Ragout

The term ragout refers to a main-dish stew of meat, poultry, fish or vegetables. It uses "well-seasoned meat and vegetables cooked in a thick sauce". A typical sauce to use would be roux.

Ragoût aux lentilles (Ragout with lentils)

A Canadian ragoût known as Gibbelotte

Plated beef ragoût, but not typical: sauce is too thin

Etymology

The word is from the French ragoût. The term comes from the French ragoûter, meaning: "to revive the taste". The related word Italian ragù is a sauce, such as Ragù Napoletano. It is used to dress pasta.

Preparation

The basic method of preparation involves slow cooking over a low heat. The main ingredients are many; ragouts may be prepared with or without meat, a wide variety of vegetables may be incorporated, and they may be more or less heavily spiced and seasoned.