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.

Cook Time: 2.5 Hours

Ingredients

1 lb. wild boar mini roast, cubed

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery, chopped

4 sprigs of fresh Thyme

2 sprigs fresh Rosemary

4 sprigs of fresh parsley

2 Bay leaves

Olive oil

Half a stick of butter

1 cup of red wine

1 ½ cups of beef stock

4 plum tomatoes, from a can

1 teaspoon tomato paste

Salt

Pepper

Red pepper flakes

Sugar

Flour

Instructions:

• On a plate, season the wild boar with some salt and pepper and set aside
• 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
• Then add the celery and carrots and cook until they start to soften over a medium heat
• Add the wild boar and cook until it is no longer pink and it starts to brown, about ten minutes
• Add salt, pepper, and two nice pinches of the crushed red pepper
• As the wild boar is cooking, preheat the oven to 375 degrees
• 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
• 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
• While the sauce begins to reduce, transfer it into the oven
• 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
• Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and let it cook for another half hour
• While the temperature is lowering, bring a pot of water to boil and add a few pinches of salt
• Once the water has boiled, add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes
• Drain the pasta and transfer into the Dutch oven
• Mix the ragout and pasta
• Transfer to a plate, add some shaved pecorino and enjoy