Ingredients

• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion
• finely chopped
• 500g/1lb 2oz topside of beef
• chopped into medium-sized pieces
• 500g/1lb 2oz pork ribs
• 200g/7oz Italian pork sausages
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• diluted in 100ml/3½fl oz red wine
• 3 x 400g/14oz tins chopped tomatoes
• handful fresh basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• pasta or bread
• to serve

Directions

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan
• add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes
• or until softened.
• Add the beef
• ribs and sausages to the pan and continue to fry until the meat is browned all over (you may need to do this in batches).
• Increase the heat
• stir in the diluted tomato concentrate and continue to cook until the volume of the liquid is reduced by one-third.
• Add the tomatoes and basil
• season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir well.
• Bring to the boil
• then lower the heat to a simmer
• cover and cook very gently for about two hours
• or until the sauce is thick and silky. Stir from time to time
• checking that there is enough moisture; if necessary add a little more wine or water.
• Remove from the heat and serve with pasta as suggested above
• or on its own with lots of good bread to mop up the rich tomato sauce.