Veal Ragù

Looking for a homey, comforting, savory dish? Veal Ragu has your name written all over it!

Veal Ragu simmers tender ground veal with garlic, onion, olive oil, capers and aromatic spices for the perfect comfort food. #homemaderagu #vealrecipes #vealragu www.savoryexperiments.com

Veal Ragu simmers tender ground veal with garlic, onion, olive oil, capers and aromatic spices for the perfect comfort food.

If you are like many, you are scratching your head wondering why this “ragù” isn’t red with tomatoes. Well, ragù is defined as meat simmered with vegetables, but doesn’t specifically identify tomato.

In the case of Veal Ragù, a recipe adapted from Food and Wine Magazine, the vegetables are merely onions and garlic, with the addition of fresh, fragrant herbs.

Veal Ragù Recipe- Veal, Capers and White Wine make a rich ragù, pair with your favorite pasta. Not into veal? Use another ground meat!


 

Veal Ragù is the ultimate comfort food, giving your tummy a big hug. The secret is in using a thick, fresh pasta that has the geometry to really hold onto the sauce.

While I’ve seen similar ragùs served with pappardelle, I just don’t feel like it is ideal shape, falling off and leaving a pool of glorious sauce at the bottom of the bowl, it throws off the pasta to ragù ratio.

Veal Ragù Recipe- Veal, Capers and White Wine make a rich ragù, pair with your favorite pasta. Not into veal? Use another ground meat!

My sister made this batch of Veal Ragù as our Christmas Eve dinner using malloreddus, a semolina based pasta that is colored with a small amount of saffron. The literal translation is “fat little calves.”

They look like thick conch shells, with grooves similar to gnocchi, but traditionally rolled against a wicker basket in Sardina, their place of origin. Other comparable pastas would be shells, gomiti (elbows), orecchiette or rigatoni. I highly recommend using a fresh pasta for this dish.

Veal Ragù Recipe- Veal, Capers and White Wine make a rich ragù, pair with your favorite pasta. Not into veal? Use another ground meat!

The excess flour after rolling will assist in building the perfect consistency of sauce. In my version, I increased the amount of capers.

The briny little pods add salt and flavor to the sauce and I just kept wanting more to pop in my mouth.

Veal Ragù Recipe- Veal, Capers and White Wine make a rich ragù, pair with your favorite pasta. Not into veal? Use another ground meat!

If you liked this Veal Ragu, check out my other traditional Italian favorites:

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4.33 from 40 votes
Sweet and spicy tomato-based sauce simmered with tender seafood like shrimp, scallops, calamari and more.
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Veal Ragu simmers tender ground veal with garlic, onion, olive oil, capers and aromatic spices for the perfect comfort food. #homemaderagu #vealrecipes #vealragu www.savoryexperiments.com
Veal Ragù Recipe- Veal, Capers and White Wine make a rich ragù, pair with your favorite pasta. Not into veal? Use another ground meat!

Veal Ragù Recipe

4.32 from 44 votes
Veal Ragù Recipe- Veal, Capers and White Wine make a rich ragù, pair with your favorite pasta. Not into veal? Use another ground meat!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic, stirring frequently, until softened, approximately 5 minutes.
  • Add ground veal, season with fine sea salt and pepper, increasing to high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veal is no longer pink and any liquid has evaporated, approximately 8 minutes.
  • Add the white wine to the skillet and boil over high heat until reduced significantly, approximately 5 minutes.
  • Add the chicken stock, thyme, rosemary and capers and simmer over moderate heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, cook your desired pasta to al dente. Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid, and add it to the skillet along with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, chopped parsley, butter and al dente pasta.
  • Continue cooking and stirring over medium heat, allowing the sauce to thicken and become creamy, approximately 5 minutes.
  • Serve with a sprinkle of additional Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and Maldon sea salt.
  • If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was! 

Nutrition

Calories: 482 kcal, Carbohydrates: 46 g, Protein: 28 g, Fat: 18 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 134 mg, Sodium: 452 mg, Potassium: 498 mg, Sugar: 2 g, Vitamin A: 445 IU, Vitamin C: 5.6 mg, Calcium: 135 mg, Iron: 3.7 mg
Author: Jessica Formicola
Calories: 482
Course: Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: homemade ragu, veal ragu
Did you make this recipe?I’d love to see your recipes – snap a picture and mention @savoryexperiments or tag #savoryexperiments!
Jessica Formicola in her ktichen

About the Author

Jessica Formicola

Jessica the mom, wife and food lover behind Savory Experiments. She is obsessed with butter, salt and bacon and spends all her time in the kitchen and behind a camera. Jessica is a contributor to PopKitchen by Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, The Daily Meal Food + Travel and more!

Read More About Jessica

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Recipe Rating




Questions and Reviews

  1. 4 stars
    It was a great recipe, followed it closely. I found it a bit bland and perhaps could have doubled up on the spices. I added a bit of hot spice ( Slap your momma) and some Greek spice to add flavour. It was a great meal non the less!

  2. 5 stars
    Very-good. I followed the recipe to a T using orecchiette pasta. Made 1/4 the recipe for 1-to-2 servings which was easy to do considering the amounts for the full recipe are mostly divisible by 4 (always a challenge!), and which many recipes do not allow. Accompanied the dish w/ a green salad and glass of white wine.
    Thank you!

  3. 5 stars
    Delicious! I used gorgonzola cheese (2-3 oz) rather than parmigiano and added 3 T tomato paste.

    Absolutely easy and delicious!

  4. 5 stars
    This recipe was so good. Easy and quick. We were so surprised…I will make this again for company when COVID is over and I can invite my family and friends.