Pappardelle al Ragu Di Cinghiale

Pappardelle al Ragu Di Cinghiale or Pappardelle pasta with a wild boar ragu, has to be one of my favourite winter dishes.

Now I am not sure of the origin of this recipe? I have heard Tuscany, but it is definitely northern Italy and a country dish.

You will rarely if at all find dishes like this at your local Italian restaurant. It’s a shame really as this is real Italian food at it’s best.

I was watching Jamie Oliver on his Italian road trip and he was in the hills and he went on a hunt after wild boar. However, he never cooked this up, but he did cook up a ragu in a small country town after he had entered a pasta rolling competition. Previously in this episode he had cooked up a lamb dish for the family and the Nona was not happy as she said it stunk and he had used the wrong herbage! So when he made the ragu he really wanted to impress her. He had some fresh tomatoes ready to chop and a jug of red wine, but then he was informed not to use the tomatoes nor red wine! Passata was called for and white wine! Astonished as he was, he followed the instructions never the less and when the ragu was ready, served up with Penne or a similar pasta, the result was a unanimous hit!

In the past I have always used red wine in any ragu, but I have now switched to using a white and also using passata.

This dish is best cooked up a day in advance to let those flavours get to know each other!

Serves 4:

Ingredients:

• 700 g (24.7oz) boneless wild boar shoulder
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon or pancetta, cut into 1cm slices
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp juniper berries, lightly crushed
• 500 ml dry white wine
• 400 g can chopped tomatoes or passata
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 500 ml beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• Large handful of chopped thyme
• 1 rosemary stalk, about 12cm long, leaves finely chopped

Preparation method:

Cut the wild boar into chunky pieces, each about 2.5cm. Trim off any really hard fat or sinew as you go – this is important, as wild boar sinew is very tough and chewy, then season the meat well with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan and fry the pieces of wild boar meat over a medium-high heat until nicely browned on all sides, turning them every now and then. Do this in a couple of batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan, adding more oil if necessary. As the meat is browned, transfer it to a large flameproof casserole dish or a large saucepan.

Add a little more oil to the pan in which you browned the wild boar in and fry the chopped bacon for 2–3 minutes, until the fat crisps and browns, then scatter it over the meat.

Add a touch more oil and fry the chopped onion over a low heat for 5 minutes then stir the garlic, olives and crushed juniper berries into the pan and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring often. Add them to the meat in the casserole dish, then pour in the wine. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato purée and stock.

Add the herbs and the sugar and bring to a simmer.

Stir well and cover the casserole, then turn the heat down low and leave the ragù to simmer very gently for 2½ hours, or until the meat is completely tender and falling apart.

Remove the lid every now and then and give it a good stir. If the liquid reduces too much add a little extra water, but the sauce should be fairly thick at the end of the cooking time, but not at all dry.

Remove the thyme and rosemary stalks and bay leaves, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with freshly cooked pappardelle pasta and Parmesan shavings. Any leftover sauce makes great ravioli or arancini.

Enjoy!