White Truffle Pappardelle with Blue Hare Ragout

Recipe Overview

This historic Tuscan pasta, preserved in the Tuscany Cuisine archive from Chef David Giani’s Il Fornaio Beverly Hills era and Regional Tuscan Menu of 2000, brings together broad ribbons of fresh pappardelle, aromatic white truffle butter, and a deeply flavored blue hare or wild rabbit ragout built on Burgundy red wine, vegetables and dark chocolate. It combines Tuscan game-cooking tradition with the refined restaurant style of Il Fornaio’s Festa Regionale period.

Ingredients

• Fresh Pappardelle Pasta Dough — 900 g · rolled and cut into broad pappardelle ribbonsfresh_pappardelle
• Fresh Blue Hare or Wild Rabbit — 900 g · boned; bones reserved; meat marinated overnightblue_hare_wild_rabbit
• Red Onions — 300 g · chopped for the marinade and ragoutTC-VEG-ONION-RED
• Celery — 50 g · choppedVEG-CEL-001
• Carrots — 600 g · chopped; divided between marinade, sauce and garnish as neededTC-VEG-CARROT-001
• Fresh Bay Leaves — 6 piece · for the overnight marinadeHERB-BAY-LAUREL
• Juniper Berries — 4 piece · for the overnight game marinadeSPICE-JUNIPER-BERRY-DRIED
• Burgundy Red Wine — 1440 ml · for marinade, sauce extraction and reductiondry_red_wine
• Fresh White Truffles — 60 g · shaved or finely minced into butter; fresh white truffle / Tuber magnatum identity publishedfresh_white_truffles
• Butter — 450 g · melted gently and infused with fresh white truffleTC-DAIRY-BUTTER
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil — 480 ml · for marinade, sauce and cooking as neededOIL-0001
• Dark Chocolate 100% — 60 g · 100% unsweetened; added in a small quantity to deepen the ragoutdark_chocolate_100
• Parmigiano Reggiano — as needed · for finishing the truffle butter, as neededTC-DAIRY-PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO
• Sea Salt — as needed · season to taste; no deduction until weighed production standard is setSPICE-SALT-0001
• Black Pepper — as needed · freshly ground, as neededSPICE-PEPPERCORN-BLACK

Preparation

1. Bone the blue hare or wild rabbit and reserve the bones. Cut the meat into large pieces and marinate overnight in Burgundy red wine with chopped carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, and juniper berries.
2. The following day, remove the meat from the marinade. Vacuum seal the meat with part of the strained marinade and cook sous vide at 145°F for 2 hours until tender but still structured.
3. Roast the reserved bones with some of the vegetables until well colored. Transfer to a large pot and add the strained marinade. Add tomato paste if desired for extra body, then simmer slowly to extract flavor.
4. Blend and strain the sauce base if you want a smoother ragout foundation, then reduce it until rich and concentrated. Add the cooked hare meat back into the sauce and simmer gently.
5. Add the dark chocolate in a small quantity at the end to deepen the sauce without making it sweet. Adjust with salt and black pepper.
6. Cook a separate small garnish of diced vegetables until tender and reserve to fold into or spoon around the ragout for texture.
7. Roll the fresh pappardelle dough and cut into broad ribbons. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
8. Melt the butter gently and infuse with shaved or finely minced fresh white truffle. Add a little Parmigiano Reggiano to enrich the butter if desired.
9. Toss the cooked pappardelle with the white truffle butter until lightly coated and glossy.
10. Plate the pasta in warm bowls and spoon the blue hare ragout into the center, allowing the guest to gather the truffle butter pasta and ragout together in each bite.