Italian ragus

Present in all regions of Italy, ragus are are interperented in different ways from the north to the south. The word comes from the French ragout, which is a meat stew cooked slowly over low heat; it might contain veal, beef, lamb, goat, rabbit, hare or other meats.

In Italy, there are also differences in the herbs and spices used, the type of wine and the base (soffritto) of the sauce in which the meat cooks. Some ragus are served as a two-cource meal. The sauce is used to dress pasta, which is eaten first, then the meat, sometimes with vegetables, becomes a secondo. Sometimes the meat is minced and used to dress pasta. but it still makes for a substantial meal.

For Italians, all the ragus have two important things in common: sundays and family memories. They are usally made on a sunday, because that is when there is more time to spend on cooking. Every Italian recalls a mother or grandmother stirring a big pot of ragu as it bubbles away in the kitchen – and the distinctive scent it gives off, from the strong and sharp smell of the onions in the soffritto to the more reassuring aroma that indicates the meat is almost ready. Ragu is the sense memory of conviviality!

I hope you can build up memories for your family and friends with one of the following ragus. Just remember that the most important ingredient for making any ragu is time

In addition to the recipes for classic Bolognese and Ligurain given here, i’ve also included recipes for some of my other favourite ragu-style pasta sauces :

• Neapolitan ragu
• Neapolitan meat sauce – Le Genovese
• Sicilian meat sauce
• Lasagnette with a tomato ragu
• Lasagnette with rabbit sauce
• Capsicum pappardelle with oxtail
• Chocolate tagliatelle with wild boar