Ragu

I just realized I haven’t written on the food blog (I’ve written on the wine blog though) since the new year, so happy new year to you!

I’ve decided that it’s fun to tell you what music I’m listening to while I write, as I’m what I call a “mood drinker” and a “mood eater” which I kind of define as someone who sets a mood and chooses wine and food accordingly, and most times, my mood is also matched with music.

So right now, it’s Grateful Dead.  I feel so relaxed when I listen to them, for obvious reasons, and I’m sipping a new Minervois that’s very ripe but also expressive.

Bordeaux

And I wanted to tell you about something I made yesterday, which I haven’t made in quite some time.  The wine was selected in advance (by my boyfriend - it was a lovely and somewhat modern style Barolo, so it made sense to go with something Italian - usually I go with a red meat with pancetta sort of dish with Nebbiolo based wines, but this time it was going to involve red sauce).  The next wine we opened was a Merlot based Bordeaux.  Both were delicious of course, and both matched the dish nicely.

Barolo

So what did I make?  Well, I’ve never found a recipe even remotely similar to it - it’s a sort of ragu, basically an Italian sauce involving meat.  I start with a basic tomato sauce, which, for me, is (not strictly adhering to the traditional definition) a kind of soffritto (for fellow Francophiles, it’s like a mirepoix) - but without too many vegetables - I start with 1 large yellow onion chopped and about 5 cloves of garlic, popped and minced, and sautee them in the large Le Creuset pot in a spot of olive oil.  Once they’re softened, I add 1 can of tomato paste and some water, and season with kosher salt, black pepper, and oregano.  Then I add a can of tomato puree and plenty of chopped fresh parsley and basil, and let it come to a boil.  Once that happens, I turn it down to simmer.

In a shallow pan, I sauteed thinly sliced portobello mushrooms (2 very large or 3 medium sized), and seasoned with garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper, and once they were browned, I added them to the sauce.  And in the same pan, I browned approximately 1 lb chopped bison meat (seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, oregano, garlic powder, and a dash of nutmeg), and once it was cooked, I added that to the meat as well.  Finally, once the ragu was just about cooked, I added a handful of baby leaf spinach and stirred it in, and then added several dollops of fresh whole milk ricotta cheese (you can also add a dash of heavy cream as well, which I’ve done before).  Stir it and heat it, and it’s wonderful.

I serve it over tagliatelle - I prefer a more substantial macaroni for a ragu to keep textures in balance.  And I top it with (what some of you may consider too much) grated parmigiano reggiano.

Bison and Portobello Ragu over Tagliatelle

Sounds delicious?  It is.  It’s quite rich and would match up nicely with a bigger style Italian red, namely a more modern style Piemonte (Barolo or Barbaresco), a Super Tuscan (Bordeaux style Tuscan red), Brunello (the royalty of Tuscan wines made from Sangiovese), or even a rich, spicy, earthy Aglianico from Campagna.  Probably a light salad and some crusty Italian bread, too.

It’s easy to make, even if it takes about an hour to do, and it’s not cheap either - both the ingredients and a good wine to match it.  But it’s a perfect winter dish, and it’s one of my favorite recipes that I’ve written myself.