I’ve got my oldest girls coming for a three course meal on me and I’ve just realised I’ve made this for them before! So I’ll go back to the drawing board. But, for now, I must talk about this heady, savoury dish which has a rich, meaty punch. Please excuse the previous sentence- I sound like a right knob. This ragu has loads of happy memories. Well apart from the time I sliced the corner of my finger off with a mandolin- it grew back though and as long as you deglaze the pan with a chunk of finger you’re grand. 

My ex roommate Jennie put me onto this recipe. She said she made a ragu without garlic and I nearly passed out. However, she made it for a date and I hovered way too long each time I went past the stove for a test bite. This recipe is courtesy of the ‘Simply Italian’ girls and it really is simple. I have made it on loads of occasions for various people and it’s just so simple and great for entertaining. I made it for himself’s brother, who then made it for his cousin and he now makes it too. And so on.

With my boyfriend being a man of few words and my best friend having far too many (especially horrendous anecdotes about me) it was vital the first few times they met to keep them distracted and well fed. Having no social skills, we sat side by side like we were having some kind of eating competition and it was nice to be sat between my two favourites. Now the three of us can happily have way too much wine and scream at each other about topics such as the preservation of the Welsh language and wake up realising that we really don’t actually care. 
I also made it for a friend who was trying to conceive and the following morning she found out she was pregnant! Just saying like.

Ragu

• 1 kilo beef mince
• 200g pancetta 
• 1 large carrot
• 2 sticks celery
• 1 large red onion
• 1 large glass of wine
• 500ml beef stock
• 140g tomato purée
• 3 bay leaves.

1. Deglaze a heavy bottom pan with pancetta.

2. Chop your veg and don’t cut your finger off. Sweat the veg in the pan for ten minutes until tender.

3. Brown your meat in batches. Then add the red wine and burn off the alcohol. Stir in the purée then add the stock and bay leaves. 

4. Cook for three hours on the lowest hob heat. You will see it change completely from a brown, tough mess to an intense red sauce.

5. Lastly, serve with a thick pasta, lots of Parmesan and fresh basil. The basil cuts through the beefiness and adds another layer of flavour.