This authentic Italian ragu recipe is the base for many wonderful dishes and is a real treat with pasta and a good bottle of wine.
Ingredients
- 25g dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 200g pancetta, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
- 1kg beef chuck steak, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp tomato purée
- Good pinch of dried chilli flakes
- 150ml red wine
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 300ml fresh beef stock, hot
Method
- 1. Soak the porcini mushrooms in 200ml boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Chop and set aside.
- 2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a casserole over a medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, pancetta, garlic and rosemary and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to high and brown the steak for 5 minutes. Stir in the purée and chilli and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine, mushroom liquid, tomatoes, stock and porcini. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer over a very low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 307kcals, 15.3g fat (4.6g saturated), 34.5g protein, 7.9g carbs, 5.5g sugar, 1.3g salt