Ragu
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.
SERVES
6
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
90
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
20
MINUTES
Ingredients
45g butter
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp celery, finely chopped
2 tbsp carrot, finely chopped
350g minced lean beef, preferably chuck or neck
salt
300ml dry white wine
110ml milk
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 x 400g tin Italian tomatoes, roughly chopped with their own juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
small casserole
Method
In Italy they sometimes use an earthenware pot for making ragu, but I find that a heavy enamelled cast-iron casserole with high sides works very well.
Heat the butter with the oil and sauté the onion briefly over medium heat until just translucent. Add the celery and carrot and cook gently for 2 minutes. Next, add the minced beef, crumbling it in the pot with a fork. Add salt to taste, stir, and cook only until the meat has lost its raw red colour (Marcella says that if it browns it will lose its delicacy.)
Add the wine, turn the heat up to medium high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the wine has evaporated. Turn the heat down to medium, add in the milk and the freshly grated nutmeg, and cook until the milk has evaporated, stirring every now and then. Next add the chopped tomatoes and stir well. When the tomatoes have started to bubble, turn the heat down to the very lowest so that the sauce cooks at the gentlest simmer - just an occasional bubble. I use a heat diffuser mat for this.
Cook uncovered for a minimum of 1 1/2 hours (better still 2 or even 3), depending on how concentrated you like it, stirring occasionally. If it reduces too much add a little water and continue to cook. When it is finally cooked, taste and correct seasoning. Because of the length of time involved in cooking this, I feel it would be worthwhile to make at least twice the recipe.
Serve with tagliatelle, preferably homemade and lots of freshly grated Parmesan.
