Ragu Bolognese

A labour of love in the kitchen today as now that I've emptied my freezer I'm filling it up again with 'ready meals' for the family to eat when I'm working away from home. This is worth the effort and the long slow cook really delivers on flavour. Adapted from a Delia Smith recipe and I hope my Italian friends approve. 

Ingredients

450g lean minced beef

450g minced pork

6 tbsp olive oil

225g chicken livers, washed trimmed and chopped

2 medium onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

140g pancetta or streaky bacon, chopped

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

2 x 200g  tubes double concentrate tomato purée

Half bottle red wine

1 tbsp L&P or mushroom ketchup

30g fresh basil (1 pack) 

½ whole nutmeg, grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Method

Preheat the oven to 140C. Using a large frying pan, heat 3 tbsp of the oil and gently fry the onion and garlic over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, moving it around from time to time. While the onion is softening, chop the pancetta. After 10 minutes, add this to the pan to join the onions and garlic and continue cooking them all for another 5 minutes. Next transfer this mixture to the casserole. Add another tbsp of oil to the pan, turn the heat up to its highest then add the minced beef and brown it, breaking it up and moving it round in the pan. When the beef is browned tip it into the casserole. Heat another tbsp of the oil and do exactly the same with the minced pork. When the pork is browned, transfer it to the casserole, then heat the remaining tbsp of oil and brown the pieces of chicken liver. Add these to the casserole. Place the casserole over the direct heat, give everything a good stir, then add the tomatoes, tomato purée, red wine and a really good seasoning of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Allow this to come up the simmer. Then take half the basil and chop finely and add to the pot. Once it is simmering, place the casserole on the centre shelf of the oven and leave it to cook slowly, without a lid, for 4 hours. It's a good idea to have a look after 3 hours to make sure all is well, but what you should end up with is a thick, concentrated sauce with only a trace of liquid left in it, then remove it from the oven, taste to check the seasoning, sand add the remaining basil and stir in.

Once cooled, divide it into freezer bags. Seal, leaving a little bit of air at the top to allow room for expansion. Each 225g pack, thoroughly defrosted and re-heated, will provide enough ragù for 225g of pasta, which will serve 2 people.  It’s worth it!