Linguine With White Ragu

Submitted by CookingONTheSide

"This dish features a creamy white ragu sauce. Fresh pasta is best for this dish, but dried pasta also works fine. The sauce is very rich, but it still has a delicate flavor that is very refined. This pasta can be a meal in itself. The recipe is from "Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet," by Padma Lakshmi. Regarding the onions, the book recommends choosing flatter onions, ones that look like they've been pressed down by the hand of Mother Nature, because they're sweeter, and avoid the taller onions that are more oval. Sugar causes the fibers to break down and collapse the onion; therefore, the flatter the onion, the higher its sugar content and the sweeter it will be."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 medium sweet onions, sliced into thin crescents
• 1⁄2 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons fresh grated pecorino cheese
• 1⁄2 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• salt
• 1 lb linguine, preferably fresh (but dried will work fine)
• 1 white truffle, for shaving (optional)

directions

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
2. When it's hot, add the olive oil and butter and, after 2 minutes, the onions, oregano, bay leaves and red pepper.
3. When the onions begin to wilt, add the vinegar, then the ground beef; stir to separate beef into tiny bits.
4. Now add the thyme.
5. After the beef is cooked through, about 10 minutes, add the heavy cream and reduce the heat to medium low.
6. Cook this ragu for 20 minutes more and stir occasionally.
7. Add the cheese and reduce the heat to a low simmer, just enough heat to keep it warm.
8. Stir in the parsley and add salt if desired.
9. Boil the fresh pasta in salted water for 3 minutes or until just cooked; drain.
10. Combine the pasta with the ragu in a large serving dish.
11. Just before serving, shave the white truffle over the pasta, if desired.