beef cooked in ragù

serves 6

This dish is both a starter and main course in one pot. Serve the ragù on spaghetti or bucatini as a first course, and the beef with vegetables or a salad for the main. Ragù is the traditional tomato-based sauce of Bologna.

1 x 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) piece of beef, such as top rump or silverside

60 g (2¼ oz) pork fat, cut into small thin pieces

30 g (1 oz) butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 onions, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

½ red capsicum (pepper), finely chopped

3 leeks, sliced

185 ml (¾ cup) red wine

1 tablespoon tomato paste (purée)

375 ml (1½ cups) beef stock

185 ml (¾ cup) tomato passata

8 basil leaves, torn into pieces

½ teaspoon finely chopped oregano leaves, or ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

60 ml (¼ cup) thick (double/heavy) cream

Make deep incisions all over the beef with the point of a sharp knife, then push a piece of pork fat into each incision.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large casserole and brown the beef for 10–12 minutes, until it is browned all over. Season with salt and add the cayenne, garlic, onion, carrot, celery, pepper and leek. Cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes until the vegetables are lightly browned.

Increase the heat, add the wine and boil until it has evaporated. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the stock. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the passata, basil and oregano and season with pepper. Cover the casserole and cook for about 1 hour, or until the beef is tender.

Remove the beef from the casserole and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Taste the sauce for salt and pepper and stir in the parsley and cream.