The Perfect Ragú – a Sauce to Savour

A rich ragú forms the basis of many classic dishes. I am not kidding you, once you have made this you will never again make boring old savoury mince.  This recipe is a keeper – make it in large quantities and store in the freezer. If you are planning on making a ragú, give yourself some time, because it  needs to cook slowly for two hours for the mince  to soften and absorb the flavours of the sauce. The time spent now will reward you with a half cooked meal just waiting to be added to your favorite dishes.

Add it to pasta, as Spaghetti Bolognaise, Penne Picante (add chilli and a touch of cream) and  Lasagne.

Make the best ever cottage pie, by adding mashed potato and dollops of butter, or add it to your favorite pastry to make Ragú Pasties for an easy Sunday night meal.

What is your favorite way to use Ragú ?  Share it with us in the comments below.

THE BEST EVER COTTAGE PIE

Cottage pie is the ultimate comfort food, sizzling from the oven , its hot, fragrant and comforting.  Serve it with a pan of  roasted root vegetables to round off a hearty meal.  Boil quartered potatoes until soft.  Mash and add to the top of a portion of Rich Ragú .  Dot the surface with pieces of butter and cook in a hot oven until golden brown.

RAGÚ PASTIES

Make a simple shortcrust pastry to encase your ragú and add potatoes, leeks and parsnips to the mix.  If you don’t have time to make a shortcrust, buy a packet of puff pastry, its just as good.  If you want to turn this into a gourmet meal, use thin layers of phyllo and make parcels of ragú and vegetables.  Your possibilities are endless, so get your creative juices going with the first step by making this PERFECT RICH RAGÚ.

The Perfect Rich Ragú   Author: Ev Recipe type: Pasta Serves: 8 Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 2 hours 30 mins Total time: 2 hours 40 mins Print   Ingredients

• 100g cubed pancetta
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 sticks celery
• 1 kg good quality minced meat
• 1 glass red wine
• 1 tin tomatoe puree
• 500 ml boiling water
• 2 beef stock cubes
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1. Fry pancetta in olive oil
2. Finely chop carrot, onion and celery and add to the pan. Sweat until translucent.
3. Add minced meat and cook for 5 minutes and then add wine, cook until it has evaporated.
4. Add the tomatoe puree, you want this to be dry and not a juicy tomatoe sauce.
5. Add pay leaves and stock cubes with water.
6. Simmer gently for 2 hours. The longer you simmer the richer the flavor.
7. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and mix.
8. Grate parmesan cheese over the top and serve .

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