Ragù di Cinghiale

Ingredients

• For the marinade
• 750 ml Chianti or Sangiovese, full bottle; divided — marinade and braising
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 juniper berries, lightly crushed
• 3 cloves garlic, bruised
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, whole
• For the ragù
• 800 g wild boar shoulder or leg, coarsely ground or hand-chopped
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 400 g San Marzano tomatoes or passata
• 2 g fine salt, to taste
• To serve
• 400 g pappardelle or pici, dried or fresh egg pasta
• 60 g pecorino toscano, finely grated

Method

1. 1
   Combine the boar meat with the Chianti, rosemary, bay leaves, crushed juniper berries, bruised garlic, and black peppercorns in a non-reactive bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The marinade is complete when the meat has darkened perceptibly and the wine carries the full fragrance of the aromatics.
2. 2
   Drain the meat through a sieve set over a bowl, reserving all the wine. Separate the meat from the marinade vegetables; keep both. Pat the meat thoroughly dry.
3. 3
   Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-based pot over high heat. Add the boar in batches — never crowding the pan — and brown deeply on all sides. This is where the dish lives or dies: insufficient colour here means a pale, flat sauce rather than a dark, complex ragù; each batch must develop a mahogany crust before it is removed.
4. 4
   Reduce the heat to medium. Add the reserved marinade vegetables to the same pot and soften them in the residual fat, stirring occasionally, until they are yielding and lightly coloured — approximately 8 minutes. The garlic should be golden, not burnt.
5. 5
   Return the browned meat to the pot. Pour in the reserved marinade wine and raise the heat briefly to bring it to a vigorous simmer, scraping up any caramelised residue from the base. Reduce the heat immediately to the gentlest possible simmer — a surface that barely trembles — and cook, partially covered, for 2 to 3 hours. The ragù is ready when the meat shreds at the lightest pressure and the sauce has reduced to a dense, wine-dark mass with no trace of rawness.
6. 6
   Stir in the San Marzano tomatoes or passata and continue to simmer, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes, allowing the tomato to integrate without dominating. The wine and meat should remain the primary register; the sauce should be thick, not tomatoey.
7. 7
   Cook the pappardelle or pici in well-salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving a ladleful of pasta water. Fold the pasta through the ragù, adding a splash of pasta water if needed to marry sauce and noodle. Divide between warmed bowls and finish with grated pecorino toscano.