I've been away for the last 2 weeks and even though I've been eating a great deal of very good food, I haven't written any of it down to record. But, there is always my memory to serve that purpose and so, in Sacramento, California, I ate lots of salads, some exceptionally good (Cobb, Hearts of Iceberg with Roquefort Dressing and bacon (OMG!)), and some of it only fair. I ate the absolute worst Mexican food I have ever had: the refried beans looked like something else entirely and the rice was an ersatz version of minute rice tinted yellow. I suffered all night after that debacle. I did have a very good Ceviche at a restaurant called Seasons 52, so all was not lost. I was very disappointed to be reminded the second to last day of my visit that Biba Caggiano (Bolognese, and of Taste of Italy cookbook fame) had a restaurant in Sacramento which was closed the day I wanted to go and partake. Sigh! After my trip to California, I spent a week on Fire Island at the fabulous Casita where my dog, Ludwig, and I, et. al., lounged on the beach, listening to the sounds of the ocean and running in the sand. Ludwig was more prone to digging holes in search of a cool spot, and, of course, being the recipient of tasty bites and morsels from anyone and everyone's plates at the table!
We feasted on a rack of pork (grilled, of course; unless otherwise indicated, everything was grilled), served with eggplant, zucchini and peppers; we had Oysters Rockefeller with a beet salad and Vichyssoise; we had a butterflied Leg of Lamb which was seasoned with dry herbs for two days beforehand; we had a marvelous fish soup with an extremely rich and garlicky Aioli; and then there were the required hamburgers with salad and rolls, plus the wonderful luncheons on the beach comprised of recreated leftovers (lamb and pork sandwiches, yellow plums, tomatoes and mozzarella, Israeli Couscous salad with grilled lemons and other vegetables all tinted a marvelous pink from luscious beets). My last home made breakfast consisted of an English muffin, topped with a crab cake from the previous night's dinner topped with a poached egg all under a major slathering of Hollandaise Sauce! And last but not least, Pappardelle with Ragù and roasted peppers and leftover Italian sausage. Talk about rich and decadent. The weather really did cooperate the last 4 days of our trip and I came away a happy - and very tanned - camper.
It's nice to be home, though, and ever since I wrote about Ragù Bolognese, I've been thinking about writing down - and making, of course - my recipe for Veal Ragù. So, without any further ado, here it is! But, before I set down the ingredients, I just want to say that this sauce is the base upon which my lasagna - one of them - is made.
2-3 lbs. veal neck bones *(See options below)
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 tbs. EVOO
1 onion finely chopped
2 carrots, cut into fine dice
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, smashed and then chopped to a paste
4 oz. chicken livers, chopped to a pulp
2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
3 tsp. fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, minced
5 leaves fresh sage, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lb. veal stewing cubes, chopped slightly with a cleaver
1 1/2 cups whole milk or 1 cup skim milk mixed with 1/2 cup half'n'half
Salt and Pepper
Nutmeg
20 leaves fresh basil, stems removed, rolled and cut into chiffonade
2 gallons tomatoes - a combination of chopped, whole San Marzano and crushed tomatoes is ideal here (my proportions are a large can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes in juice, 1 or 2 containers of Pomi crushed tomatoes and 4, 12 oz. cans of chopped tomatoes).
Heat the oven to 350ºF.
Drizzle a bit of the olive oil on a heavy-bottomed cast iron skillet. Place the bones in the pan and roast in the oven for about 2 hours. Turn occasionally to ensure even browning.
In a very large stock pot, melt the butter and the remaining olive oil and saute the onions over fairly moderate heat. When they become translucent, add the carrots and the celery and the chopped thyme, parsley and sage. Stir occasionally until they are cooked. Add the liver and saute until that is cooked through. The ingredients at this point will look very dense. Add the white wine and continue to stir until almost all of the wine has evaporated. Add the stewing pieces and sautè until they are browned. Add the bones and turn a few times to incorporate all the ingredients before adding the milk and nutmeg. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil and cook until the milk has evaporated to about 1/4 cup. The liquid will have thick bubbles and the ingredients should be very dense.
Before adding the tomatoes, I always take the peeled whole tomatoes and put them in a large bowl and crush them with my hands. It helps them to cook more evenly. After you've done this, add the tomatoes and stir to incorporate the milk and the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and add the basil and a few more gratings of nutmeg. Bring to the boil and stir often. Turn the heat down to a barely bubbling simmer and partially cover the pot. Stir occasionally, always checking that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook in this manner for about 4 hours. You should have a lusciously dense sauce full of flavorful meat. Let the sauce rest for at least one hour.
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| Veal Ragù (before) |
At this point, you can start to pick at the sauce and remove any bones and meat. Separate the bones, remove any meat on them and add that to the veal pieces which you will have already placed in a food processor OR you can use an emulsion hand blender and process directly in the pot. Process the veal pieces by pulsing it all for about 10 seconds. Take a slotted spoon and dredge the sauce to make sure you haven't any stray pieces of bone and then add the veal to the sauce. Correct seasoning if necessary. Return the veal to the pot, stir and add the last half stick of butter and let it melt on its own in the pot. The sauce is now ready for whichever way you wish to use it: eating immediately, jarring it, freezing it, etc.
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| Veal Ragù (after) |
The best way to use this sauce is in Lasagna or with Tagliatelle or Pappardelle (egg or spinach). It is particularly good when served with petites pois and Reggiano Parmigiano.
* Veal bones are completely optional. If you do use them, you should remove them from the pot after an hour of cooking, clean them of any meat that can be used in the sauce and discard the bones (or save them to extract more out of them in stock, etc.). You don't have to use veal neck bones per se. You can use a couple of Osso Bucchi (very expensive) or a veal breast which you will have to roast first and, depending on how rich you want your sauce to be, remove all fat either before or after cooking in sauce.
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