Tuscan Ragu with Fusilli Lunghi or Linguini Pasta Recipe
Tuscan Ragu with Fusilli Lunghi or Linguini Pasta Recipe
Yield: 2 quarts of Ragu, approx. 12-14 servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
1 tablespoon Essential Pantry Rice Bran Oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup small diced onion (approx. 1 medium)
1 cup small diced celery (approx. 2 medium stalks)
1 cup small diced carrot (approx. 2 medium)
1 1/2# ground beef chuck
3/4# ground pork
1 cup dry red wine
1 ½ cups veal/beef stock
1 ½ cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground Essential Pantry nutmeg
(2) 28 oz. cans Whole Tomatoes, with juice
1/2 teaspoon Essential Pantry Trapani Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon ground Essential Pantry Tellicherry Black Pepper
Maestri Fusilli Lunghi or Sap’ori d’Napoli Linguini
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1. Heat a wide 6-quart dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add the rice bran oil, butter and onion, celery and carrot and cook until the onions barely begin to color.
3. Add the ground beef and ground pork.
4. Continue cooking slowly over medium heat.
5. Break up the meat with a wooden spatula and continue to stir often, scooping under the meat with the wooden spatula until the meat is deeply browned, approximately 15 minutes.
6. Add the wine, while scraping the bottom of the pan to release the fond.
7. Gently simmer until the wine has mostly evaporated.
8. Slowly stir in the beef stock, then add the milk and grated nutmeg.
9. Partially cover the pot, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Tuscan Ragu:
1. Pulse the whole tomatoes in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes with their juice to the pot.
3. Season with 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
4. Simmer the sauce, uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
At the end of the cooking time, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Cook the appropriate amount of Linguini pasta (one 350 gr. bag = 4 to 6 servings) in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente, approximately 10-12 minutes.
- Toss enough of the ragu (about ½ cup per portion) with the drained pasta and serve immediately with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
(This recipe can be cut in half, but it’s really worth making the larger batch of ragu for the same amount of time and freezing the remaining to have for future ready-to-go meals).
