Ragoût, as the name suggests, originates in France, but the initial seventeenth-century versions were quite different from today’s. These were stews made with fine ingredients such as mushrooms, truffles, sweetbreads, rooster combs, chicken livers, artichoke hearts, lemon slices, and so forth, prepared on a base of vegetables and thickened with butter and flour.

There are dozens of such recipes used to flavour roasts and meat stews, such as "Pollastre in ragù" (Hen in ragù), "Spalla di vitello in ragù" (Veal shoulder in ragù), or "Lingua di maiale in ragù" (Pork tongue in ragù).