Pasta verde with ragu Bolognese

Life at Patrignone revolves around food, certainly for us, and for most of our visitors too. If you ask our guests their top 3 reasons for visiting Italy, I can guarantee, food will be in there. Italian culture and pride is centred on their local cuisines and it has gained them the justifiable reputation of being among the best cooks in the world. And when I look at all the local old timers around here bombing about and nosing in to everyone's affairs, I know it is their diet I want to live long and prosper!
Winter at Patrignone, when it's just our party of 5, affords me a bit more time in the kitchen. Everytime I venture outside to check the chickens or dig some parsnips I keep telling myself I need to spend more time in the garden, less in the kitchen! But it's too cold and muddy and I don't like it! I am a fair weather gardener.
Still, in the absence of Nonna Carla, Simon's Bolognese mum, in the winter, ragu making falls to Simon or me. This week me, as Simon continues his forth week of battling the 'flu. I have to confess that making ragu goes against all my usual culinary instincts. I am not a great recipe follower, a bit of a flourisher, and not terribly patient......ragu requires the exact opposite so you need to be feeling the ragu! Are you feeling it? If you are then step boldly forward and I will do my best to guide you to the perfect pasta sauce. Along with the perfect green pasta.
Firstly, you will need about an hour for the prep and then to be around for a good couple of hours while it simmers. If you want to eat it straight away then make your pasta dough first. This ragu will give plenty for the pasta (10-12 people) and then give you 5-6 bags of similar sized portions to freeze for rainy days.
Ragu Bolognese
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
400g minced pork
800g minced beef
3 salscicca (Italian sausage)
1 large glass of white wine
800g tinned tomatoes
1 litre tomato passata
2 heaped tbsp tomato puree
1/2 nutmeg, freshly ground
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 bay leaves
200ml whole milk
Good Olive oil
Now, every Italian I know would tut, but for those of you without excess time on your hands, use a food processor to chop your onion, celery and carrot. Whilst you are doing this put a heavy bottomed stock pot on a low to medium heat. Put your onion in first WITHOUT oil to sweat out the liquid. Don't ask me why this makes such a difference but I promise it does and is a technique running back generations in the Govoni family! Whilst this is sweating, heat a large frying pan with 2tbsp olive oil. When this is hot, add your pork mince and mash with a wooden spoon or fork to break up in to small bits as it browns. Now, if you do have extra time on your hands you might want to consider further mincing or chopping your meat to make a very fine sauce. Keep cooking this meat until any liquid has evaporated and it is lightly browned. Pour in to a bowl, add more oil and do the same with half your beef. Keep an eye on those sweating onions and when they are dry enough to start sticking to the bottom of the pan, add 4 tbsp olive oil and your celery and carrot. Keep frying this until it is all soft and everything looks a similar colour (this is called a sofritto). Again, when your beef juice has evaporated and the meat has browned a little set it aside and do the second half of the beef. By the time this is done your sofritto should be ready. Tip in all the mince with the white wine and stir occasionally until the wine has evaporated. Whilst you are doing that, remove the skin from the salscicca and crumble them in to your frying pan. Mash this again until the meat is cooked and golden and as fine as you can get it. Add to the stock pot. Pour in all your tomatoes and spices and bay leaves and give a really good stir. I grind my nutmeg in a coffee/spice grinder to save time & fingers! Bring up to the boil and then lower the heat. Add the milk and continue to simmer. Add more liquid if necessary and if just right put a lid on. Check every now and then for a taste and to adjust the seasoning but it won't be ready for a couple of hours at least. I then think it always tastes better the next day. Like I say, this should be enough for one large meal serving 10-12 people as well as 5 - 6 bags for the freezer.

For the pasta verde (10-12 portions)
400g fresh spinach, blanched, cooled and finely chopped
400g 00 flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
Semola flour
Chuck all of the above in a food processor with a dough blade or mix and knead by hand. Knead until the dough is smooth and springy. Cut in to 6, roughly equal, pieces and knead each in to a smooth ball. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for about an hour. Set up your pasta rolling machine (Imperia make the best, I have a 30 year old one here that works as well as my newer ones and I have tried several others that have been pants. They're cheap enough on Amazon). Sprinkle a liberal coating of semola flour on a large surface. Set on your widest setting and put the dough through with a good coating of semola flour. Fold the dough in 3rds like an envelope, turn sideways and run through the machine again. Repeat this at least 3 times until your dough is smooth. Then begin working your way down the settings until the last but one. Although you can put this dough through on the skinniest setting it is quite a wet dough and can tear. Also I like to be able to taste the spinach and it lends itself to being a bit thicker. Repeat this with all the dough and sprinkle a bit more flour over. Weather will affect this bit no end but you now want to leave the pasta until it feels quite leathery and dryish without getting brittle. This is a technique you won't find in many recipe books but it changed my pasta making forever! Mother-in-laws have their uses! Waiting for the pasta to dry out a bit (takes about 10 minutes in the Summer, about an hour now!). This will make it much, much easier to cut in to whatever thickess you prefer and the pieces won't stick together. In fact, without this method, making spaghetti is a nightmare. I cut mine in to tagliatelle for pasta ragu and this little lot will make enough for 10-12 people, depending on how many teenage boys you are feeding. I set whatever I don't use aside on a covered tray and use within a week or two. This is a bit of an epic meal I know but you have several meals with the ragu and 2 -3 meals for a smaller bunch with the pasta and it is really delicious. And I reckon the spinach in the pasta as well as the veg in the ragu give you an excellent, healthy meal! Enjoy. V x

Pasta Fagoli for a wet and chilly winter's day

If the weather with you is damp and cold too then here is a lunch to sort you out! This is a Govoni family recipe that is a firm favourite with everyone at this time of year. It's quick, easy, healthy and delicious. Pasta fagioli (Pasta and bean soup) (Serves 4) 300g dried beans soaked in cold water overnight or 2 x 400g tins mixed beans (cannelini and borlotti are great) I onion, finely chopped 1 celery heart, finely chopped 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped 1 small bunch of parsley, stalks finely chopped and leaves roughly chopped 1 litre boiled water 250g ditalini (or other small pasta, I use wholemeal) A large handful grated parmesan Patrignone Olive oil! If you are using dried beans, put these on to boil with plenty of lightly salted water until tender. Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a heavy stock pan and add the onion, celery, garlic and parsley stalks. Fry until soft and lightly coloured. Now add the beans, with their juices from the tin and refill the tins with boiling water and add. If using dried, add the beans with 1 litre of the cooking water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about half an hour. Using a potato masher, mash some of the beans in to the soup, leaving plenty whole. Bring back up to the boil and add the pasta. Cook as per the packet instructions. Stir in the roughly chopped parsley leaves. Serve immediately with a generous sprinkling of grated parmesan and a generous glug of Patrignone olive oil. Some nice crusty bread on the side for dipping whilst you wait for the soup to cool is a good idea too.