Pappardelle con Ragù di Capra

This is my own version of  a southern Italian classic, pappardelle with goat ragù (Pappardelle con Ragù di Capra).

Here in America, we don’t consume a lot of goat, and that’s a real shame. In Sicily and southern Italy it is far more common, and my search for good goat ragù sent me in quite a few different directions, none of which led me to my own gastronomic Shangri La.

So like any garden variety know-it-all, in the end I digested what I discovered, ruminated on it a bit, and ultimately created my own only slightly bastardized version of the dish.

So Italian it ain’t, but it definitely has Italian roots.

The long, slow braise of the goat meat is essential to achieving a tender result. The onion, celery, and carrots in the recipe create a classic Italian soffritto. But the bouquet garni (a bunch of herbs, typically encased in a cheesecloth bag, used for flavoring a stew or soup) is in no way Italian–rather than putting the thyme sprigs and sage leaves directly into the ragù as it would be done in Italy, I chose to utilize the bouquet garni instead, because it’s … less messy.

I originally had no plans to post this to my blog, but … damn, it was good, better than I expected. The next time I make it I’ll take some additional photographs and add them in.

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2.5 lbs. goat meat, cut into 3/4“ pieces
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 6 sage leaves
• 1 lb. pappardelle, (cooked)
• Pecorino cheese for grating

 

Instructions

Create a bouquet garni* with thyme sprigs and sage leaves.

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add goat and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over. Transfer the goat to a bowl.

Add the remaining olive oil, onion, celery, and carrots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (perhaps 5 minutes).

Return the goat to the pan and stir in the wine. Add the bouquet garni. Increase the wheat to high, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium and cook until reduced by one-third (perhaps 5 minutes or so).

Add 1 1/2 cups water, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 hours, or until the goat is tender and cooking liquid is reduced by half.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add 1 lb. of pappardelle.

Meanwhile, ransfer the goat to a bowl, and when it is cool enough to handle, pull it apart until it is somewhat shredded. Return the meat the the saucepan, and over medium heat, cook until it is heated through.

When the pappardelle is done, drain it, add 2-3 ladles of sauce the the posta pat, add back in the pappardelle, and stir until fully coated.

Serve in bowls, with additional ragù ladled onto the pappardelle.

Grate fresh pecorino over the pasta and serve.

*Bouquet garni: a bunch of herbs, typically encased in a cheesecloth bag, used for flavoring a stew or soup.