Ragù Napoletano
- Sauce
- Medium
- 6
- 8 hours
PT8H
Ragù Napoletano is one of the great dishes of Campania, and perhaps encapsulates the spirit of Italian cooking better than any other. It takes time and love to prepare, with various cuts of meat carefully prepared in different ways before cooking in a rich tomato sauce for many, many hours, kept at the perfect, barely bubbling temperature. While we might associate meat ragùs with pasta alone, this ragù is designed to provide a multi-course meal in itself, with the sauce used to dressed pasta for primo, and the meat saved for slicing and serving as your secondo.
Ingredients
- 100g of prosciutto crudo, choose fine slices with plenty of fat
- 50g of pancetta, in fine slices
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 1.5kg beef chuck
- 50g of pine nuts , finely chopped
- 50g of raisins, finely chopped
- 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 100g of young Pecorino cheese , diced
- 1kg blade steaks, flattened
- 100g of lard
- 200ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 50g of lardo , minced
- 600g of yellow onions, peeled and finely diced
- 400g of pork ribs , choose nice meaty ribs
- 300ml of dry red wine
- 250g of tomato concentrate
- 1.5l passata
- sea salt
- black pepper
Equipment
- Butcher's string
Method
1
Begin by preparing your meat. Wrap the beef chuck with the pancetta and prosciutto slices, top with the sprigs of thyme and tie tightly with butcher's string
- 100g of prosciutto crudo, thinly sliced
- 50g of pancetta, thinly sliced
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 1.5kg chuck steak
2
In a small bowl, combine the pine nuts, raisins, garlic, parsley and cheese. Lay the flattened blade steaks out on a work surface, season them with salt and pepper, then scatter the pine nut mixture over the surface, making sure to leave a small uncovered border at the edges. Roll the steaks up and tie them tightly with twine
- 1kg beef blade , flattened
- 50g of pine nuts , finely chopped
- 50g of raisins, finely chopped
- 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 100g of young Pecorino cheese , diced
3
Heat a large saucepan over a low flame. Add the oil and lard and allow to heat up and melt. Add the minced lardo, then the onion. Fry gently until the onion is soft and translucent, approximately 15 minutes. Next add both the chuck and the rolled steaks. Allow them to brown over a low flame, turning regularly so that they colour evenly. Make sure to scrape up any bits that stick to the base of the pan
- 600g of onion, peeled and finely diced
- 100g of lard
- 200ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 50g of lardo , minced
4
After about 45 minutes, add the pork ribs and carry on cooking the meat until dark brown on all sides and the onions are very caramelised, approximately 1 hour. Make sure to turn the meat and stir the onions often during this stage
- 400g of pork ribs
5
At this point add the wine. Increase the heat so the wine completely evaporates, stirring often. Next add the tomato concentrate and stir well so it combines with the sauce. Remove the pork ribs and set aside on a plate. Pour in the passata and reduce the heat to very low. Season to taste
- 300ml of red wine
- 1.5l passata
- 250g of tomato concentrate
6
Cook the ragù over a low heat for about 1 hour, then partially cover with a lid, allowing a small gap, cook for a further 3 hours. Check the sauce often, stirring to make sure the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom and burn
7
After this, remove the remaining meat from the pot. Allow the sauce to continue to reduce for 1 more hour, until it becomes dense and shiny, with a deep red oil on the surface. Season to taste. Place all the meat back into the pot and bring back up to temperature. Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to rest for about 30 minutes
8
To serve, combine the sauce with 600g of cooked pasta, dusting with a handful of grated pecorino. The meat and a little of the sauce can be reserved for the main course
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Ragù Napoletano
