Spaghetti recipe with quagliette ragout with myrtle

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 400 g. of spaghetti
• a game bird or three quails
• 400 g of peeled tomatoes
• an onion
• a carrot
• half dried tomato
• a stalk of celery
• a clove of garlic
• half a glass of red wine
• 30 myrtle berries
• chilli
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• grated Parmigiano Reggiano or aged Sardinian pecorino

Preparation:

Spaghetti with quaglietta ragout with myrtle is a delicious and hearty dish that will surely satisfy your craving for something rich and tasty. This dish is a perfect combination of flavors and textures that come together to create a truly unforgettable dining experience. With the perfect combination of tasty spaghetti with delicious quail ragout and the unique flavor of myrtle, this dish is a true masterpiece of Italian cuisine.

So whether you’re planning a romantic dinner for two or looking for a new recipe to impress your guests, this dish is sure to be a hit.

Myrtle (Myrtus communis) is an evergreen shrub widespread in the Mediterranean. It is known for its fragrant leaves and edible fruits, used for the production of liqueurs such as myrtle. Myrtle is also a symbolic plant in ancient Greek and Roman culture, associated with the Aphrodite/Venus goddess of love and victory. Today, myrtle is also cultivated as an ornamental plant and is used in herbal medicine for its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, but also as an ingredient for traditional cuisine.

Here is the procedure for preparing a dish with a strong taste and a unique flavour:

put the myrtle berries with two spoonfuls of wine in a saucepan and crush them with a glass, of course if you have a mortar and pestle you can do the operation more easily. Add half a glass of red wine and bring to a boil. Filter and keep in a glass.

Finely chop the onion, carrot, dried tomato and celery. Very finely chop the garlic clove. Chop the pepper and remove the seeds. Remove the quails’ breasts and cut the meat finely into 1 cm cubes, removing the bird carcasses, keeping the thighs and wings. If you find a game bird in some frozen shop, the result will be even more intense and tasty.

In a large frying pan, fitted with a lid, fry the chopped meat in extra virgin olive oil and brown over high heat for a few minutes. Add the onion, carrot, celery, chilli and finally the garlic until golden brown.

Deglaze with half a glass of red wine with the previously prepared myrtle juice and let the alcohol evaporate.

Add the peeled tomatoes and the glass of red wine, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and cook over a very low heat for at least an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. If the sauce dries too much, add a little red wine.

When the ragù is ready, taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

In the meantime, cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water following the instructions on the package.

Drain the spaghetti al dente and transfer them to the pan with the ragù and sauté. Mix well and cook for a few minutes.

As for the presentation on the table and if the diners like it, the dish can be completed with a generous sprinkling of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or aged Sardinian pecorino.

You can of course pair the spaghetti with a robust Mandrolisai or a Barbera del Piemonte. The wine must have enough tannins to cut through the richness of the dish and enough acidity to balance the sweetness of the myrtle berries.

Enjoy your meal!