Tomato & Mushroom Ragù
This so-simple recipe will soon become a trusty ‘go-to’ in your culinary repertoire. It can turn its hand to a variety of dishes: a simple sauce for pasta, polenta, beans, pulses, or a medley of fresh, seasonal vegetables; a topping for pizza; or a delicious support for seafood, grilled, or roasted meats. Make the basic ragù in bulk and freeze in portions that suit you – I promise you’ll never want to buy a processed tomato-based sauce again. Ever.
In season, I use fresh, peeled tomatoes (just cut a cross in the bottom, dunk them in boiling water for a minute or two and the skin will peel easily). Otherwise, I use good quality organic chopped tinned tomatoes – either way, since we’re not in sun-blessed Italy or Sicily, a little cinnamon or dark brown sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes.
When the sauce is almost cooked (or on reheating it if frozen) you can get creative by adding a handful of any variety of sliced or chopped mushrooms and/or finely sliced red peppers (just sauté them first in a little olive oil or butter until soft) and/or stoned black olives per person and ramp up the volume Sicilian-style with freshly-grated ginger and/or finely-diced chilli.
The tomato ragù will keep well in the fridge for several days and (without the mushrooms/red peppers) it will freeze perfectly – just add in the vegetables and a little extra water and seasonings when reheating.
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- 2 celery sticks
- 2 carrots medium, peeled
- 2 onions medium, peeled
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil)
- 2 garlic clove crushed & left to stand for 10 mins
- 900 g tomatoes peeled & chopped (or 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes)
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 bay leaf (dried is fine)
- 2-3 sprig fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon (or 1 tsp dark brown sugar - to balance acidity)
- 400 ml filtered water (or mineral broth)
- fresh basil (handful - optional)
- Maldon sea salt - to taste
- ground black pepper - to taste
Ingredients
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- Blitz or very finely chop the celery, carrots and onions. In a large saucepan, sauté them very gently in the oil, until well-softened and very lightly coloured. Add the garlic, tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, tomato purée, cinnamon/brown sugar, water, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Mix well, cover with a lid and allow to simmer on a low heat for approximately 30 mins for fresh tomatoes or 1 hour if using tinned; stir frequently and lower the heat if the sauce is reducing too quickly, adding water as necessary to retain a thick (but not solid) consistency. Adjust the seasonings to taste as the sauce cooks.
- Leave the sauce chunky or take out the bay leaf and oregano stalks and blend it to your preferred consistency. Add the torn basil just before serving.
