Zia Mia's ragù (2)

Better walk out with you, I said to my colleagues, so I can finish cooking my 45-minute pasta sauce before I head out again. "Forty-five!", exclaimed one of them in horror. "My sauce is done in 5 minutes." "But the tomatoes need..." "But the Italians..." They didn't let me finish. I didn't tell them I cook this sauce even longer. Morale: extra muros, Bolognese, ragù or whatchamacallit becomes a pale shadow of its true self.

Here's part two of our little series of the month: ragù sauces, meatier than one would ever dream Bolognese. Here is my aunt's original ragù recipe. I like it even better than the tomato version.

2 thick slices of bacon (I used pancetta)
3 carrots, cut in strips
1 rib of celery
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
nutmeg
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
350 ground meat (mixture of beef and pork; I used 500 g tenderized steak which I minced myself)
1 can of tomato concentrate (1 big tablespoon)
1/2 glass red wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (or water)

Fry the carrots, pancetta, celery in olive oil for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile fry the meat, then add it to the vegetable-pancetta mixture.

Add bay leaves, garlic, tomato concentrate, red wine, stock, and some nutmeg, and let simmer for one hour.

Note: I did not even add salt or pepper. This gives really great concentration. Make sure you have your tastebuds up and functioning when tasting this sauce.

Zia Mia's ragù (1)

Another week under a blanket of light snow. Yesterday was so cold that I was thinking of preparing pasta al ragù. No diluted tomato or vegetable sauce, but a very concentrated affair of meat. A dish mirroring my present state of mind: no thin indifferent measures, but solid passionate strength.

I have posted one recipe before here: from someone who used to prepare this for me. Before she became a foodblogger, Oleandri commented with two alternative recipes of ragù by one of my aunts, recipes which she happened to know about. I give full prominence to these versions here.

Zia Mia's ragù (1)

olive oil
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
2-3 peperoncini (optional; I used 2)
2 bay leaf
nutmeg
1-2 carrots
1 green celery stalk
pancetta or bacon (I used 2 slices of pancetta)
150 g minced meat, half pork, half beef
My own addition: 300 g steak meat, freshly ground at home
1 big can of tomatoes
vegetable stock
2 cm (2/3 inch) of water
salt, pepper

Fry pancetta, celery, onion, peperoncini, and carrots with bay leaves in olive oil for a few minutes.

Add the rest of the meat, and fry over medium heat until dry, until the liquid has evaporated.

Add the can of tomatoes, stock, water, and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let simmer at least 30 minutes. One and a half hour gives a perfect concentrated result.

Notes:
Because you add peperoncini early on, this is spicy.
I used 1 cup of white wine instead of stock.
Be careful with salt - this was salty to me, perhaps on account of the pancetta. Add salt only at the very end.

Serve with intensity.