Pumpkin Ragu Bianco (Orange Bolognese Sauce)

A fall take on a ragu bianco or a white bolognese (an Italian style meat sauce that omits the more stereo typical tomato in the sauce) with pumpkin!

Bolognese sauce is one of my favourites; it’s an Italian style meat sauce that’s pure comfort food! It’s commonly made with tomatoes (a red sauce) but there’s also a white bolognese that omits the tomatoes and this recipe reimagines it with pumpkin! This is pretty much a basic white bolognese sauce (aka ragu bianco) with the addition of pumpkin puree (link), aka a pumpkin bolognese! The recipe starts off with the meats which include: pancetta, ground beef and ground pork! The veggies come up next with onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms, which are chopped up finely so they mix in nicely with the bits of ground meat. Garlic and rosemary, sage and thyme are added before the broth, cream, and pumpkin puree and simmering/braising the meat until tender, a couple of hours. Once the sauce is cooked, parmesan is mixed in and it’s tossed with pasta! This pumpkin ragu bianco might just be the perfect dish for a cool fall day!

Prep Time: 15 minutes Soak Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours 25 minutes Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes Servings: 6

A fall take on a ragu bianco or a white bolognese (an Italian style meat sauce that omits the more stereo typical tomato in the sauce) with pumpkin!

ingredients

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (optional) *
1 tablespoon oil
2 ounces pancetta (or bacon), diced
1 pound ground beef (or veal)
1 pound ground pork (or Italian sausage)
1 cup onion, finely diced
1 cup carrot, finely diced
1 cup celery, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped (or 1/2 tablespoon dried)
1 tablespoon sage, chopped (or 1/2 tablespoon dried)
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped (or 1/2 tablespoon dried)
4 cups chicken broth (link)
1 cup heavy/whipping cream (or milk)
1 cup pumpkin puree (link)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 inch piece parmesan rind (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 pound pasta (gluten-free for gluten-free)
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), grated
salt and pepper to taste

directions

Soak the mushrooms in 1/2 cup of just boiled water until tender, about 20 minutes before squeezing out the excess liquid and finely chopping. *
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the pancetta and cook, about 5 minutes.
Add the ground meat and cook, breaking it apart as it cooks, about 10 minutes, before setting aside, reserving any grease in the pan.
Add the mushrooms, onion, carrots, and celery and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic, fennel, rosemary, sage and thyme, mix, and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the meat, broth, 1/2 of the cream, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, parmesan rind, and bay leaves, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until most of the liquid has cooked off and the meat is tender, about 2 hours.
When the sauce is looking like it’s almost done cook the pasta.
Remove the bay leaves and parmesan rind from the sauce.
Drain the cooked pasta, reserving 1-2 cups of cooking water, add the pasta to the sauce along with the remaining cream, the parmesan and enough of the reserved pasta water to get the sauce to the desired consistency.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Slow Cooker: Optionally implement steps 1-5, place everything up to and including the bay leaves into the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 8-10 hours. Mix in cooked pasta along with the remaining cream and parmesan cheese and enjoy! Only use 2 cups of broth instead of 4. If you skip steps 1-5, break the ground meat up by mixing it up with a large spoon in the liquids in the slow cooker.
Note: * You can add the mushroom soaking water to the pasta sauce; it will add a ton of mushroom flavour but also darken the sauce.
Tip: To dice the vegetables quickly, pulse them in a food processor!
Option: Use your favourite blend of ground meats! I often use a store bought blend of beef and pork to save time (as I did in the photos). Turkey or chicken also works well!
Option: Replace the dried mushrooms with 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, finely chopped.
Option: Add 1 cup fennel, diced, along with the onions, carrot, and celery.
Option: Add 1 cup bell pepper, diced, along with the onions, carrot, and celery.
Option: Use your favourite blend of herbs, I like the combo of rosemary, sage and thyme.
Option: Add 1 pinch red pepper flakes along with the garlic.
Option: Replace 1 cup of broth with 1 cup dry white wine.
Option: Deglaze the pan, by adding 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the pan after step 5, and scraping up any brown bits off of the bottom of the pan as it sizzles, before continuing on with step 6.