This is a classic Tuscan recipe for a rich meat sauce to accompany pasta. We often cook this up in large batches so that we can put some portions in the freezer. The smell that permeates the house when this is cooking is heavenly - this is real comfort food. Ingredients (serves 4-6): 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped A small bunch of parsley, chopped 1 large carrot, finely chopped 1 large stalk celery, finely chopped 500g minced beef 2 Italian sausages, skinned and crumbled 750ml red wine 300g mushrooms (button or chestnut mushrooms), sliced 100g passata 2 tablespoons tomato puree olive oil salt & pepper Method: Heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan and add the onion, garlic, parsley, carrot and celery. Sauté for around 10 minutes or until the vegetables have softened slightly. Add the minced beef and crumbled sausage meat to the pan and cook on a medium heat until the meat has browned and the moisture from the meat has evaporated. Add the red wine and simmer until more than half of it has evaporated. Add the mushroooms, passata and the tomato puree , season with salt and pepper then put a lid on the pan and simmer on a low heat for 2 to 2.5 hours. Add some water if necessary, and keep checking the pan as it cooks, stirring the sauce and adding water as necessary to prevent the sauce from sticking and to maintain a good consistency. Serve the sauce with your choice of pasta, shavings of parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Tuscan ragu