This is a pasta-heavy newsletter, no doubt about it. The weather is slowly creeping towards real spring so the days inspiring one to make a dish like the one below will become less frequent.
White ragu is a ragu made without red wine or tomatoes. The dish is a basic combination of equal parts beef + pork, a soffritto, herbs, white wine, and chicken stock. The shells are stuffed with ricotta, egg, lemon zest, and parm. These are not overly complex flavors nor are the techniques difficult but these simple flavors combine to make something extraordinary.
This recipe comes from Matty Matheson; chef, actor, and very loud guy. He can be a polarizing dude but this dish is not. It's just good. It does require patience and time. Clear a Saturday or Sunday afternoon for a proper weekend dinner. When I made the white ragu I used thyme instead of sage, and doubled the amount of chicken stock. Once I added the stock I let it simmer for over 1.5 hours to compound the flavors while the stock slowly reduced. Don't skip the herbs.
Once you boil and drain the shells and put on a sheet tray to cool, I would hit them with some olive oil to avoid the starchy bastards sticking together. This step isn't listed but it'll help keep the shells from sticking to each other, avoiding the annoyance of shells clumping together and potentially tearing when you try to separate them. After all, the more intact shells to stuff with ricotta, the better.
Here's a link to the video and I'll put the written recipe below it:
White Ragu with Stuffed Shells, courtesy of Matty Matheson
For the White Ragu:
Olive oil
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
2 carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, sliced
2 sprigs rosemary
1 small bunch sage
2 cups white wine*
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 cups chicken stock**
For the Shell Filling:
1 (16 ounce) container ricotta
1 egg
1 cup grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and black pepper
½ teaspoon lemon zest***
*His recipe calls for 3 cups of wine, which I find to be a tad much, and went with 2
**I think 2 cups of stock is great, but I ended up doubling it as I had time to let it simmer
***I used all of the lemon zest on a large lemon and it was great
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Mix the meat together in a large mixing bowl until fully combined.
3. In a large, deep pot over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil is lightly shimmering, add the meat in as little clumps, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving any excess oil in the pot.
4. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the rosemary and sage and stir to combine. Return the meat back to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and reduce it by half. Add chicken stock until everything is just barely covered. Reduce by half. Let simmer for at least a hour.
5. While the meat and vegetables are cooking, add the pasta shells to boiling water and cook until el dente.
6. To a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, parmesan, salt and pepper, and a zest of lemon. Mix until fully combined.
7. Fill shells with the cheesy mixture. Fill the bottom of a casserole dish with the meat and veggies mixture. Top with grated parmesan. Fill the casserole with the cheese-filled pasta shells and top with another layer of grated parmesan. Drizzle with olive oil with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
8. Place in the preheated oven and bake until lightly browned. Plate and serve.