Pappardelle al Ragù Bianco di Vitello Toscano
I
Origin
Florence and Chianti, Tuscany
II
Description
The bianco (white) ragù of Tuscany: veal shoulder slowly braised with soffritto, white wine, and no tomato whatsoever. The sauce is pale, cream-tinged, aromatic with sage and rosemary, and subtly enriched with a small amount of cream added at the end. Served on pappardelle (the wide Tuscan egg pasta). The ragù bianco tradition predates the widespread adoption of the tomato in Italian cooking — it represents the pre-18th-century Tuscan braised meat sauce, when wine and herbs were the only flavourings.
III
The Thread
—Veal braised in white wine and cream without tomato — the French classical version of the white braised veal French
—White-braised veal without tomato in the Veneto tradition — the Northern Italian parallel Venetian
—Veal braised in white wine and cream — the Central European counterpart to the Tuscan ragù bianco German
IV
Flavour Context
Pale gold, cream-enriched veal sauce on wide egg pasta — the pre-tomato Tuscan braise that shows how complexity can be achieved with only wine, herbs, and time
Pillars V — VII
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