Handmade Pappardelle With Shredded Wild Boar Ragu and Juniper Berries
Today you’ll have the taste of the wild Italian woods directly on your plate!
Pappardelle is a dish that hails from the Tuscan countryside, and its name derives from the verb “pappare,” literally to gobble up, a name that leaves little to the imagination especially once you get them in front of you. Similar to their northern cousin the “Tagliatelle,” the pappardelle are wide ribbons of pasta dough with a rough texture that allows them to catch as much sauce as possible. They can be served with many different sauces such as the classic tomato and basil, but are best known for being paired with strong flavored sauces, featuring game or wild mushrooms. The version we’re bringing you is the most iconic one, paired with Wild Boar Ragu, one of the most common game meats that can be found in the woods of central Italy and is still prized to this day. If you don’t have access to wild boar
meat you can substitute it with pork or beef.
Serves 4
For the Wild Boar Ragu
Ingredients:
1kg leg cut of wild boar
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
1 yellow onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
500g canned peeled tomatoes
10 juniper berries crushed with a mortar and pestle
2 bay leaves
250ml red wine
100ml vinsanto
Method:
Clean the meat and dice it into a 3 cm pieces. Season it and oil it, and place it into an oven tray and bake it at 220 degrees Celsius for 5 to 6 minutes.
Dice all the vegetables and cook them in a pot with olive oil until they are lightly caramelized. Add the tomato paste and let it cook together for 2 minutes. Then add the meat and keep cooking for another 10 minutes or until the meat has released all the water and is almost dry again). At this point, add the vinsanto and the red wine and continue cooking until all of the alcohol has evaporated. Add the juniper berries and the canned tomatoes and reduce the heat to a very light simmer. Let cook until the meat is soft (about 2 to 3 hours) and then remove from the heat. Once
cool, place in the fridge overnight. The next day, place the ragù on the heat again, add stock if necessary and bring it to boil.
Use a whisk to shred the meat.