We’re back…. Sort of. We’re still in quarantine, but things have eased enough that we can start offering food for pickup and/or delivery. We’re starting slow, because we’ve not done this before and we’re still figuring it out. One or two days a week, one or two dishes, and limited quantities. It will, hopefully, be enough to keep the bills paid without having to continue to dip into savings.

Last week started off with a request from a neighbor, to see if I’d be willing to make four portions of handmade pasta of some, classic sort, for a lunch. Offering to pick it up (I mean, he’s in the same building we’re in, not exactly a stretch), and to pay. I offered Fettuccine with Ragú Bolognese, and he said yes. As long as I was making a pot of the ragú, for him, and for us, why not make a double batch and see if we could, with a day’s notice, sell a few more portions? And, we did. In the end, we sold eight portions, plus had two for us.

Each came out to about 400 grams, just shy of a pound, and we included a packet of freshly grated cheese, and, one of our pan de mantecas. I’ve had a couple of requests for how to make a good bolognese sauce. I’d published a revised recipe for my “healthy versions” column in the Buenos Aires Herald about eight years ago, but I’ve never written up the original recipe itself. That column, by the way, engendered a minor slew of hate mail to the Herald with various British expats here opining that I had no clue what I was talking about and that they KNEW that the classic “spag bol” of their childhood was as authentic an Italian dish as could possibly be found. Some people just aren’t willing to learn anything.

A “double” batch is basically perfect for 8-10 portions – depends on how hungry you are and if it’s being served with something else. In fact, the guy who ordered the original four, it turned out that he and one other person ate all four portions at one lunch. Insanity from my perspective, but it’s his stomach. Although the photos here are from making the double batch, I’m going to give you quantities for making a single batch, perfect for 4-5 portions – even 6 if you’re serving it as a pasta course before a main course. We actually make the same amount for 12 portions when it’s part of our tasting menu.

So… finely chop 1 carrot, 1 onion, two ribs of celery, and two cloves of garlic. Start them sauteing over medium heat in a pot with just a splash of olive oil. Not too much, you’re going to end up with a fair amount of fat from the meats, and you don’t want it to be too “fatty”. About half a teaspoon of salt to help start the breakdown process of the vegetables too. Cook this, stirring regularly, for about ten minutes, until the vegetables are just softening.

Add 100 gms (about 3 oz) of chopped smoked bacon, and a 250 gms (a little more than half a pound) each of ground beef, and Italian sausage meat. Just buy a half pound or a little more of Italian sausages and take the filling out of the casing. Here, it’s hard to find good Italian sausages, so I used local chorizos and added a teaspoon of fennel seeds (or aniseed, if you don’t have fennel seeds). Cook for about ten more minutes, stirring regularly, to brown the meat and vegetables.

Add 250 grams (half pound) of sliced mushrooms – I use half baby portobellos and half button mushrooms, for more complex flavor. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add: 100 gms (3 oz) tomato paste, 2 large tomatoes crushed up or blitzed in a food processor, or even a small can of crushed tomatoes. The liquids added are 120 ml (½ cup) each of milk, white wine, and water. The seasoning is ½ teaspoon of dry thyme leaves, ½ teaspoon salt, and a ¼ teaspoon each of black pepper and nutmeg. When we make this for just ourselves, we add in a teaspoon of chili flakes too, but I knew our neighbor doesn’t like things spicy.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to the point where it still simmers, and cook for an hour, stirring occasionally.

It should thicken up nicely in that time, and take on a richer, darker color. With a double batch, I needed to let it go about 20 minutes longer before it got the thickness I wanted.

Taste, add salt and pepper if needed.

We made our own semolina fettuccine, but you can serve this with the boxed kind, it’s totally cool. Hey, you can even use spaghetti and it’ll be UK.