Tuscan Wild Boar Ragu over Egg Pappardelle

What you need

• 600 g (1 1/3 lb) ground wild boar
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed, left whole
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 leaves bay leaves
• 4 juniper berries, lightly crushed, optional
• 200 ml (3/4 cup) dry red wine
• 400 ml (1 2/3 cups) tomato passata
• 320 g (11 oz) egg pappardelle, dried or fresh
• salt, to taste, plus more for the pasta water
• black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Chop the onion, carrot and celery into pieces about 5 mm (1/4 in) across.

2. 2

   Warm the oil in a heavy pot over low heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and whole garlic and cook, stirring now and then, until soft and lightly golden, 10 min.

3. 3

   Add the boar, rosemary, bay and juniper. Raise the heat to medium and break the meat up with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring, until no pink remains and the pan juices have cooked off, 12-15 min.

4. 4

   Pour in the wine and let it bubble until the sharp smell of alcohol is gone and the pot is nearly dry, about 5 min.

5. 5

   Stir in the passata, 1 tsp salt, a generous grind of pepper and 200 ml (3/4 cup) water.

6. 6

   Bring to a bare simmer, set the lid ajar and cook on the lowest heat for 2 hours. Stir every 20 min and add a splash of water if the sauce starts to stick.

7. 7

   Take off the lid and cook 20 min more, until the ragu is thick and the oil shines on top. The boar should be tender and cooked through.

8. 8

   Fish out the rosemary, bay and garlic. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.

9. 9

   Boil the pappardelle in well-salted water until al dente, 3-5 min for fresh and per the packet for dried. Scoop out a mug of the pasta water, then drain.

10. 10

    Tip the pappardelle into the ragu and toss over low heat for 1 min, loosening with a splash of pasta water if needed. Serve hot.

Imported from giallozafferano.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.