Ragu is one of those things that I'm terribly fond of, but am too lazy to make very often as a really good ragu takes hours on the stove (or in the oven). So, when I do make it, I do it in bulk. I'm not sure where I picked up my current recipe, but its certainly the best ragu I've ever tasted. Whoever came up with it, thank-you!! While it is low-fat, it has real intensity of flavour and no matter how many times I've made it, it succeeds in surprising and delighting me each time.
You'll need a large flame-proof casserole dish. I use a Le Creuset Cocotte (24cm diameter, not sure of depth but its deep) which just manages to hold all the mixture safely. Happily, being cast iron I can use it both on the stove and the oven which eliminates all the nasty decanting I used to have to do.
The recipe (below) is pretty straightforward. The oven does pretty much all the work, which almost makes it the perfect recipe. Oh, to roast the aubergine (eggplant) you just need to preheat the oven to 180C, prick the aubergine all over with a skewer and then roast (directly on the oven shelf) for 35-40 minutes until shrivelled and soft when poked. Once its cool enough to handle, just peel off the skin and chop roughly. It breaks down very quickly into a rough puree. While the aubergine roasts, you can get everything else chopped and ready, so its actually quite quick to get the dish into the oven!
Ragu Bolognese (serves 10 generously, author unknown)
WW UK points = 3
500g lean minced beef
454g lean minced pork
3.5 points worth of bacon, very finely chopped (or, 100g smoked bacon if you're not dieting)
1 tbsp oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 fat cloves garlic, crushed
1 large courgette, grated
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
2 tins plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 x 200g tubes tomato puree
pulp of 1 roasted aubergine (eggplant)
400ml red wine
2 x 15g packs basil
1/2 nutmeg, grated (I use a fine microplane grater for this)
Preheat oven to Gas 2/150C. Brown both meats by dry-frying in small batches in a non-stick frying pan. Transfer to a casserole. Brown the finely chopped bacon in the same way, and transfer to the casserole. Heat the oil in the frying pan, add the onions and cook over a low heat until softened. Add the garlic and grated courgette and carrot, and cook for a further 2-3 mins. Tip into the casserole and move this over the heat. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, roasted aubergine pulp, red wine and half the basil, the grated nutmeg and plenty of seasoning. Bring to a simmer, then transfer to the oven to cook for 3-4 hours, without a lid, until nicely reduced. Stir in the remaining basil. Divide between containers, and freeze when absolutely cold.
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