Easy Ragu Bianco (White Ragu)
This creamy ragu bianco is a tomato-free twist on bolognese. Slow-cooked with beef, sausage & pancetta, it’s perfect for making ahead.
Servings: 8
Calories: 687kcal
Ingredients
- 500 g beef mince, 20% fat
- 6 sausages, removed from casing
- 160 g pancetta
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
- 4 rosemary sprigs, leaves removed from the stems and finely chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 400 ml whole milk
- 300 ml white wine
- 150 g Fresh pappardelle, per serving
- 200 ml single cream
- 50 g parmesan, finely grated
Cupboard Essentials
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp dried sage
- 400 ml chicken stock
- Salt
- Pepper
- Optional red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Add the oil and mince to the pan, seasoning with salt and pepper. Leave to brown for 5 minutes, then stir and continue frying for an additional 2 minutes.
- Set aside, then repeat the process with the sausages, breaking the sausages into small chunks. Set the sausage aside once it is browned, for around 5-7 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with a splash of stock, then add the pancetta. Fry for 8-10 minutes until crispy. Then add the celery, onion, carrot and garlic. Fry for a further 6 minutes, adding the fennel seeds, rosemary and dried sage for the last couple of minutes.
- Add the wine and cook off for a couple of minutes, then add the sausage, beef, milk and stock back into the pan. Stir to combine and reduce the heat to loooow. Add the bay leaves and optional parmesan rind if you have one!
- Cook for 4-5 hours on a very low heat uncovered. The ragu should barely be bubbling.
- When it’s time to eat, cook your pappardelle in heavily salted water, to the packet time minus 2 minutes. Add the cream to your ragu and stir to combine. Remove the parmesan rind.
- Remove ⅓ of the ragu and set aside. Combine the al dente pasta and ragu, loosening with a couple of ladles of pasta water.
- Once it’s fully incorporated, serve in bowls and top with the reserved ragu. Add a sprinkle of parmesan and a good crack of black pepper and enjoy!
Notes
- Freeze any servings that you're saving for later without cream, then simply add when you’re heating up to combine with the parpadelle.
- I recommend just freezing the sauce and cooking the pasta fresh. As a rule of thumb, add 1-2 tbsp of cream per ladle of ragu when reheating.
- Ragu bianco likes a gentle cook. If it bubbles too hard, the liquid reduces too quickly and the sauce turns thick.
- A splash of starchy pasta water makes the white ragu sauce glossy and helps it cling to the pasta instead of slipping off.
Nutrition
Calories: 687kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g