5 recipes. Page 1 of 1
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Milk simmered into the tomato for 80 minutes rounds off the acidity and leaves this ragu soft-textured and mellow. The depth is set earlier, when the ground beef browns over high heat until it catches on the pot and red wine lifts that browned layer into the sauce.
Chunjang, the black bean paste behind Korean jajangmyeon, goes into an Italian-style beef ragu, where its salty, roasted depth meets the acidity of tomato passata. Wide tagliatelle carry a thin, glossy coat of the sauce on every ribbon, and the result tastes somewhere between jajangmyeon and a Bolognese.
Lentils simmered for about 30 minutes in tomato and vegetable stock stand in for ground meat, giving the ragu a similar small, chewy grain without any meat at all. Finely chopped onion, carrot and celery are sweated rather than browned, and the kimchi only joins in the final minutes so its sour bite stays distinct. Broad tagliatelle carries the thick sauce.
The brown water left from soaking dried porcini carries an earthy mushroom flavor through the whole sauce, while a mix of fresh mushrooms provides the bite. White wine, butter and Parmigiano bind it without cream so it clings to wide tagliatelle, and the truffle paste is only a finishing scent.
Button mushrooms spread out in a wide pan over high heat give up their liquid and then brown, and that concentrated moisture becomes the savory base before the cream is added. If liquid pools in the pan, a brief pause in stirring lets the bottom dry and the browning start. Before the mushrooms, shallot cooks for about a minute to bring out its sweetness, while garlic gets only a brief turn until fragrant so it stays mellow in the rich cream. The broad, flat tagliatelle ribbons hold a thick sauce well. A small drizzle of truffle oil at the end adds an earthy aroma without taking over the mushrooms.