Beef Ragu Rigatoni
with Black Olive & Tomato Salsa
'Al dente' is one of those phrases people throw around a lot when talking about pasta, but what does it actually mean? The Italian translates as 'to the tooth' and pasta cooked perfectly 'al dente' should retain a little bit of firmness. The way to tell is by biting through a piece. Have a nibble before you serve up and if you can see a tiny bit of white in the middle of the cooked pasta, then it's spot on and time to tuck in!
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
Ingredients
240
British Beef Mince
30
Olives
200
Rigatoni Pasta
1
Beef Stock Powder
2
Medium Tomato
1
Onion
30
Tomato Puree
1
Garlic Clove
1
Green Pepper
(May contain Celery)
40
Grated Hard Italian Style Cheese
(Contains Milk, Egg)
1
Finely Chopped Tomatoes with Basil
½
Dried Thyme
Not included in your delivery
1
Olive Oil
200
Water
Nutritional information
Utensils
Instructions
Put a large saucepan of water with 0.5 tsp of salt on to boil for the pasta. Halve, peel and chop the onion into small pieces. Peel and grate the garlic (or use a garlic press). Halve the pepper and discard the core and seeds. Chop into small pieces.
Heat a splash of oil in another large saucepan on high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef mince and cook until browned, 5-6 mins. Use a wooden spoon to break it up as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper. Add the onion and red pepper. Cook until soft, 5-7 mins. Stir in the garlic, dried thyme and tomato purée. Cook for 1 minute more. Add the finely chopped tomatoes.
Pour the water (see ingredients for amount) into the pan along with the stock powder. Bring the ragu to the boil, then lower the heat and leave to simmer until the ragu is thick and tomatoey, 15-20 mins.
Meanwhile, add the rigatoni to your pan of boiling water. Cook for 12 mins.
While the pasta is cooking, make the salsa. Finely chop the black olives and chop the vine tomato into small pieces. Pop them in a mixing bowl with the olive oil (see ingredients for amount), season with salt and pepper, mix together and set aside.
When the pasta is cooked, drain in a colander (reserve a splash of the cooking water). Taste the ragu and season with more salt and pepper if necessary. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well (add a little of the cooking water if you think it looks too dry). Serve in shallow bowls, topped with the salsa and a sprinkling of Italian-Style grated cheese. Buon appetito!
