Almost nothing makes me happier than seeing a plate of pasta covered in a beautiful layer of Ragu sitting in front of me at the dinner table! Ragu was one of the first Italian recipes that I prepared during my initial visit to Italy. Luca taught me how to make it on our 2nd date, which definitely earned some points.
I remember being surprised at how much better ragu was than any other plate of “spaghetti” I’d eaten back home. It looked pretty similar but the taste was a whole new level of yum. And I love my mom’s American style spaghetti, so that’s really saying something.
Ragu is just so flavorful in all the right ways. It’s never too watered down or over seasoned. It’s just so good!
What is it?
Ragu is, generally, any meat and tomato sauce that is cooked at a low temperature over a considerable period of time.
When Luca makes ragu, he likes to keep things simple and only uses 5 ingredients (not counting olive oil and a bit of salt).
But when it comes to ragu recipes, Luca’s is certainly not the only one. First off, we have the most iconic and classic, ragu alla Bolognese, from Bologna, served over tagliatelle pasta and meant to be eaten either alongside or on top of some bread. The Ragu alla Bolognese recipe calls for, in addition to the ingredients Luca uses, pancetta, red wine, and sometimes a splash of milk.
Then there is also ragu alla Napoletana, from Napoli, which is made with more of a stewed meat instead of ground beef. And there are even some ragu recipes made with fish. But this time let’s do it Luca’s way!
Today, he’s going to show you a very simple, easy to make, and oh so delicious ragu recipe, that anyone can make and bring a little taste of Italy into your own kitchen.
Ingredients list and some beautiful doodles by yours truly *The most important thing you need for preparing any type of ragu is time.
Ragu needs at least 2 hours of simmer time on the stove for the flavor and consistency to be right. So make sure you give yourself enough time.
First step
The very first step is to grab a cutting board and a sharp knife and mince the carrots, onion, and celery until they are nice and uniform in size.
Then add the minced vegetables to a large pot, with the bottom covered in a healthy layer of olive oil. Simmer on medium for around 10 to 15 minutes or until the vegetables have a bit turned golden.
Add the meat
Next, add around 1 lb of ground beef to the pot and brown it together with the vegetables. Add a pinch or two of salt, but don’t overdo it.
Add tomato sauce
Once the meat is browned, add in the tomato sauce. Don’t even think about using any sauce that’s already flavored with basil or garlic or mushroom. If you want to stay authentic, remember to keep the ingredients simple. Plain tomato sauce is what you want.
Let it simmer
Now that all the ingredients have been added to the pot, mix them a bit, and then simply let the sauce sit over low heat for at least 2 hours. The longer the simmer time, the better it will be!
Buon Appetito!
When you decide the sauce is tasty enough for your liking, you’re ready to add it to any plate of pasta your heart desires. Spaghetti is Luca’s favorite pasta, so that’s how we usually prepare it, but also tagliatelle, fettuccine, penne, farfalle (bowtie), fusilli, or rigatoni would all work just fine!
And any leftover sauce on your plate MUST be mopped up with some bread for maximum enjoyment. No exceptions 🙂
Tips for cooking the pasta
Want a few tips on how to prepare your pasta? Luca has some advice for you:
1. Always add a good amount of coarse sea salt to the pasta water a few minutes before you put the pasta in. And since you’ve salted your pasta water, you don’t need to add too much, if any, salt to whichever sauce you’re using. 2. Over-cooked soggy pasta is the worst thing in the world. That’s a fact. Check your pasta often and remove it from the water as soon as it’s ready. 3. Be sure to add your sauce to the pasta within a minute of straining the water, to ensure that the pasta doesn’t get sticky.
As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you can give this recipe a try! I think you’ll really enjoy it.
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