With a roll and a goo, ragu is a satisfying word. It comes from the French ragout, which indicates a stew of meat and vegetables, often with something highly flavoured added towards the end of the cooking. In fact, the related verb is ragoûter, which means to awaken or perk up the goût (taste and appetite). In Italian cooking, the word ragu is inextricably associated with the heavily protected and beefy ragu alla bolognese and ragu alla Napoletana, but it is also – quietly – used to describe a whole universe of fish and vegetable stews to go with pasta.
Among them are this week’s recipe, ragu di verdura, from the excellent Slow Food book of osteria recipes, and a place called Trattoria Conca Verde in the province of Bergamo in Lombardy. I was about to pass over the dish entirely, until I noticed it has no tomato (good) and includes parmesan and cream (excellent). It is also a recipe that celebrates leek, which is a hero when it comes to vegetable stews, because it brings allium flavour and, if you cook it slowly enough, also collapses into a slippery, butter-like texture. It also happened that I had all the ingredients in the fridge.
