Le Zucchine

Method:

Neapolitan ragu

Neapolitan ragu is not a quick tomato sauce. It is a slow, generous Sunday sauce, the kind that needs time, patience and a heavy pot. The meat cooks gently for hours and gives its flavour to the tomato, while the tomato becomes darker, sweeter and deeper.

A good piece of beef for stewing is perfect here. It should be a cut that enjoys long cooking: not too lean, not too delicate, and able to become tender after a few hours on a very low flame.

The soffritto

Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery. Put a heavy casserole on the stove and add the olive oil. Add the vegetables and cook them gently until they become soft and fragrant.

Do not rush this first step. The vegetables should not burn. They should slowly lose their raw edge and become sweet, because this is one of the foundations of the ragu.

Browning the beef

Add the beef to the casserole and brown it well on all sides. This is important: the meat should take colour, not simply boil in the sauce later. Let it sit for a few minutes on each side before turning it.

When the meat is nicely browned, the bottom of the pan will have collected a lot of flavour. That flavour must go into the sauce.

Wine and tomato

Pour in the two glasses of full-bodied red wine. A southern Italian red is ideal, such as Aglianico, Primitivo or Cannonau, but a Bordeaux also works beautifully if you want something a little more French in spirit.

Let the alcohol evaporate and scrape the bottom of the pan gently with a wooden spoon. Then add the plain tomato passata, season with salt, and bring everything slowly to a gentle simmer.

Slow cooking

Lower the heat to the minimum and cover the pot only partially. The ragu should cook for about 3 hours. It should not boil aggressively; it should barely bubble, slowly and lazily.

Check it from time to time and stir gently, especially near the bottom of the pot. If the sauce becomes too thick before the meat is tender, add a little hot water or a small splash of extra wine. Add liquid little by little, only when needed.

Serving

The ragu is ready when the meat is very tender and the sauce is dense, dark and rich. The sauce can be used to dress pasta such as ziti, paccheri, rigatoni or another sturdy pasta shape.

The meat can be served separately as a second course, or cut into pieces and returned to the sauce. Serve with good bread, because with a sauce like this, the scarpetta is not optional.