Irma's Classic Tuscan Ragu
Wednesday October 21, 2009
After my enlightening ravioli making session with Bruna, I went home with a large platter of handmade ravioli and pappardelle that were crying out to be cooked and eaten. My dear friend Irma came to the rescue, inviting me into her kitchen for a ragu making lesson that culminated in dinner with the family.
There are a great many ways to make ragu, which is a classic meat sauce for all kinds of pasta. In Tuscany alone there are as many ways to make this delicious sauce as there are cooks, and I love them all. Irma’s, though, is so simple, so perfectly reduced to the essential elements and flavors that its aroma could be branded as a perfume.
Here is the recipe and, more importantly, the process, for making Irma’s Classic Tuscan Ragu:
Ingredients:
1.5 pounds top quality lean ground beef
2 small to medium red or white onions
1/2 carrot
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tubes tomato paste (Ercole Pezzio if available)
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups water
1/2 large beef bouillion cube.
1-2 tsp. salt
1/2 – 1 tsp. ground black pepper
pinch of sugar
Process:
1. Finely mince the onions and carrot.
2. in a small pot, bring the water and the bouillion to a boil, stirring to dissolve the bouillion cube; reduce heat to a low simmer.
3. In a separate, medium sized pot, over medium high heat, pour 1/2 cup of olive oil.
4. When the oil is heated add the carrot and onion, stirring so that the onions do not brown, until the liquid reduces, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Add the ground beef to the onion/carrot mixture. Stir, chopping up the meat chunks with a wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks, until meat is a fine crumbly consistency. As the meat starts to brown, add another 1/2 cup olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Continue stirring and cooking for several minutes, watching the meat closely.
6. When the meat begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, add the red wine; stir as the wine reduces over medium high heat.
7. Add one tube of tomato paste, stir and then begin adding bouilion, stirring and reducing over medium-low heat, one ladle full at a time.
8. Seeking a rich red color, add another half tube of tomato paste or as much as needed, approx. 2-3 tablespoons more. Add a pinch of sugar. Keep adding bouillion, reducing the sauce and stirring all the while. From start to finish this takes about one hour. When the ragu is a deep dark red with a layer of olive oil on top, taste on a small piece of bread; and add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed. It will be finished cooking when the flavor just makes you swoon with pleasure.
9. Let sauce sit on top of stove, heat turned off, until dinner time. Just before serving, as the pasta is boiling, warm the sauce up.
10. If serving on ravioli, as we did, gently spoon a small amount of ragu over the cooked, thoroughly drained, ravioli. If adding to pappardelle or other pasta, mix the sauce and the cooked, drained pasta together in the pasta pot and gently toss together over medium heat; grate parmesan cheese into the pasta if desired.
11. Serve and eat immediately with a good bottle of red wine, preferably a Chianti, Colli Senesi, Brunello or Super Tuscan.
No commenting allowed
Related Posts
Categories
- Recipes
- Italy
No content from this site may be copied, reproduced on any printed or electronic format without written authorization by the author of this site.
© 2010 Marlane Miriello.
All rights reserved.