Bolognese, chilli, curry sauce…these food heroes just keep on giving, and when you heat them up the next day, they somehow taste even better than the night before! (I’m talking homemade guys, no takeaways here!) These recipes are perfect for planning ahead, for when you don’t have time to cook, and for preparing lunches too!
The tantalising smell of garlic wafting from the kitchen always reminds me of walking out to have dinner on holiday, and this recipe combines that comforting smell with a rich sauce, full of character and flavour. Bolognese has long been a favourite dinner of mine, so it’s a childhood memory too, and this ragú takes it to the next level – it’s my absolute top choice in pasta sauces!
We have Pasta Friday every week in my house (yep, really!) and this is definitely the one I look forward to most. So much so, that this week, I’ll be having it for lunch Tuesday-Friday, with fragrant lemon & basil long grain and wild rice.
I’ll warn you now: the ingredients list is long, and it’s a lot of chopping and waiting – but so worth it, I promise!
Do you have a favourite pasta dish? I’d love to read about it in the comments below! #pastafridays
Beef & Sausage Ragú
Serves 4, cooking time 1 hour & 15 minutes
Ingredients
500g 5% fat beef mince (or the leanest available)
2 sausages (try to get ones with a high meat content, over 70%)
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp pesto
1 glass red wine
handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped
Method
- Remove the sausages from their skins, and with the mince, add to a pan over a medium heat.
- Fry for 5-10 minutes until the meat is browned, stirring to break it up into smaller pieces.
- Crush in the garlic, and add the onion, celery, carrot and red wine. Stir in and allow to simmer for a further 5 minutes.
- Add all remaining ingredients and mix in well, season with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to the boil.
- Turn down the heat and simmer for 1 hour, checking occasionally to ensure the sauce isn’t drying out. If it does get dry, add a little water to loosen it up again.
- Remove the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking, to allow the sauce to thicken.
Note – if it’s already think enough, or drying out, add water as needed and leave the lid on. - Serve with pasta or rice, and fresh basil & parmesan to garnish.
- Enjoy!
