Tuscan Ragù Sauce

When I think about Ragù, many things come to my mind:

• Waking up on Sunday morning with the scent of soffritto sizzling in the pot
• The slow, delicate simmering sound
• My mom’s lasagne
• Sunday lunch with the family
• Fresh pasta
• Cleaning the plate with bread so that not even a tiny bit of Ragù would go to waste
• Dipping the bread in the pot because it’s so good you can’t just stop eating it. 

Ragù is a Sunday thing, Ragù is a family thing, Ragù is a delicious thing.

It takes a few ingredients and a few hours to make it. While it’s quite easy to do, not many people have the time anymore to cook it so often. That’s why when I cook it I always make a big batch and then freeze the portions for whenever I crave it.

The word Ragù may not sound familiar since everywhere this sauce is now called Bolognese but I didn’t want to call this recipe Bolognese because, although it looks the same, the recipe and the ingredients are quite different.

Every region has its own recipe, every family has its own recipe. This is my ragù. It comes from a traditional recipe but it’s adapted to my flavors.

The word Ragù comes from the french Ragout which usually indicates meat stewed for many hours in abundant sauce. In Italy it then became the classic sauce for pasta.

The original recipe comes from Emilia Romagna with the classic Bolognese (which is not what you buy in a can) and then the recipe circulated in all the italian regions adapting to the flavors of each family and culture, changing meats and few other ingredients.

Ragù is most commonly served with fresh Tagliatelle or inside lasagne. Each region has it’s own traditional uses: In Emilia Romagna they serve Ragù also with Tortelli (Ravioli), in Tuscany we make Pici al Ragù (see photo below) or potato gnocchi, in Sicily Arancini are stuffed with Ragù and peas, and so on.

 

 

 

For the recipe of Pici pasta (in the photo above), check my Pici all’Aglione recipe.

Now finally enjoy your pasta with Ragù sauce and pair it with a good red wine.