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Thursday, March 19, 2015

Neapolitan Ragù (Ragù alla Napoletana)

Ragù means meat sauce in Italian and the Neapolitan Ragù is one of the most famous in all of Italy! The other is the Bolognese Sauce with the main difference being that the Neapolitans use whole chunks of meat rather than ground up and then they remove the meat and serve it on the side or as another part of the meal separate from the pasta. Neapolitans also use olive oil instead of butter, white wine instead of red, and a lot of fresh basil. They usefully serve this sauce with ziti but any thick pasta will work fine.


~My Mom and Dad early in their marriage w/ my Grandma Lucy~
Both of my parents are Neapolitan and each made their Ragù a bit different: My Mom used pork ribs, beef neck bones, and pig's feet while my Dad used meatballs and/or sausage. Still to this day I really can't decide which I prefer : )
Ingredients
Two 28 ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes crushed (Must be San Marzano to be Neapolitan)

1/2 large onion chopped very fine
4 garlic cloves minced
olive oil: enough to cover bottom of pot
1 cup dry white wine
fresh basil leaves: 1 handful torn into small pieces (divide in half)
salt & pepper to taste
Meat: Now here is where you can make it personal. Generally speaking you want about 2-3  pounds of meat for a sauce this size and here is a list of the typical meats used in this sauce. You can use any one or a combination of them all!
Chicken thighs
Meatballs
Pork Ribs
Pigs Feet (Don't knock em till you tried em!)
Pork Butt: trimmed and cut into chunks
Italian sausage links: whole
Boneless Chuck Roast: trimmed and cut into small chunks
Directions
Cover the bottom of a heavy bottomed pot with the oil and heat up a bit on medium heat.
Add onions and cook until translucent but not brown.
Add garlic and cook stirring constantly until soft but not brown.
Turn up heat to medium high.Add meat and brown on all sides.
 Add wine, cook until steam subsides, 3 minutes or so.
Add tomatoes, salt/ pepper, and half the basil.
Bring to boil, turn down to a slow steady simmer, cover and cook 2-3 hours. Meat will be very soft at the point it is ready.
Remove lid and allow it to simmer cooking down a bit for about 15 minutes.
Add the other half of basil and taste for salt.
Just before serving remove the meat carefully-- it will be tender-- and place on a platter. Serve this rich delicious sauce over a thick pasta with Parmigiano Reggiano and bread for sopping up!

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