The Ragu & Bone Man

There are sauces and then there are SAUCES, Ragu without question qualifies as the latter. As with all italian recipes the beauty lies in its inherent simplicity, one pan is really all you need and other than some basic prep work no maintenance is required. Ideal for lazy Sundays. So push the roast beef to one side and get involved, here's how I make mine.

Serves plenty:

2 medium onions(finely chopped)
2 large carrots (grated)
2 sticks of celery (finely chopped)
Handful of basil stalks (finely chopped)
1 large tbsp of tomato puree
2 racks of ribs
500g of top side beef
6 large Italian sausages
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 bottles of passata
1 bottle of red wine
Handful of chopped basil
Parmesan (don't you dare use the pre-grated stuff)

First things first, remove the skin from your sausages, chop your racks into individual ribs and brown all of the meat in batches in a little olive oil. By the time you've finished the bottom of the pan should be dark and charred by the meat, keep the heat on and add a glass of wine to deglaze it.

Now add the onion, celery, carrot, and basil stalks. I choose to grate the carrots because it's quicker than chopping and they literally dissolve into the sauce leaving an earthy undertone. Once these have taken on a bit of a sheen add the tomato puree and a dash of water.

After a few minutes add all of the meat, season well and pour in two large glasses of wine. Burn off the alcohol and then pour in the passata and chopped toms. Stir well, put the lid on, lower the heat and get ready to sit back for 3-4 hours.

You'll need to stir the sauce occasionally but you'll know when it's ready as the pork will be falling off the bones, the sausages will have disintegrated and the beef will be so tender having been poached in the sauce that you'll be able to pull it apart with a fork.

To complete the sauce scatter in the chopped basil and sprinkle very generously with parmesan. Ladle over polenta or pasta, pappardelle are particularly well suited.

I could literally eat this every day...

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