Spaghetti al sugo finto

I swore I’d never become someone who cooks two meals for one sitting, but having a master recipe that can go in different directions is a lifesaver for a tricky crowd. This was a family find (thanks Alf!), adapted from the blog memoriediangela.com. Finto translates as ‘fake’ because it’s basically a meat ragu made without meat, from the Italian tradition of cucina povera – literally translating as ‘poor kitchen’ but meaning – which I love – frugal genius. It’s one to double and keep in the freezer for an almost instant meal anytime, and makes an excellent soup with the addition of stock. I added meat to half of it to solve my split eaters.

Feeds 4

1 medium onion
1 medium stalk celery
1 medium carrot
Sprig each of fresh parsley, sage and rosemary, leaves only
Splash of red wine
400g chopped fresh or 1/2 tin tomatoes
Sea salt and black pepper
4 tbsp olive oil

To turn half into Meat Ragu:
150g mince (beef, venison or pork)

To serve:
Grated Parmesan and best olive oil

Finely chop or blitz the onion, carrot, celery and herbs together into a rough paste. In a saucepan, fry gently in the olive oil until it tender, taking care it doesn’t catch or burn - add few drops of water if starting to stick or colour. Add a splash of red wine or stock and let it evaporate. Then add the tomatoes to the pot. Let everything simmer for a good 30 minutes or so, beating down the tomatoes to a pulp and stirring from time to time, until you have a thick sauce.

To make half into a meat ragu, generously brown the mince in a little olive oil in a separate pan, turning to break it up. Add half the finto to it, stir through and simmer, lid on for an hour.

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