Ragù alla Napoletana
For me, anything that has been slow cooked is just irresistible and incredibly tender meat in a rich tomato sauce, poured over fresh homemade tagliatelle and covered in a blanket of grated parmigiano regeggiano is about as good as it gets. Italian food is at its best when it is kept simple, with top quality ingredients and wonderful flavour combinations.
A chef once said, "French cuisine champions the chef, whereas Italian cuisine champions the food," and this recipe does exactly that. So get a group of family and friends together, make this, put it in the centre of the table and dig in. I promise it will be a great night!
Ragù alla Napoletana
Serves 8-10
100ml
olive oil
4
celery stalks, very finely diced
1
large onion, finely chopped
2
large carrots, very finely diced
3
garlic cloves, finely chopped
2.25kg/5lb
mixed meat such as pork, beef, lamb, rabbit or wild boar, chopped into chunks
200ml
good quality red wine
1
tbsp juniper berries
1
tsp whole black peppercorns
4
sage leaves
1
tbsp fresh rosemary needles
2
bay leaves
1.5kg
chopped tomatoes, or chunky passata
2
tbsp tomato purée
salt
and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the vegetables and garlic for 6-7 minutes, or until softened. Turn the heat up to high and add the pieces of meat and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Pour in the wine, bring to the boil, then lower the heat until the mixture is simmering. Add the juniper berries, peppercorns, sage, rosemary, bay and chopped tomatoes and cook for 5-6 minutes, then add the tomato purée. Continue to cook, uncovered, for a further hour, or until the meat is tender. Season, to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Meanwhile make the pasta using the recipe above.
Serve the pasta in shallow bowls to collect all the sauce, spoon over the ragù and generously grate over the parmesan.
TIP: I chose to serve my ragù with tagliatelle but it also work fabulously with polenta.
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