Ragu Bianco - The Most Versatile Pasta Dish There Is
A Perfect Meal for When you Don't Have all Day to Cook a Sauce
I adore a Ragu Bianco. Mainly because I never tire of it and it hits every time. I say this is the most versatile pasta dish, as I can make this 20 different ways and it’s delicious every time. This can be on the table in around 30 minutes and given how entirely satisfied you are when eating it, that is a winning proposition. The only real rule here is that it has no tomatoes.
Today I am posting the recipe for the Ragu Bianco I made last week, but here are some variations for you.
You can use ground beef, veal, pork or Italian sausage meat. Or you can use any combination of the 4.
You can use any hardy fresh herb: rosemary, sage, thyme or even throw in a bay leaf.
You can use the standard mire poix or you can use leeks and/or fennel and shallot.
You can add garlic. Either smashed and whole to just flavor the olive oil/butter or sliced or finely chopped. All 3 will yield different garlic intensities.
You can use white wine or red wine. Or if you can’t cook with wine, then use some red wine vinegar.
For the fat, I like to use a combination of olive oil and butter but you can use one of the other if you prefer. Sometimes I like to use more butter than olive oil and other times vice versa. It changes the flavor and the texture depending on what you use.
You can use so many different pasta shapes. I often see if with the short pastas like penne, rigatoni, fusilli but I also love to make it with linguine. It’s very versatile and most shapes work well.
For the cheese, I typically use Parmigiana Reggiano but it’s equally as good with Pecorino or you can even try Ricotta Salata.
Normally the dish doesn’t have any heavy cream, but if you wanted to throw in a splash, I wouldn’t kick it out of bed.
To finish, I love chopped parsley but really any soft herb would do. I can see chives, basil, chervil and even tarragon on here.
Note: the above variations are not traditional and that’s ok. This is your kitchen and you are eating it. I just wanted to highlight and give ideas on how you can take 1 recipe and make it 20 different ways. The methods are the same but the flavors are totally different.
This serves 4 as a side dish
Ingredients:
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