Rapid Ragu
A proper-tasting meat ragu in half an hour: hard-browned mince, tomato paste, red wine and a short confident simmer. Weeknight pasta, solved.
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total
- 35 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- easy
A true ragu simmers for three hours. This one, in the spirit of Nigella Lawson’s famous shortcut, gets eighty percent of the way there in twenty-five minutes by cheating intelligently: brown the meat hard, double the tomato paste, and let wine and Worcestershire fake the depth that time usually provides.
It is the sauce to have in your hands when it is Wednesday, everyone is hungry, and the long version is a weekend fantasy.
This dish is one of our top 10 recipes that made Nigella Lawson famous.
method
Soften the onion in the oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the garlic for a minute.
Turn the heat up, add the mince and brown it hard, breaking it up and letting it catch on the pan. The browning is the flavor; do not rush it.
Stir in the tomato paste and oregano and cook for a minute, then pour in the wine and let it bubble away by half.
Add the tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce, season, and simmer for 15 minutes until thick.
Toss with just-cooked pasta and a ladle of pasta water, and serve with parmesan.
chef's tips
- Brown the meat in a wide pan and leave it alone between stirs; gray mince makes gray ragu.
- It is even better the next day and freezes perfectly, so doubling costs you nothing.
- Lamb mince makes it richer, beef more classic. Both are right.