My all-time favorite food growing up was, without a doubt, my mom’s Bolognese (ragu). Her side of the family hailed from Italy and had an incredible Bolognese recipe in which the meat stewed in tomatoes for hours, resulting in a wonderfully flavorful dish. However, it wasn’t until culinary school that I discovered an interesting historical fact: Italian meat sauce, or ragu, was not originally made with tomatoes. Tomatoes were introduced to Italy in the 1500s. Before that, their ragu was crafted with wine and milk.

The dish we’re preparing today, Ragu Alla Contadina, represents a beautiful blend of the old and the new. It combines both milk and tomatoes to create a truly delectable meat sauce.

These sauces typically consisted of simple ingredients like meat, vegetables, and broth, simmered together for extended periods to create rich and flavorful sauces. These early versions of ragù were not always tomato-based since tomatoes were not introduced to Italy until after the discovery of the New World in the late 15th century.

As for Ragu alla Contadina specifically, the name itself translates to “peasant-style ragù,” indicating a rustic and frugal approach to cooking. Peasant-style cooking often involves making the most of available ingredients, reflecting the historical socio-economic conditions of rural Italy. Local ingredients, including various cuts of meat and vegetables, would have been used in these dishes. In the past, milk was more readily available than tomatoes, which is why this recipe includes milk.

• Pancetta – this is a fatty and flavorful cut of pork from the pork belly. If you cannot find it, you can also use bacon.
• Onions, carrots, celery – these are the vegetables used for flavor, definitely don’t omit these if you can!
• Ground beef – try to pick a ground beef that is 80/20, so 80% protein, 20% fat. This is best for flavor.
• Ground pork – also here for fantastic flavor. Ragu typically uses multiple meats for best flavor.
• Prosciutto – cured and thinly sliced pork leg, again this is to add flavor, but you could use any cured pork product here.
• Red wine – we use red wine to deglaze the whole dish. It cooks off the alcohol and flavors the dish. I prefer a dry red wine, even better if you can use an Italian Chianti. If you don’t cook with alcohol, just omit this ingredient.
• Chicken stock – chicken stock is the most flavorful which is why I use it for this recipe, however you can use any meat stock.
• Milk – the traditional recipe here calls for whole cow’s milk, however I don’t eat dairy so I used coconut milk and it was great! Use any milk of choice.
• Whole San Marzano Tomatoes – these are the best canned tomatoes, crush them in your hands and add to the dish.

• Pancetta – this is a fatty and flavorful cut of pork from the pork belly. If you cannot find it, you can also use bacon.
• Onions, carrots, celery – these are the vegetables used for flavor, definitely don’t omit these if you can!
• Ground beef – try to pick a ground beef that is 80/20, so 80% protein, 20% fat. This is best for flavor.
• Ground pork – also here for fantastic flavor. Ragu typically uses multiple meats for best flavor.
• Prosciutto – cured and thinly sliced pork leg, again this is to add flavor, but you could use any cured pork product here.
• Red wine – we use red wine to deglaze the whole dish. It cooks off the alcohol and flavors the dish. I prefer a dry red wine, even better if you can use an Italian Chianti. If you don’t cook with alcohol, just omit this ingredient.
• Chicken stock – chicken stock is the most flavorful which is why I use it for this recipe, however you can use any meat stock.
• Milk – the traditional recipe here calls for whole cow’s milk, however I don’t eat dairy so I used coconut milk and it was great! Use any milk of choice.
• Whole San Marzano Tomatoes – these are the best canned tomatoes, crush them in your hands and add to the dish.