Putting It Together

Two sauces cooked side by side on the hob while you do something else. The skill here is organising: keeping both pans simmering gently, and cooling, portioning and labelling the results safely.

Ingredients (10 portions)

• 500 g lean beef mince
• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery sticks
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1.2 kg tinned tomatoes (3 × 400 g: 1 for the ragù, 2 whole plum for the tomato sauce)
• 200 ml hot reduced-salt beef stock
• 100 ml whole milk
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp salt, in total
• 1 pinch sugar and nutmeg
• 1 handful of basil

1. Start the ragù first, as in chapter 6 (brown the mince in two batches; soften half of the onions, carrots, celery and garlic; add the purée, milk, 400 g of tomatoes, stock, one bay leaf and 1 tsp of salt). Simmer on the lowest heat, partly covered, for 2 hours.
2. While the ragù simmers, start the slow tomato sauce in a second pan, as in chapter 3: soften the rest of the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in the remaining oil for 10 minutes, add the 2 tins of plum tomatoes, bay leaf, sugar and the remaining salt, and simmer partly covered for 40 minutes. Add the basil.
3. Cool both quickly: pour them into shallow containers (no more than 5 cm deep) and stand in a sink of cold water, or leave in a cool place until no longer steaming. Refrigerate within 1 to 2 hours of cooking.
4. Divide into portions: about 150 ml of sauce per 75 g pasta serving. Label each with the contents and date ("Ragù 18 Oct") and freeze flat in bags, or in tubs. Use within 3 months. Keep 2 portions in the fridge for the next two days.
5. To use: thaw overnight in the fridge (or gently from frozen in a pan with a splash of water), reheat until steaming hot, and toss with freshly cooked pasta and a splash of the cooking water. Don't re-freeze thawed sauce.

Once you know the pattern, you don't need a recipe. The table below shows the formula.

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 75 g dried pasta (any shape)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 100 g vegetables, small pieces (courgette, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach)
• 80 g cooked protein (tuna, chicken, cooked sausage, prawns, beans, chickpeas)
• 150 ml sauce from the freezer, or 4 tablespoons pasta water plus 20 g cheese
• 1 tbsp herbs, lemon or parmesan, to finish

1. Boil the pasta in salted water. Meanwhile, soften the garlic in the oil, then add the vegetables (hard ones first) and cook until just tender.
2. Add the cooked protein and the sauce (or, for an oil-based dish, use 4 tablespoons of pasta water) and heat through until steaming hot.
3. Add the drained pasta with a splash of cooking water, toss for 1 minute, and finish with the herbs, lemon or cheese. Write down what you made for your house recipes.

The pasta formula

The courgette and lemon pasta from chapter 4, scaled for four small starter portions. Do this on the hob while the lasagne rests.

Ingredients (4 portions)

• 200 g dried pasta for the starter (50 g each for 4 small portions)
• 2 courgettes, halved lengthways and sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 lemon, zest and 2 tsp juice
• 40 g parmesan, grated
• 2 tbsp chopped mint or basil

1. Fry the courgettes in the oil and butter in a wide pan in two batches for 6 to 8 minutes each, until golden. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds.
2. Boil the pasta for the packet time minus 1 minute; scoop out a mugful of water and drain.
3. Toss the pasta with the courgettes, the lemon zest and juice, and 6 tablespoons of the cooking water over a medium heat. Off the heat, stir in the parmesan and herbs.

Cook the lasagne the day before or assemble it ahead and bake it just before the guests arrive. A simple lemony salad cuts the richness, and fruit with yoghurt ends the meal lightly.

Ingredients (4 portions)

• 1 lasagne, assembled earlier from chapter 7 (6 portions: enough for four with leftovers)
• 150 g mixed salad leaves
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 pinch salt and pepper
• 300 g fresh berries and natural yoghurt, for pudding

1. Bake and rest the lasagne as in chapter 7. Keep it covered in the oven (switched off, door shut) while you serve the starter.
2. Dress the salad leaves with the oil, lemon juice and seasoning just before serving.
3. Serve the lasagne with the salad. Finish with berries and a spoonful of natural yoghurt.