What she’d tell you
Two hours of the ragù doing nothing but getting better while you get on with your day. This is a Sunday dish that pays you back for the rest of the week.
What you need
Written for 8. Change that in the app and the amounts follow.
Tick things off as you get them ready.
Continue to the method ↓
How it goes
Soften the finely diced onion, carrot, celery and garlic in the olive oil for 10 minutes.
Brown the beef hard, breaking it up as it goes.
Add the tomatoes, paste, wine, broth, oregano, salt and pepper. Lid on, lowest heat, and leave it 1½–2 hours.
Take the lid off and simmer 30 minutes more until it is thick.
Make the white sauce: melt the butter, stir in the flour, cook a minute, then add the warmed milk a splash at a time, whisking smooth. Cook 5–8 minutes until it coats a spoon. Off the heat, stir in the cheddar and nutmeg.
Layer in a deep dish: a smear of ragù, then sheets, ragù, white sauce: three times. Finish with sheets, the last of the white sauce, and the mozzarella.
Bake at 180°C for 25 minutes until golden and bubbling, then rest it 10 minutes before cutting.
If you haven’t got it
Red Wine
more beef broth with a splash of balsamic
Cheddar
gruyère, which is what it wants to be
Keeping it
Three days in the fridge, and it slices better cold.
180°C for 20–25 minutes covered. Freezes for three months, cooked or assembled raw.
