Slow-Cooked Ragu
This is as basic as it gets, but the key to it is really browning off the meat first, and cooking it for a really loong time - if you can get to the 4-5 hour mark, you’ve done it right. At this point the meat has fully broken down, and the tomatoes lose all acidity and become sweet and velvety. Get this right, and it will be amazing.
Slow-Cooked Ragu
INGREDIENTS
1kg of slow-cooking meat (any two cuts; lamb shanks, lamb ribs, beef ribs, chuck, osso bucco, ox tail)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tin tomatoes (400g)
1 bottle passata (750ml)
500ml water
Sea salt and black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Heat a large heavy based pot over a high heat. Rub a small amount of olive oil over the meat, and season well with salt and pepper, then brown them in the pot in batches, until they have a nice golden crust. Set them aside.
Turn the heat down to low, then add the onion and sauté for 10 minutes or until they have softened and caramelised. Add a dash of water and scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any bits of meat, then add the garlic and cook for a further two minutes. Add the tin of tomatoes and passata, stir well, then pour in the water (I like to swirl the water in the tin and passata bottle to get all the tomato goodness out). Place the meat back into the pot, add a couple of pinches of sea salt, stir, and then place the lid on top. Reduce the temperature to low and let it cook for 3 hours (the longer the better). Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes on low. The sauce shouldn't be really thick, but have a nice silky texture.
When the sauce has cooled slightly, remove the meat. Discard the bones and shred the meat. Place the meat back into the pot and stir. Serve with pasta or gnocchi.
Serves 6-8.
