I posted this on one of the other sections and thought it should probably be re-posted here!
1 lb of lean beef mince
1 lb of pork mince
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves,
5oz pancetta or streaky bacon, finely chopped
2 x 400 g tins Italian chopped tomatoes
2 x 200 g tubes double concentrate tomato purée
1 x 37.5 cl half bottle red wine (or 400 ml/14 fl oz)
1 oz fresh bazil
Half a whole nutmeg, grated* (I don't use this - although it was on the original ingredients list)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C).
Use the largest frying pan you own and heat 3 tablespoons of the oil and gently fry the onion and garlic over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, moving it around from time to time.
While the onion is softening, chop the pancetta. (I was taught to put it all together, roll it into a sausage and slice, very thinly across the round!)
Add to the pan with the onions and garlic and continue cooking them all for another 5 minutes or so. Transfer this mixture to a heavy duty casserole.
Add another tbsp of oil to the pan, turn the heat up to its highest then add the minced beef and brown it, breaking it up and moving it round in the pan. When the beef is browned tip it into the casserole. Heat another tbsp of oil and do exactly the same with the minced pork. When the pork is browned, transfer it to the casserole,
Place the casserole over the direct heat, give everything a good stir together, then add the contents of the tins of tomatoes, the tomato purée, red wine and a really good seasoning of salt, pepper and nutmeg (if you choose to use it, I find it adds quite an 'insistent' note to the recipe!)
Allow this to come up to simmering point. Then strip the leaves from half the basil, chop them very finely and add them to the pot. As soon as everything is simmering, place the casserole on the centre shelf of the oven and leave it to cook slowly, without a lid, for 4 hours. It's a good idea to have a look after 3 hours to make sure all is well, but what you should end up with is a thick, concentrated sauce with only a trace of liquid left in it, then remove it from the oven, taste to check the seasoning, strip the leaves off the remaining basil, chop them small and stir them in.
Prepare some spaghetti or tagliatelle and serve a small amount of the sauce on the pasta portions, and add some freshly grated Parmiagano Reggiano.
This makes a much more intensively flavoured ragu, so a little sauce goes a long way - and in Italy the proportion of sauce to pasta is much less than we eat in the UK - I'm only mentioning this because it is so different from the way I USED to serve pasta... of course, maybe the US uses the proper proportion of sauce to pasta!
1 lb of lean beef mince
1 lb of pork mince
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves,
5oz pancetta or streaky bacon, finely chopped
2 x 400 g tins Italian chopped tomatoes
2 x 200 g tubes double concentrate tomato purée
1 x 37.5 cl half bottle red wine (or 400 ml/14 fl oz)
1 oz fresh bazil
Half a whole nutmeg, grated* (I don't use this - although it was on the original ingredients list)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C).
Use the largest frying pan you own and heat 3 tablespoons of the oil and gently fry the onion and garlic over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, moving it around from time to time.
While the onion is softening, chop the pancetta. (I was taught to put it all together, roll it into a sausage and slice, very thinly across the round!)
Add to the pan with the onions and garlic and continue cooking them all for another 5 minutes or so. Transfer this mixture to a heavy duty casserole.
Add another tbsp of oil to the pan, turn the heat up to its highest then add the minced beef and brown it, breaking it up and moving it round in the pan. When the beef is browned tip it into the casserole. Heat another tbsp of oil and do exactly the same with the minced pork. When the pork is browned, transfer it to the casserole,
Place the casserole over the direct heat, give everything a good stir together, then add the contents of the tins of tomatoes, the tomato purée, red wine and a really good seasoning of salt, pepper and nutmeg (if you choose to use it, I find it adds quite an 'insistent' note to the recipe!)
Allow this to come up to simmering point. Then strip the leaves from half the basil, chop them very finely and add them to the pot. As soon as everything is simmering, place the casserole on the centre shelf of the oven and leave it to cook slowly, without a lid, for 4 hours. It's a good idea to have a look after 3 hours to make sure all is well, but what you should end up with is a thick, concentrated sauce with only a trace of liquid left in it, then remove it from the oven, taste to check the seasoning, strip the leaves off the remaining basil, chop them small and stir them in.
Prepare some spaghetti or tagliatelle and serve a small amount of the sauce on the pasta portions, and add some freshly grated Parmiagano Reggiano.
This makes a much more intensively flavoured ragu, so a little sauce goes a long way - and in Italy the proportion of sauce to pasta is much less than we eat in the UK - I'm only mentioning this because it is so different from the way I USED to serve pasta... of course, maybe the US uses the proper proportion of sauce to pasta!