Recipe for Ragu Bolognese Sauce

I’ve been told that if you want to make your way to an Italian man’s heart it is essential to be able to make a good ragu.

It is a wonderfully versatile sauce - the classic bolognese sauce for Tagliatelle alla Bolognese, indispensable for lasagne, and also delicious with polenta and gnocchi. I have been making Marcella Hazan’s version for many years from her Classic Italian Cookbook.

It is the most delicious and concentrated one I know. Marcella says it should be cooked for at least 3½ hours at the merest simmer and that 5 hours would be better, but I find you get a very good result with even 1½ hours cooking on a diffuser mat. Ragu can be made ahead and freezes very well.