red wine?

by Jim Cassidy » Mon Nov 20, 2006 4:53 pm

Robin,

As I posted earlier, I made this and loved it. Reflecting on it, however, I wonder why this is not made with a red wine, say of the variety you would drink with it?
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Re: Why not red wine?

by Robin Garr » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:16 pm

Jim Cassidy wrote:Robin,

As I posted earlier, I made this and loved it. Reflecting on it, however, I wonder why this is not made with a red wine, say of the variety you would drink with it?


Good question, Jim. First, it's really the kind of down-home dish that can be varied infinitely, and you certainly *could* use red.

I'm thinking, though, that white may be traditional for a couple of reasons: First, remember that it's a deglaze, not really a flavor component. Only a smallish amount is used, and it all boils off. Second, chances are that many recipes are based on the Bolognese original, which is traditionally made with veal and is considered a "delicate" sauce, and that may be where the idea of starting with white wine came from.

But try it with red. I'm sure it would work, and would probably add some depth and richness of flavor.
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Re: Why not red wine?

by Jeff Yeast » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:41 pm

Robin Garr wrote:
Jim Cassidy wrote:Robin,

As I posted earlier, I made this and loved it. Reflecting on it, however, I wonder why this is not made with a red wine, say of the variety you would drink with it?


Good question, Jim. First, it's really the kind of down-home dish that can be varied infinitely, and you certainly *could* use red.

I'm thinking, though, that white may be traditional for a couple of reasons: First, remember that it's a deglaze, not really a flavor component. Only a smallish amount is used, and it all boils off. Second, chances are that many recipes are based on the Bolognese original, which is traditionally made with veal and is considered a "delicate" sauce, and that may be where the idea of starting with white wine came from.

But try it with red. I'm sure it would work, and would probably add some depth and richness of flavor.


I've made this twice now, once with red and once with white and they were both fantastic. The "red" seemed just a tad "richer" for lack of a better word.
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Re: RCP /FoodLetter: Ragù

by RichardAtkinson » Mon Nov 20, 2006 6:43 pm

I'm making this tonight with some left over grilled / smoked ribeye steaks. So I'll let you know. I may go the red wine deglaze though, since I'll be serving Chianti anyway.

Richard

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