tagliatelle al ragù bianco di maiale
tagliatelle in white ragù
I can remember when I was very uncertain about ‘white’ ragùs. About 20 years ago, however, I started to explore them at random trattorie on holidays in Tuscany and I quickly became a fan. There it's common to find more exotic meat than you might be able to find at your local supermarket (wild boar, venison, hare), but good quality minced pork will still be able to deliver fantastic results. I’m now always amazed at how the other ingredients in a meat sauce can combine and shine when you remove the tomato from the recipe - if you're sceptical, just try it, you won't be disappointed.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
prepare and chop the vegetables
begin to fry the soffrito
slowly fry the pancetta
begin to cook the pork
add pork, pancetta to soffritto
boil and cook the pasta
combine sauce and pasta
plate
tagliatelle in white ragù
INGREDIENTS
FOR FOUR PEOPLE
500g pork mince
100g smoked pancetta
2 celery sticks
2 small carrots
4 small onions
1 chicken stock cube
1 large garlic clove
white wine
2 tblspns butter
a handful of basil leaves
bay leaves
freshly grated nutmeg
PASTA
400g fresh/dry egg tagliatelle
MANTECATURA (?)
minimal
METHOD
Start with a finely chopped soffritto of onion, carrots, celery in EVO; after a minute or so add garlic and sweat with a little water until the onions are translucent and the carrots have almost lost their crunch. Slowly fry the pancetta so that it loses a good deal of its fat, which you can drain away.
In a separate pan, fry the minced meat until it’s cooked through with some EVO and a few bay leaves (I much prefer 5% fat pork to beef mince, but minced lamb, veal, or sausage meat can all work too). Add the pancetta and a splash of white wine and cook off the alcohol and most of the moisture, then add the pork to the soffritto.
At this point add the bay leaves, check the seasoning and add black pepper, and garlic. Add vegetable or chicken stock (I use the chicken 'stock pot' jelly concentrates that are available in the UK) and allow the ragù to simmer for at least 90-120 minutes.
After that, take the ragù off the heat and allow it to rest. While it does, stir the butter into it and check again for seasoning / hints of nutmeg. Boil the tagliatelle, then add it to sauce that you've measured out for four people, in the Tossing Pan. Toss to combine, consider adding more ragù if you need it, then plate immediately.
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: 462
Fat (g): 15.8
Sat Fat (g): 6.0
Carb (g): 30.6
Sug (g): 6.0
Fibre(g): 3.9
Prot (g): 37.7
Salt (g): 1.43
Nutritional information is provided as an indication only of approximate values for the recipe on this page. You should make your own calculations if you have specific dietry requirements or are required to follow a strict calorie-controlled diet.
