We discovered white ragu on our Honeymoon in Italy. We were served it multiple times in Umbria at wine tastings and the agriturismo we were staying in, Podere le Olle. Thankfully the chef, Gianluca, is someone I’ve gotten to know over the years of visiting and taking classes with him.
I asked him what was this sorcery that made white ragu so good?!
He emailed me the recipe, and I could not believe how such simple ingredients make such a delicious sauce! I even thought it was made with sausage, the meat was so flavorful. That’s the magic of mirepoix! So happy to share the recipe with you on my Instagram and here with his permission.
To this day, I’ve never seen it on a menu in the States. I know you’ll love it!
Choosing Ingredients:
- Ground Beef: Use 80/20 or 70/30 grass-fed ground beef, wagyu if you can get it. (They sell at Costco for a good deal!) This is where so much flavor in your sauce comes from, so don’t skimp out and use lean ground beef.
- Freshly Cracked Black Pepper: Black pepper does a lot for this dish and is a lot of what made me think I was eating sausage. make sure you are freshly cracking black pepper
- Pecorino Romano: If it only says “pecorino” or “romano,” it’s not the good stuff. This is a sheep’s hard milk cheese, and its saltiness and creaminess perfectly finish the dish.
The Mirepoix:
- The ratio of mirepoix we are using should be 2 parts onion to 1 part celery, 1 part carrot, and 1/2 part garlic
- Cut then very, very small. The point is for all the vegetables to melt into the sauce and become one flavor. You don’t want to be eating a bite onion, celery, or carrot. You can also use a food processor to get it nice and fine.
For fun, a few shots from our Honeymoon in Umbria cooking with Gianluca, including the first white ragu we ever ate!
White Ragu
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1.5 medium carrots finely diced
- 1.5 stalks celery finely diced
- 1 large yellow onion finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sauté veggies in a large pan on medium heat in a generous amount of olive oil
- Once fragrant, add in your beef and brown – leave in chunks, do not fully break down. Salt and pepper at this point
- Add in your white wine and let it reduce
- Let it sit in the pan with the heat off for up to 4 hours, rehydrating with water as it dries out
- Taste your sauce before adding to pasta and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
- Finish cooking your Al dente pasta in the sauce with some pecorino cheese and a little pasta water if needed. Stir until cheese is mixed well
- Serve with more pecorino and freshly cracked black pepper