Traditional Italian Ragu Recipe

pasta con ragu
'Pasta con ragu' - serving suggestion.

Italian Ragu Recipe

This ragu is great for pasta and lasagne. It's filling and absolutely delicious!

Prep time: 10-15 minutes                                       Cook time: 1 hour – 6 hours              

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil 
  • 1 brown/white/yellow onion (you choose)
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 piece of celery (approx size of the carrot)
  • 400 g beef mince
  • 1/3 cup of milk
  • 1 cup of beef stock (can add more if a little dry)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • salt (to taste)

Instructions:

  1. Prepare your vegetables. If you are short on time, it is a good idea to blitz the vegetables in a food processor (onion separately from carrot and celery). If you prefer; cut onion, carrot and celery in small pieces. Set aside.
  2. Heat up a medium sauce pan with the olive oil on medium heat.
  3. When hot, sauté the onion until soft. Once the onion is ready, add the carrot and celery. Cook until softened, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Add the beef mince and cook until the moisture has mostly evaporated and the beef is browned.
  5. Add the milk and stir. This is in place of the red wine. If you prefer, you can replace the milk with red wine and it will be just as delicious. Although, I prefer the creamy, mild taste that the milk provides. 
  6. Add the stock and the tomato paste and mix. Add salt, and if you would like, a little bit of black pepper. 
  7. Turn the heat down to very low and let simmer, covered, for at least one hour. To ensure it is not too wet, 20 minutes before using, remove the lid so that some of the moisture evaporates until it reaches the desired consistency. 
  8. Serve with pasta (NOT SPAGHETTI!!!) or craft some lasagne and enjoy!! Buon appetito.

Notes: 

  • I often use a stock cube/stock pot for this. It adds quite a bit of salt and flavour. However, if you would like to have a more authentic ragù then it is recommend that you use higher quality stock.
  • Don’t stress if you don’t have a carrot or celery handy – as long as you have an onion, it will turn out perfectly fine!
  • My mother recommended using milk to soften the meat. More traditionally, red wine would be used in ragù. I prefer the creaminess and taste of milk, however, it is a personal preference.
  • Don’t serve this with spaghetti! Spaghetti is thin and slippery, which does not make it a good vessel for carrying the sauce. Try penne, pappardelle, fetuccine, etc instead as they will carry the sauce significantly better AND be more authentic!
  • Although my mother will simmer her ragù all day, I often only cook it for approximately an hour and still achieve great results. Do what you can with the time you have available to you!