Rag’ alla toscana

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

Tuscan ragù

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

Europe
Italy
Sauce
Tuscany
Mediterranean

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