My friend and former roommate, Josh, makes the most over-the-top, stupid-decadent ragu you’ll ever taste. The secret is onions caramelized in butter and de-glazed with red wine, which turns into a jam so sweet and complex you could almost abandon your plans for ragu and make French onion soup instead. But the actual secret is the same as most other deeply luxurious dishes: time and care. This is a Sunday evening kind of ragu, something you start on a lazy, cold morning and let simmer all afternoon so you’ll have something warm and comforting and special waiting for dinner.
This is my version: something I came up with because I have neither a Sunday afternoon to spare nor a Josh to make this for us on the regular (Josh, we miss you! And not just for the ragu! But the ragu tho…) While not quite as knock-you-on-your-ass decadent, it pushes all the same buttons: sweet from caramelized onions and tomatoes, rich and complex from red wine and browned meat, and kissed with just enough butter and cream to give it that sumptuous, glossy texture that marries oh so well with pasta. I traded some of the meat for mushrooms because I love the way they get fat with flavor from the red wine and the salty rendering of the pancetta.
Start to finish, it takes about 90-minutes to make: still not a weeknight meal, but one you might be able to get away with on a Friday night when you’re not going out but you still want dinner to be an occasion, and you want to open a bottle. (You’ll need one cup of red wine for the ragu anyway, so you’ll then have a low-key obligation to drink the rest, you know?) I serve this with copious amounts of Parmesan and fresh parsley and a simple salad on the side, preferably with something peppery like radicchio or arugula.
Method
- Set a large pot of generously salted water on the stove. This is for the pasta later. Consult the packaging on your pasta for specific directions. Turn the heat to low to get it started.
- Add butter to a large, heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven. Heat on medium until melted and evenly distributed throughout the pot. Add the onions, thyme (stems and all—you’ll pull them out later), bay leaf, and a generous pinch of Kosher salt. Stir the onions to distribute the salt. (Salt helps with caramelization.)
- Make sure your cup of red wine is close by. After the onions release their water, they’ll start to brown. Keep them moving around the pan and simmering just enough to get brown, but not burn—deglaze with a splash of the red wine to prevent this, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down as needed. 20-25 minutes
- Once the onions are golden and slightly jammy, turn the heat to medium low (if not there already). Add the carrots and and pancetta. Stir to incorporate them into the onions. Let simmer until the carrots soften, 5-7 minutes.
- Add the ground beef, breaking up the meat with the a spatula or other cooking utensil. Once the meat begins to cook through, add the garlic, mushrooms, and another generous pinch of Kosher salt. Stir to incorporate.
- As water evaporates and the ingredients begin to brown, deglaze with a splash of red wine and move everything around the pot, scraping up the brown bits as you go and allowing the red wine to fully absorb. Repeat this process, letting the ingredients brown against the pan and then adding another splash of red wine to deglaze, until you’ve used all the red wine.
- This is important: taste it! What you’ve got in the pan right now should taste deeply flavorful, like red wine and browned meat and sweet, caramelized onions. Adjust seasoning as needed. You can continue to brown the meat and mushrooms, deglazing with a bit of room temperature water, if you want the flavor to deepen even further.
- Remove the thyme stems and bay leaf with tongs or a fork. Add tomatoes and cream, stir to combine. Turn the heat to low, and let the whole thing simmer for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors incorporate. Taste it again. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- While you’re waiting for the flavors to come together, turn up the heat on your pasta water until it boils. Cook your pasta according to the package directions, turning off the heat 3-4 minutes before it finishes cooking.
- When the pasta is on its way to being done but still firmer than al dente, remove it from the pot using a slotted spoon or small strainer. Add the pasta directly to the sauce, a little at a time, folding it in as you go. Using a ladle or big spoon to add a splash of pasta water (more if needed) to loosen the sauce and allow the pasta to finish cooking (it will cook off shortly).
- Serve hot, with heaping amounts of parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. Extra points if you eat it right from the pot, standing at your counter with a glass of wine.
