RAGU TRADITIONAL RECIPES

Steps:

• To make the pasta, in a food processor, combine the flour, eggs and salt, then tip onto a work surface and bring together in a ball of dough, cover in cling film and rest for 20-30 minutes.
• Ideally with a pasta machine or a rolling pin, roll out the pasta into a couple of thin sheets (about 2mm thick). Run through a pasta machine to make tagliatelle, or using a knife or pizza cutter, cut into 5mm wide ribbons. Separate the strands and leave to dry on the back of a chair or spread out on a tray.
• Break up the sausage meat into a large lidded pan with a little olive oil, depending on how fatty the sausage meat is, as it may render quite a bit of fat. Cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes stirring from time to time. Add the onion, celery, fennel seeds, rosemary, chilli and garlic then cook for a further 15 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook until reduced in volume by half, then add the cream and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper then put a lid on the pan and simmer gently for half an hour.
• When ready to serve, cook the tagliatelle in plenty of salted water for about 4 minutes until al dente, drain and add to the ragù pan and mix in. Serve in warmed bowls with freshly grated Parmesan.

Steps:

• Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
• Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
• Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating -- about 1/8 teaspoon -- of nutmeg, and stir.
• Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.
• Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.