Paccheri with Neapolitan Ragù

Ingredients

• 500 g Beef chuck
• 400 g Pork shoulder
• 400 g Paccheri
• 2 Onion
• 700 g Tomato passata
• 2 tbsp Tomato paste
• 150 ml Red wine
• 4 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 leaf Basil
• 60 g Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp Salt

Steps

1. Tie the beef and pork pieces with kitchen string so they hold their shape during the long braise.
2. Season lightly with salt.
3. In a heavy pot, heat the extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat and gently soften the finely chopped onion for 8-10 minutes without browning.
4. Add the meat and brown it on all sides until deeply coloured.
5. Pour in the red wine and let it evaporate completely, scraping the bottom.
6. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for 2 minutes.
7. Add the crushed tomatoes, a pinch of salt and a basil leaf.
8. Add a little water to barely cover the meat.
9. Bring to a bare simmer, partially cover, and let it 'pippiare' — cook on the lowest heat for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally and adding hot water if it dries.
10. When the sauce is dark, dense and glossy and the meat is fork-tender, lift out the meat and keep it warm to serve as a second course.
11. Cook the paccheri in plenty of salted boiling water until very al dente, draining them 2 minutes early.
12. Toss the paccheri in the pot with a few ladles of ragù over low heat for 1-2 minutes so they finish cooking in the sauce.
13. Serve the paccheri topped with more ragù and a generous dusting of grated Parmesan cheese.

Tips

• Authentic Neapolitan ragù lives by the verb 'pippiare' — the sauce must barely bubble for hours; never let it boil hard. A splash of the meat's own braising water loosens the paccheri perfectly. Traditionally the sauce dresses the pasta as a primo and the braised meat is eaten as a separate secondo.