ALL PURPOSE RAGU

A ragù is a rich, savoury meat based sauce, usually slow simmered with tomatoes, wine, stock and aromatic vegetables, that breaks down into tender morsels and a deeply flavoured, velvety sauce. While it’s classic over pasta (think tagliatelle, pappardelle or rigatoni) it’s also brilliant spooned over creamy polenta or mashed potatoes, tucked into lasagne or baked pasta dishes, used as a filling for savoury pies, croquettes or arancini, layered in sandwiches and toasties, stirred through risotto for extra depth, served alongside grilled or braised vegetables, or even thinned for a hearty soup base.

My version is really no fuss, using pork sausages to keep the price really cheap and get more out of less. It’s hands on at the start and then it just does its thing bubbling away, so you can get on with your life, and then once its reduced, package half away and freeze for when you have nothing left in the house, as the ragu is some cooked pasta away from being a nourishing no fuss meal that your future self will thank you for.

ALL PURPOSE RAGU

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ALL PURPOSE RAGU 〰️

Time: 2 hours

Serves: 6

1 brown onion, finely diced

1 celery stalk, finely diced

500gm lamb mince

550gm pork sausages

1 cup white wine

1 tbl sp oregano

1 tbl gr cumin

1/2 tbl sp gr cinnamon

1/2 tbl sp chilli flakes

700ml passata

4 bay leaves

Salt, to taste

Cracked black pepper

Olive oil

To serve: cooked pasta

Pop large pot onto medium high heat and cover with a fair glug of olive oil. Add in the onion and celery and sweat and sizzle down for 10 minutes, adding cold water in dashes if needed as not to colour.

Remove lining of pork sausages and bring into mince size pieces. Add sausage meat to pot and stir through and colour for a couple minutes, before adding into lamb mince. Break down lamb mince with wooden spoon and mix through, leaving to colour for a couple minutes.

Stir through the oregano, cumin, cinnamon and chilli flakes, before adding a few cracks of black pepper and a few pinch of salt. Add white wine and mix before reducing for 2 more minutes. Add passata and 300ml water (use passata jar) and mix through.

To finish add the bay leaves and stir before bringing to high simmer. Lower heat and simmer  gently for 80 minutes.