Ragu
The next section on display from The Buslife Kitchen Vol. 2: Recipes from the Road is Italian recipes. The first cookbook also had an Italian section, but Italian cuisine just boasts too many wonderful recipes which are perfectly suited to nomad cooking. Simple ingredients, simple preparations, and amazing food are hallmarks of Italian cuisine, which also happens to be exactly what most nomads are looking for.
Ragu is classic comfort food, the perfect red sauce, the sort of meal that Sunday evening dreams are made of. There is a bit of work to do in the beginning to prep the ingredients and get things started, but mostly this sauce just wants to be simmered for a long time. The longer you simmer, the more the ingredients meld, leaving you with a sauce that is full of deep, complex flavor.
On a cool Sunday, a long-simmering pot of sauce fills your kitchen with warmth and wonderful aromas, whetting the appetite for the meal to come. Nothing beats sitting down to that meal, ideally with a group of friends and a few glasses of wine, eating, chatting, and taking time to slow down and enjoy the good life.
Ragu
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- ½ lb. ground pork
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup finely diced onion
- ½ cup finely diced carrot
- ½ cup finely diced celery
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 (28-oz.) can peeled or crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup dry white wine divided
- 1 cup beef broth divided
- 2 bay leaves
- salt, to taste
- 1 lb. penne or tagliatelle for serving
- Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Then add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and parsley. Cook the vegetables slowly, stirring regularly, until they are nice and soft.
- When the vegetables are soft, you can add the ground meat. Cook this, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until it is mostly crumbled.
- Next add ½ cup white wine and ½ cup beef broth as well as the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, and bay leaves. Stir this together and simmer, top off, for at least 30 minutes, but as long as several hours.
- While it is simmering, add liquid as needed, in the form of a 50:50 mix of white wine and beef broth.
- After it has simmered for at least 30 minutes, or as much as a few hours, it is ready to serve. The sauce should be nice and thick. Add salt to taste.
- Serve over penne or tagliatelle with a nice dusting of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
The other Italian recipes in The Buslife Kitchen Volume 2 are:
Aglio e Olio
Cacio e Pepe
Olive Oil Cake
Panzanella
Ragu
Rigatoni with Broccoli Pesto
Spaghetti al Tonno
Zabaglione
Hop on over to the Kickstarter page to read more about the upcoming second volume and pre-order yourself a copy.