Jamie Oliver has revealed how he batch cooks ragu sauce for his family-of-seven as he continues to share lockdown-friendly recipes amid the pandemic.
The British chef, 44, took to his Instagram account to unveil what he called the ‘perfect recipe for a rainy day’, explaining that after cooking and freezing bags of the sauce, he could then use it for spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, chilli or cannelloni.
The father-of-five called it ‘family-friendly’ and ‘easy and economical’ – as well as admitting that it was a ‘great way to sneak in extra vegetables for your kids at meal times’.
Jamie Oliver has revealed how he batch cooks ragu sauce for his family-of-seven as he continues to share lockdown-friendly recipes amid the pandemic
The British chef, 44, took to his Instagram account to unveil what he called the ‘perfect recipe for a rainy day’, explaining that after cooking and freezing bags of the sauce, he could then use it for spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, chilli or cannelloni
Sharing a video to his Instagram account, Jamie wrote: ‘This is my classic family ragu.
‘The perfect base for your favourite spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, chilli or cannelloni. Dead easy to knock up on a rainy day like today in big batches and freeze for another day! Anyone already have this on their list this week?’.
Jamie starts by adding chopped rosemary and smoky bacon to a sizzling pan with virgin olive oil.
He then adds a kilo of mince beef and a kilo of mince pork, adding: ‘If budget is a real issue then you can replace half a kilo of beef with lentils, which is just as delicious.
The father-of-five called it ‘family-friendly’ and ‘easy and economical’ – as well as admitting that it was a ‘great way to sneak in extra vegetables for your kids at meal times’
Jamie started by adding bacon and rosemary to a pan, before frying two kilos of beef and pork meat for 20 minutes then adding tomato puree
‘You’ll start to see the water coming out so you need to stir it for about 10 minutes. Once you hear it sticking and sizzling that means flavour.’
He continues by chopping or blending carrots, onions and celery to the same size as the mince meat.
‘Add two tablespoons of tomato puree for depth, along with four tins of chopped tomatoes’, he says.
Concluding, he says: ‘You’re going to create the most wonderful, beautiful, robust ragu sauce’.
Jamie then blended carrots, celery and onions until they were the same size as the mince meat and added them to the pan
Concluding, he says: ‘You’re going to create the most wonderful, beautiful, robust ragu sauce’
Advising on storage options, he adds: ‘We’ve made twice as much as we need, so possibly another 10 meals.
‘You can bag it up and store it in your freezer for month, just run the bag under the tap and you can reheat it in the pan in minutes.
‘When you bag it up don’t forget to label it. Squeeze the air out and the thinner you can bag it up the quicker it will freeze – and the quicker you can reheat it.
‘Let it go to room temperature then lay it in the freezer shelf flat, almost like a book shelf of edible meals’.
Jamie shares Poppy Honey Rosie, 18, Daisy Boo Pamela, age 17, Petal Blossom Rainbow, age 11, Buddy Bear Maurice, 9, and River Rocket, 3, with wife Jools.
‘You can bag it up and store it in your freezer for month, just run the bag under the tap and you can reheat it in the pan in minutes,’ Jamie says
Jamie shares Poppy Honey Rosie, 18, Daisy Boo Pamela, age 17, Petal Blossom Rainbow, age 11, Buddy Bear Maurice, 9, and River Rocket, 3, with wife Jools.