Fusilli with castrato meat ragout
READY in
3 H 30 Min
PreparaTion
1 Hours
CoOKING
2H 45 min
PorTIONS
5 Person
Cost
Low
DifficUltY
Easy
Typical Cilento fusilli with Castrato ragù
Cilento Fusilli with Castrato Ragù: A Journey into the Flavors of Cilento
Today I take you to the heart of Cilento with one of my favorite recipes: the Cilento fusilli with mutton ragù. This dish tells our history and our traditions, and is perfect for Sunday family lunches.
In our Cilento, goats have always been a precious treasure. Not only for the milk and cheese, but also for the mutton, which we use to prepare dishes with an intense and rustic flavour. The castrato is an adult male goat, carefully bred for its robust and tasty meat, ideal for a rich ragù that accompanies the homemade Cilento fusilli. The mustard meat ragout requires patience and love. I start early in the morning, cutting the meat into generous pieces that cook slowly in a tomato sauce, enriched with spices and a touch of local wine. The long cooking makes the meat tender and the sauce full of flavour.
Next to the ragù, the protagonists are the Cilento fusilli, a fresh handmade pasta with durum wheat semolina. With skillful and precise movements, I use the traditional underwire to give the fusilli their characteristic shape and wrinkled consistency, perfect for retaining the sauce. The preparation of fusilli is a ritual that involves the whole family, from the oldest to the youngest, a moment of sharing and love that is passed down from generation to generation.
Cilentan fusilli with mutton ragù are the conviviality dish par excellence. They cannot be missed during Sunday lunches, when we gather around the table not only to enjoy a meal, but also to chat and pass on recipes and traditions. Every step, from homemade pasta to ragù that simmers for hours, is a moment of sharing and celebrating our culinary culture.
Furthermore, mutton ragù is not the only dish that celebrates this meat. In Cilento, in fact, we also find typical preparations such as the famous “fianchetto mbuttunato”, a pocket of meat filled with cheese and eggs, which represents another excellence of our local tradition.
In conclusion, Cilento fusilli with mutton ragù are much more than a simple dish: they are the most authentic expression of Cilento cuisine, a hymn to the simplicity and richness of the flavors of our land which, for centuries, has celebrated conviviality and the taste.
INGREDIENTS
Pasta
- 500g re-milled semolina flour
- 2 large eggs
- 230ml water room temperature
Ragout
- 1,5Kg Castrato (goat mutton)
- 1L tomato puree
- 1 big onion
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 30ml extra virgin oil
- 50ml white or rosé wine
- J.e. Salt & Pepper
Follow Us
Directions
First start making the ragout. Clean and chop the onion and clove
In a large saucepan, lightly fry the onion and garlic with the oil and a pinch of pepper, add the meat and fry gently over a moderate heat
When the liquids that have leaked from the meat have dried, fry for a few minutes and add the wine
When all the wine has evaporated, pour in the tomato puree and add the salt
As soon as it comes to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the pan.
Now prepare the fusilli. Pour the semolina flour onto a pastry board or into a large bowl and make the classic fountain*
Break the 2 eggs in the center of the fountain
Begin kneading and gradually add the water
Knead the dough vigorously for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and compact
Form a loaf and wrap it in a slightly damp cloth and let it rest for 15 minutes in the fridge
Cut the pasta into small pieces
Roll out the pieces of dough as if they were breadsticks, sprinkle with semolina to prevent them from sticking.
Cut them into finger-length sticks (about 6cm/2.5in)
Now, cut out the dough sticks following this, the 15th and 16th step, like this: take one, then the wire and place it on the dough on the left side a little askew
Then, place your hands on the underwire at both ends and bring it forward so that it rotates and twists the dough around the underwire
Now, rotate the underwire on itself, moving it back and forth, while doing so try to move your hands towards the outside of the underwire so as to stretch the dough then, finally, remove the fusilli
As you gradually remove the fusilli, arrange them in a row on a lightly floured tray and without overlapping them otherwise they will stick
Boil the fusilli in plenty of salted water for 15 minutes or until cooked to your liking
Put half the ragù in a pan, then after draining the Cavatelli, put them in the pan and sauté them for a minute
Plate, sprinkle with cheese and add the other sauce. The dish is ready, bon appetit!
Tips
- *If you like cheese on pasta, you can use whatever you prefer but the ideal would be a semi-mature goat’s cheese.
- We recommend seasoning the cavatelli with hot ragù.
- Not all flours are the same, therefore, when kneading, adjust with the water, the dough must not be too hard nor soft.
- *The well is the hole you make in the flour to keep the liquid ingredients from coming out.
- The flour must be strictly semolina.
- If you use a homemade tomato puree the ragù is even tastier, or you can use peeled tomatoes but they must always be pureed.
Storage
- The ragout can be kept for 2 days in the fridge, it can also be frozen and stored for 2 months.
- Cooked fusilli can be kept in the fridge for 2 days.
Equipment
- Pastry board
- Carving knife or crescent knife
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Fork
- Cooker
- Tray
- Pan
- Serving plate
- 2 Casserole
- Spoon
- Bowl
- Grater
Category
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