Cooking Therapy

For this recipe I decide to combine the French ragout with the Italian ragu. Although the popular known Italian ragu is a tomato based sauce, it varies from its French counterpart in that, the French version is stew-like rather than sauce-like. The inspiration for this came on a cold winter day and when it finally snowed, and I became snowed in, I decided to cook it. It is a very hearty dish that will have you licking your plate clean.

Wild Boar Ragout with Pappardelle

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Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Dinner

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb. wild boar mini roast cubed
• 1 medium red onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1 celery chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh Thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh Rosemary
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley
• 2 Bay leaves
• Olive oil
• Half a stick of butter
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 ½ cups beef stock
• 4 plum tomatoes, from a can
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• Sugar
• Flour

Method

 

1. On a plate, season the wild boar with some salt and pepper and set aside
2. In a large Dutch oven, add 4 tablespoons of oil and melt the butter. Once butter is melted cook the garlic and onion until the onion becomes translucent
3. Then add the celery and carrots and cook until they start to soften over a medium heat
4. Add the wild boar and cook until it is no longer pink and it starts to brown, about ten minutes
5. Add salt, pepper, and two nice pinches of the crushed red pepper
6. As the wild boar is cooking, preheat the oven to 375 degrees
7. Sprinkle a little flour so it absorbs some excess grease and then add the red wine and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and parsley. Bring to a simmer and let the wine reduce. About 10 minutes
8. Take the tomatoes and crush them with your hand over the Dutch oven so the juices get added. Then add the broth and the tomato paste, stir, and bring to a boil. Check the taste. If it is too acidic due to the tomatoes, add some sugar and a little amount of salt to taste to remove some of the acidity
9. While the sauce begins to reduce, transfer it into the oven
10. Leave it in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes. Check and see if it has reduced. If it as reduced too much, add a little water as you need to keep a sauce like consistency since the pasta will be added
11. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and let it cook for another half hour
12. While the temperature is lowering, bring a pot of water to boil and add a few pinches of salt
13. Once the water has boiled, add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes
14. Drain the pasta and transfer into the Dutch oven
15. Mix the ragout and pasta
16. Transfer to a plate, add some shaved pecorino and enjoy