(Makes 10 to 12 servings)

1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 kilo minced meat – see Cook’s notes below
½ can anchovies
300 ml red wine
400 g can chopped tomatoes
2 or 3 bay leaves
300 ml milk
Gozo sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 nutmeg

Peel and finely chop the vegetables and fry them in the olive oil in a large frying pan until golden and translucent, but without letting them burn, as this will give a bitter flavour to the sauce.

Raise the heat and add the meat, stirring and breaking it up until it has all lost its raw appearance.

Stir in the anchovies; these will soon break down and mix with the meat. Pour on the wine, mix it in well and let the meat cook on a high heat to evaporate the wine. When evaporated, add the chopped tomatoes and let them, too, cook on a high heat until the liquid has evaporated.

At this point, turn the heat down, add the bay leaves and pour the milk all over the surface of the meat sauce. Do not stir, but partially cover the pan with the lid or some foil, and simmer the meat for an hour.

After this time, add salt and pepper to taste and grate in half the nutmeg. Cook the mixture for at least another hour, adding liquid, which can be milk, wine, stock or water, if the meat shows signs of drying out, burning or sticking to the pan.

When ready to serve, or store, grate in the remaining nutmeg. Have your pasta cooked and drained, making sure it still has a spoonful or so of cooking water in the pan, then stir in the pasta sauce, mix well and serve, accompanied by a chunk of Parmesan or grana and a grater so that everyone can help themselves.

Notes from the ‘wine bore’ himself:

Wines from the same area are always the perfect match for a dish, but if you cannot find a Sangiovese di Romagna, try Chianti Classico, Dolcetto d’Alba, Morellino di Scansano, Barbera d’Asti, and Freisa, all from northern Italy.

Cook’s notes:

For the meat, minced beef does perfectly well. A mixture of pork and beef is even better. You can also use some Maltese sausage crumbled into the minced meat, in which case leave out the anchovies and go easy on the salt.

With this ragù, not only do you have the perfect meat sauce for spaghetti, but you can make more elaborate dishes, such as lasagne with spinach and meat sauce or cannelloni with a cream and tomato sauce. The meatalso makes a good filling for baked potatoes, as well as for stuffing aubergines, squash and onions.

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