Ragù di Carne

Everyone’s probably heard of Bolognese sauce, and while it’s definitely one of my favorites I have cooked it and eaten it quite frequently, so, when I heard that we’d be making a meat sauce during a cooking class in Montalcino and few years ago, I was a little less than enthused at the lack of novelty. Mind you, we also made sformato di melanzane (eggplant ricotta custard), our own pasta, and roasted rabbit, so as a whole it promised to be amazing and unique, but I was prepared for the meat sauce aspect to be some kind of boring bolognese derivative. Boy was I wrong! Chef Hiro and the team at Le Ragnaie introduced us to a slice of Tuscan cuisine we had never fathomed before, it was incredible in so many ways, especially the Ragù di Carne. This recipe, which I have adapted slightly from the chef’s original, uses fresh roasted tomatoes, tons of herbs, and the secret ingredient  - pureed chicken livers - to add richness and depth. This sauce is excellent served with the traditional hand rolled pici, a store bought fettuccine, or mostly recently we enjoyed it with homemade ricotta gnocchi. It’s rich, savory, satisfying, and will become your go-to Sunday Sauce. 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb ground beef

  • 1 lb ground pork

  • 1 lb italian sausage 

    • Bulk or links with the casings removed

  • 1 medium onion, quartered

  • 1 large carrot, cut into chunks

  • 2-3 stalks of celery, cut into chunks

  • 1-2 garlic bulbs

  • 1 can tomato paste

  • 10-12 roma tomatoes

  • Olive oil

  • 0.5 oz fresh sage, finely chopped

    • One grocery store package or 8-12 fresh leaves

  • 0.5 oz fresh rosemary, finely chopped

    • One grocery store package or 3 stalks

  • 2 bay leaves

  • Salt & black pepper to taste

RECIPE PREPARATION

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 

  2. Place whole roma tomatoes in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.

  3. Slice the tops off the heads of garlic, wrap in foil and drizzle olive oil inside. Place in the baking dish with the tomatoes.

  4. Roast for 45mins until tomatoes have burst and started to run. Set aside to cool.

  5. Using a food processor pulse onions, celery, carrots, and (once cool) soft cloves of roasted garlic until almost paste like. This is kind of a cheat step. I used to finely dice all these elements, but using the processor does it so much faster AND you end up with a much smoother mirepoix for the sauce.

  6. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.

  7. Add mirepoix paste and cook until translucent (~5 minutes).

  8. Add finely chopped herbs and continue to cook. 

  9. Meanwhile, pulse chicken livers in food processor or use an immersion blender until pureed. 

  10. Pour pureed livers into center of pan and cook, moving constantly with a spatula until cooked and incorporated with mirepoix (~2 minutes).

  11. Add the ground meats, breaking up with hands and tools to avoid chunks. Cook until meat is done and moisture is cooked off from the pan. 

  12. Add wine and tomato paste, mix well, and continue to cook until wine is mostly cooked off.

  13. Meanwhile, pulse roasted tomatoes in a food processor until pureed. You can strain through wide mesh if desired. 

  14. Add tomatoes to meat mixture and mix well. 

  15. Add bay leaves and salt and pepper. Now is the time to taste and add additional salt and pepper as needed. 

  16. Add 2 cups of water and simmer for roughly 20 minutes until water cooks off and sauce is thick and rich. (The perfect amount of time to cook pasta and grate cheese)

  17. Serve immediately with your choice of pasta and freshly grated pecorino romano.