The Gift That Keeps on Giving!

Veal Ragu Sauce

Pasta with the Ragu Sauce

Soufflé after Mozza with Veal Ragu Base

We had a lot of veal left over from the big dinner and didn’t want to let it go to waist.  (Although with everything we made with it, I am sure it did go to our waists.)

We started by making a veal ragu. We removed the bones from the veal shanks, and started with the meat and vegetables and liquid remaining in the pot. We then adapted the recipe for Garganelli with Veal Ragu On Top of Spaghetti by Johanne Killeen and George Germon. This is an excellent ragu recipe.

We used our favorite Pappardelle by Rustichella – we purchased it at The Cheese Store of Silverlake.

We had so much sauce that we couldn’t use all of it up with just the pasta. We remembered a dish that we had at one of Mozza’s Restaurants outrageous Magiare In Fuamiglia Friday night family style dinners. They served Soufflés on top of a base of about 1 ½ inches of ragu sauce. It was fantastic! You dipped thru the light Soufflé and reached the ragu at the bottom. When served the ragu wound up on top of the soufflé. It was an inspired dish. So we decided to do it ourselves. We heated the ragu, poured it into a soufflé dish and following a recipe for the souffle portion that Mozza had provided to us, poured the mixture on top of the ragu. We then baked till a beautiful brown top had formed on the Soufflé. Thus the left over veal continued to serve us, and we loved it!

Garganelli with Veal Ragu

Serves 6 to 8 as a first course or 4 to 6 as a main course

On Top of Spaghetti

Johanne Killeen and George Germon

This versatile sauce works well with many pasta shapes, both dried and homemade. Try it with Garganelli, penne, or rigatoni.

If von have leftover veal from a roast, use it in place of the stewing veal. Cut the veal roast into tiny cubes and fold them into the vegeta­bles in step 2. Toss for a few minutes, add the wine, and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

¼        cup extra virgin olive oil

5         tablespoons unsalted butter

1         cup finely chopped onions

½        cup finely chopped carrots

½        cup finely chopped celery

½        teaspoon ground fennel seeds

½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt

1 pound stewing veal or leftover cooked veal roast, cut into 1/4- to 3/8-inch cubes

½        cup dry white wine

½        cup milk

1         cup chopped canned tomatoes in heavy puree

            1         cup homemade chicken

1         pound dried garganelli, penne, or rigatoni (Rustichella d'Abruzzp makes a great garganelli)

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan (about 8-inch in diameter and at least 4 inches deep) or flameproof terra-cotta casserole (with a lid). Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Saute the vegetables over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and have almost melted into a puree. This can take about 30 minutes and requires patience. The vegetables must be soft before proceeding with the recipe or they will not soften further.

Add the fennel seeds and sauté for 2 min­utes until the fennel is fragrant. Raise the heat and add the veal. Cook, stirring, until the meat is no longer pink. Add the wine, reduce the heat, and cook gently, stirring often, until almost all the wine has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Add the milk, raise the heat, and cook until the milk has evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes and stock, and simmer, covered, until the veal is tender, an additional 30 minutes or more.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and drop in the pasta. Cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain the garganelli and transfer to a heated serving bowl. Cut up the remaining butter and toss with the pasta. Di­vide among heated bowls and top with a ladle of ragu. Pass extra sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table.