The Compelling White Ragu From il Casale: The Recipe

As I posted earlier today, I recently attended a Tuscan-inspired wine dinner at il Casale Belmont, and was throughly impressed with their Fusilli fatti in casa con ragù "bianco" di carne e salamino di cinghiale (Handmade fusilli with "white" meat ragù and diced wild boar salami). This "ragu bianco" is traditional mostly in northern Italy, including Tuscany, and it is made with cream rather than tomatoes.

I previously wrote, "This was simply a perfect dish, with homemade pasta cooked just right, plenty of savory and tender meat, a touch of earthiness, and a cream sauce that added plenty of flavor. The sauce was neither cloying or overly heavy, and I could easily have devoured a couple more plates. Each bite was scrumptious and this dish probably will end up as one of my top ten dishes of 2018. It is rare to see a ragu bianco at local restaurants, and that really needs to change if this dish is an example of what can be created."

Chef Dante de Magistris and his culinary team at il Casale were generous enough to provide me the recipe for their White Ragu and have allowed me to share it with my readers. When I previously mentioned this dish on social media, it garnered some attention and people were certainly curious as to how it was made. So, now you can make this dish at home, though I still recommend you check out il Casale in Belmont or Lexington.

If you prepare this White Ragu, please get back to me about your results. And I will do the same, as I have definite plans to make this delicious recipe.

White Ragu alla Bolognese (Serves 10)

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal
¼ pound pancetta, chopped coarsely
¼ pound mortadella, chopped coarsely
¼ pound chicken liver, chopped coarsely
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 carrot, chopped fine
1 celery stalk, chopped fine
6 tablespoons good quality tomato paste
2 cups red wine
6 cups brodo or chicken stock, hot
2 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. In a large deap saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add beef, pork, veal, pancetta, mortadella, chicken liver and sage. Cook until all the meat is lightly browned. Drain excess fat and add onion, carrots and celery. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring until the onions are translucent and the carrots and celery are softened.
2. Stir in the tomato paste, and allow to cook with the tomato paste for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to high, add the red wine and allow the wine to reduce by ¾ the way. Add one cup of the hot meat broth. Cook, stirring occasionally to scrape up any residues sticking to the bottom of the pan, until all the broth has evaporated. Repeat this process twice more adding one cup of broth at a time. After the third cup of broth evaporates, add the remaining 3 cups of broth, lower the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered until sauce is thick approximately 2 hours.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add heavy cream to Bolognese sauce and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil, add the tagliatelle or your favorite pasta and cook until al dente. Strain pasta, toss with the bolognese sauce and a generous handful of grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Though you can buy your choice of pasta to use with this White Ragu, I'm also including il Casale's recipe for their Tagliatelle pasta, if you are especially ambitious.

Tagliatelle pasta (Serves 10)

Ingredients:
1 pound ‘00’ flour
10 egg yolks plus 2 whole eggs (total weight should equal 11 ounces)
1 tablespoon salt

Method:
1. Place the flour on a pastry board or in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour, crack the eggs into the well and add the salt. Using your hands, beat the eggs, drawing the flour into the eggs a little at a time.
2. When the dough begins to hold together and the eggs are completely absorbed into the flour, it is ready to be kneaded. If you are using a bowl, move the dough to a flat work surface to knead. Flour your hands lightly. Work the dough with your hands until it forms a ball. Knead for 5 minutes by folding the dough toward you and then pressing it away from you with the heels of your hands, rotating the dough at quarter turns between each fold. You may have to add a little more flour to the dough and/or your hands during this time if the dough starts to stick. After you have finished kneading, and the dough is nice and smooth, wrap it in a clean, damp dishcloth and let it rest for 20 minutes. Divide the dough into 6 pieces.
3. Using a pasta machine, run each piece of dough through the machine, starting with the greatest thickness and moving down to the next smallest thickness each time through the very last, thinnest setting. Allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes after you have rolled it out, or until it feels semidry to the touch. Roll each sheet of pasta, as for a jellyroll, and cut the rolls horizontally into ¼-inch strips, using a sharp knife. Unravel these strips and you will have your tagliatelle. Allow the strips to sit for about 10 minutes spread out, on wax paper, or a floured dishcloth.

Buon appetito!