Ju’s Ragù
Ju’s Ragù
Although the title for this recipe is catchy, all credit goes to my old flatmate Nick Fava (aka Tio/Uncle Custard) who first cooked this dish for me, then was kind enough to share the recipe. It’s a bit different from a traditional ragù alla bolognese from the Emilia-Romagna region which is typically made with a mixture of beef and veal mince. But I love the mixture of pork and fennel. The only addition I made to the original recipe was adding a pinch of chilli flakes.
Again feel free to make your own pasta or buy dried pappardelle. You can also buy Italian sausages already flavoured with fennel instead of adding the fennel seeds yourself. To make the pappardelle I roll out the pasta and flour it thoroughly, then I fold it over on itself a few times and cut it with a knife at the desired width (about 3cm).
This dish is excellent on the day it’s made but even better if you make the ragù the day before. It’s an absolute crowd pleaser so invite your friends around and tuck in!
Ingredients
Serves 6
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
4 celery sticks
4 carrots
3 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
1kg free range pork sausages
2 tsp fennel seeds
Pinch chilli flakes
2 tins plum tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato puree
400ml red wine
Handful finely chopped fresh rosemary or thyme
100ml cream
1 cup parmesan
600g pappardelle pasta
Method
Use a food processor to dice the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Place in a large pot with the oil and butter and sauté on a medium-high heat for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, grind the fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and fry briefly in a pan until you can smell the aromas.
Remove the sausage meat from its skin and mix with the ground fennel and chilli flakes.
Place the sausage meat in the pot with the vegetables and brown for about 10 minutes.
Add the fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper.
Add the red wine and reduce 80% of the liquid on a low-medium heat, for around 20 minutes.
Add the tomato puree and tinned tomatoes and stir through.
Cover the pot and place in an oven at 180°C for 1.5 hours (if you don’t have an oven-proof pot then transfer to an oven dish and cover with tinfoil).
Remove the lid/tinfoil and place back in the oven for 30 minutes uncovered.
If you’re making your own pappardelle, get started on the dough while the ragù is in the oven. For this recipe, I use 400g flour and 4 eggs (plus an extra egg yolk).
Remove the ragù from the oven and place on a low heat for about 5 minutes, adding the cream and half of the parmesan. If you’re making the ragù ahead of time, do this step just before serving.
Cook the pappardelle in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and stir the ragù through, being careful not break up the pappardelle.
Serve in large bowls topped with the remaining parmesan.
