ragu’ sauce

This gluten free, dairy free Ragu’ sauce is very rich and tasty, but it takes a couple of hours to make as meat and tomato have to cook very slowly to allow the flavours to blend. As it is time consuming to make, I normally make a big batch and then put some containers in the freezer, but you could also cook it in a slow cooker overnight or while you are at work. In Chinese Medicine Dietary this sauce is good for building and nourishing blood due to its meat content, while tomatoes are cooling and promote fluid formation, so overall a very balanced sauce if you are anaemic.

Preparation & cooking time: 3hrs

Ragu’ Sauce 10 portions:

400gr lean mince meat

2 italian sausages, skinned and chopped or 200gr chicken livers, chopped (optional)

2 bay leaves

1 carton passata

1 tin chopped tomatoes

200ml water

1/2 glass red wine

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

40ml virgin olive oil

• This sauce is best made beforehand as it takes around 3 hours to make
• Place oil in a pot and saute the carrot, onion and celery

• Add the mince meat  and sausage/chicken livers and let it brown for 5-10 minutes
• Add the wine and reduce to half the volume
• Add the passata and chopped tomatoes, salt, bay leaves and water
• Cook for around 2.5 hours on a very low heat, until you see the oil coming up to the surface

• Cool down and store in fridge or you can freeze as well in smaller portions

NUTRITIONAL VALUE PER PORTION
energy kcal	197.1
fat	14.3
of which saturated	5.2
carbohydrates	6.7
of which sugars	4.4
fibre	2.1
protein	7.7
salt	0.7