Ragù alla Napoletana

Now this is a dish that will fill you for a day or more. It is the every sense of slow cooking as you got out and work on the fields and back home for a good lunch before back out on the land for the rest of the day.  I am told that it is a traditional Sunday lunch for most southern Italian families, using the sauce to dress the pasta. However you have it is a real deal meal that I love personally.  

You will need

5tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 onion
4 cloves of garlic
500g/1lb 2oz topside of beef
500g/1lb 2oz pork ribs
200g/7oz Italian pork sausages
2tbsp tomato puree
100ml/3½floz red wine
3 x 400g/14oz tins chopped tomatoes
Handful fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Take your onions and slice them nice and thing and then do the same with the garlic. Now take your oil and add that to a large pan and sweat off the onions and garlic untill they are nice and soft.

Now add the beef diced into cubes, ribs and sausages, pop them into the pan and brown the meat. Make sure that you get a nice level of colour on the meat, the best way is to start with the beef, then the ribs and finally add the sausages just at the end.

Now add the tinned tomatoes, red wine and tomato puree turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and then let it simmer for about two hours. Stir is every now and then and make sure that you do not boil it dry. If you need to add some more water, or wine if you want.

Finally to finish roughly chop the basil and stir that into the sauce. Then remove some of the sauce and toss some fresh cooked past in that, place the meat on the top and you have a hearty meal that would satisfy the biggest of appetites.