I appreciate a classic bolognese sauce. It’s meat, vegetables, tomato, broth, wine, and milk cooked together and simmered for about 8 hours until it forms a homogenous, deep-flavored sauce. But to be frank, I don’t think it’s worth the work. Though I appreciate and time put into it, I don’t like the taste of tomato that is completely broken down and cooked for hours. I love tomato pasta that is bright and fresh and fragrant with the acidity of tomatoes.
That’s where this white ragu sauce comes in. It is cooked for hours like a bolognese. However, it requires no tomatoes – hence the name “white” ragu. It is pork, milk, broth, and cheese that is cooked for a long time into a soft, beautiful sauce. It sounds like it would be super heavy, but the addition of vegetables and herbs like rosemary lift it up to make it surprisingly light. And the secret ingredient? Nutmeg! I’ve only used nutmeg in desserts, but nutmeg in this dish brings a little warmth and spice to it that makes the sauce super unique and delicious!
This recipe requires a lot of ingredients and a lot of time, but it is surprisingly easy. You just throw everything in a big pot and wait for it to be done. You can make a bunch and feed your whole family and freeze leftovers for later too!
- Ingredients:
- 8 ounces pancetta
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1/2 carrot, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 1/2 sprigs rosemary, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- salt and pepper
- up to 5 servings of pappardelle
- 2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
- Recipe:
- cook the pappardelle noodles to al dente and set aside – make sure to save a cup of the pasta water
- dice all the vegetables and get them ready
- heat a large pot on medium heat and put in the pancetta
- when the pancetta is crispy, remove it from the pot and set aside
- leave the oil from the pancetta and add ground pork
- break down the pork as it’s cooking into chunks
- when the pork is all broken up and almost done cooking, add all the vegetables and herbs
- mix and stir-fry until vegetables are softened
- add the chicken stock and cook it down until the mixture is sloshy, but not covered in liquid
- add the milk and cook it down until the mixture is sloshy again, but not covered in liquid
- add the parmesan and mix it in
- keep cooking it down, but you can add little bits of pasta water – the pasta water will make it liquidy again, but the starch will also make it creamy and thick
- cook it down until there is very little liquid
- season it with salt and pepper
- you can add the noodles straight into the pot, or spoon out some sauce into a pan with the noodles
- cook it together for about a minute until the liquid is nearly gone and the noodles are coated with the sauce
- serve the pasta on a plate with some parsley as garnish!
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