Name: Rag’ alla toscana (Tuscan ragù)
Yield: Makes over 1 litre (4 cups)
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons tomato paste (purée); 750 ml (3 cups) red wine; 100 g (3½ oz) tomato passata; 2 Italian sausages, about 80 g (3 oz each), skinned and crumbled; 10 g (¼ oz) dried mushrooms; 5 tablespoons olive oil; a small bunch of parsley, leaves chopped; 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped; 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped; 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped; 1 stalk of celery, trimmed and finely chopped; 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) minced (ground) beef

Preparation info

Makes over
1 litre

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Twelve

By Tessa Kiros

Published 2003

About

This is a rich, delicious, full-flavoured sauce used for lasagne, and to spoon over pasta and gnocchi. The amount will be enough for about 10 portions.

Ingredients

10 g (¼ oz) dried mushrooms
5 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Soak the mushrooms in a cup of warm water for about 10 minutes to reconstitute them. Squeeze out the water and finely chop the mushrooms. Strain the water to use in the ragù.

Heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, parsley, carrot and celery. Sauté for about 10 minutes, mixing with a wooden spoon until softened and lightly golden.

Add the meat and the sausa