This Ragu forms the basis of many tasty recipes and is also a good way of getting your family to eat healthily as there are many vegetables hidden in the sauce. It will freeze for up to 3 months if you place it in sealed plastic bags. You can either defrost it in the microwave, in a bowl of room temperature water or overnight in the fridge.

Using this ragu, you can go on to make 3 other recipes available on this site – Spaghetti Bolognese, Beef and Spinach Cannelloni and Chilli Con Carne – so explore the options and enjoy!

Ingredients (cook once – makes 3 dishes)

Olive oil
1.5 kg of lean minced beef
300g of pancetta (or smoked bacon)
3 onions (chopped)
4 garlic cloves (chopped)
3 large carrots (chopped)
3 sticks of celery (chopped)
3 tbsp of plain flour (remove)
600g of chopped tomatoes
400g of passata
350ml of beef stock
150ml of red wine
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp of dark brown sugar

Tip: Due to the large amount of vegetables that need chopping, it will be easier to use a food processor. Cut your vegetables into quarters and then pulse a couple of times until completely chopped. Even smaller ingredients such as garlic cloves can be chopped this way.

Method
• In a large pan or casserole dish, heat the oil and gently fry the onions, pancetta, carrot, celery and garlic for approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the mince and cook for another 5 minutes until browned.You may need to do this in two pans and then add everything into a larger one when it is ready.
• Mix in the passata, tomatoes, beef stock and the brown sugar and then season to taste.
• Cover and then let it simmer on a low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• If you are using a slow cooker transfer all the ingredients in to the pot and turn it to an auto setting. Cook for a minimum of 6 hours.
• Separate into three batches to make three meals and freeze or chill depending on when you are going to use it.

Posted in Feed the Family, Get Cooking by admin, james, leanne, stuart.