Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
I've always cooked pretty decent Italian food, but when I was really unwell last month and stuck in bed feeling sorry for myself, I started watching "Pasta Grannies" videos after one or two popped up on my Book of Faces feed. If anyone loves Italian food, then I really recommend watching them. And I've been inspired to cook a few things already. This one is a slight tweak on a couple of vids that I've watched, but so, so good... N.B. I did mine in the crock pot and used dried pasta. Serves 6.
Ingredients
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large stick of celery, finely chopped
1 carrot (small), finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
75g guanciale*, cut into small cubes
250g pork mince
1 chicken stock cube
freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
a few small sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
a dozen or so fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (you can use a heaped teaspoon of dried)
1 tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable oil)
Method
Tip the tomatoes into the crock pot. Crumble in the stock cube, add the tomato paste, pepper and the herbs. Heat up a frying pan and add the olive oil. Add your bacon and fry till the fat starts rendering out. Add the pork mince, and brown. When the meat is brown, add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cook until the onions start to soften. Tip the contents into the crock pot and cook on low for about 6 hours. You can do this on the hob if you wish, which will take a couple of hours at a low simmer. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
To Serve
350g dried pasta of choice, cooked al dente
75g finely grated mature cheese e.g. parmesan, grana padano, pecorino or even cheddar
1/2 ball of mozzarella to top.
Put one third the ragu into the bottom of an oven-proof dish, add about half the pasta and half the cheese, then repeat. Top with the remaining ragu. Give everything a bit of a stir to mix things around. Bake in a preheated oven 180C fan for 20 mins. About 5 mins from the end, tear the mozzarella into pieces and dot over the top. You can use more or less if you so wish. Serve hot, once the cheese has melted.
* If you cannot get guanciale, then use streaky bacon, pancetta or Polish smoked boczek. I prefer the latter.
Ingredients
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large stick of celery, finely chopped
1 carrot (small), finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
75g guanciale*, cut into small cubes
250g pork mince
1 chicken stock cube
freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
a few small sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
a dozen or so fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (you can use a heaped teaspoon of dried)
1 tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable oil)
Method
Tip the tomatoes into the crock pot. Crumble in the stock cube, add the tomato paste, pepper and the herbs. Heat up a frying pan and add the olive oil. Add your bacon and fry till the fat starts rendering out. Add the pork mince, and brown. When the meat is brown, add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cook until the onions start to soften. Tip the contents into the crock pot and cook on low for about 6 hours. You can do this on the hob if you wish, which will take a couple of hours at a low simmer. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
To Serve
350g dried pasta of choice, cooked al dente
75g finely grated mature cheese e.g. parmesan, grana padano, pecorino or even cheddar
1/2 ball of mozzarella to top.
Put one third the ragu into the bottom of an oven-proof dish, add about half the pasta and half the cheese, then repeat. Top with the remaining ragu. Give everything a bit of a stir to mix things around. Bake in a preheated oven 180C fan for 20 mins. About 5 mins from the end, tear the mozzarella into pieces and dot over the top. You can use more or less if you so wish. Serve hot, once the cheese has melted.
* If you cannot get guanciale, then use streaky bacon, pancetta or Polish smoked boczek. I prefer the latter.
