Pappardelle With Wild Boar Ragu

I can't resist pappardelle with wild boar ragù when I'm in either Umbria or Tuscany, where I spent some time recently. Wild boar appears on many menus in both regions, including a restaurant in Orvieto where I ate this wonderful dish last week.

 Recreating the pasta at home is easy. If you've never made homemade pasta before, click here for a tutorial.

Finding wild boar is more difficult. I couldn't get any chunks of wild boar meat, but my local supermarket sells it in ground form. If you can't find it near you, it's sold online through D'Artagnan, in all forms from sausages to stew cuts. You can always use ground pork, but it won't have that nuttiness that wild boar contains, but it will taste good, nonetheless.

Like any ragù, it needs time to simmer and develop flavors, but you'll end up with a lip-smackin' delicious sauce.

Serve it with purchased pappardelle if you like, but if you make your own, you'll be rewarded with a silky toothiness that can't be beat. Buon appetito.

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Pappardelle with Wild Boar Ragù

printable recipe here

Ingredients

1 pound ground or chopped wild boar meat

4 ounces pancetta, in small dice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup finely minced onion

2 stalks celery, finely minced

1 small carrot, grated

2 cloves garlic

1 pound wild boar meat, either ground or in chunks

1 cup milk

1 large sprig rosemary, minced

2 bay leaves

a few gratings of fresh nutmeg

1 can (28 oz) San Marzano tomatoes, pureed in food processor

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup red wine

salt to taste

pappardelle pasta (about 1 lb)

Directions

Place olive oil in saucepan, and pancetta, cooking almost until crisp, but not quite.

Add onions, celery, carrot, garlic and saute until limp.

Add wild boar meat and stir to break up clumps, cooking until all red is gone.

Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 2 1/2-3 hours, stirring every so often so nothing sticks.

If it needs more liquid, you can add a little more wine or water. 

Serve over pappardelle (preferably homemade).