High Ragu Expectations
I made long-simmering ragu this weekend, and it was fine, although I kind of felt like something was missing. It's weird, it had that depth of flavor I was looking for, but was almost too mellow, without any standout flavor. I have a bunch of ideas for what might remedy it, or what could make it better next time: It might just need more salt (I'm always a little too light on the salt), which a liberal grating of Parmesan over the top could take care of, or I might need better tomatoes (I used fresh), wine or meat (I used a mix of ground beef and veal). Maybe even more garlic. I threw in some chopped-up Parmesan rind toward the end, and more of that might have made a difference. Or maybe my expectations were just too high?
I always find ragu very difficult, but to me all long-cooked tomato sauces just taste acidic and heavy. I much prefer the uncooked fresh, but of course you have to have good summer tomatoes to do that.
This was almost the opposite for me; the ragu had almost no acidity. A coworker really thinks it was the fresh tomatoes I used.
I grew up with a tomato-based meat sauce on my spaghetti, so it's another one of those high-carb, cozy kinds of food to me. Fresh, uncooked tomato sauce is perfect summer food, but when the weather gets cold I need my warm, heavy sauces. (The better to pack on those winter pounds, although I'm one of those people who, peversely, tend to lose in the winter and gain in the summer. Must be all that shivering.)
More salt + some lemon juice maybe
for a hot chocolate par excellence, try Lunettes et Chocolat, i belive on prince st? much better than vosges :)