Tom Kerridge’s Low-Fat Ragu
I loved watching his Lose Weight for Good on the BBC, and I’m loving Tom Kerridge’s Low-Fat Ragu. It’s part of his One-Layer Lasagna recipe and it is packed with flavour! I have adapted the Ragu (sauce) recipe for Thermomix and it’s now my go-to meat and tomato sauce recipe. In it, Tom starts off by baking the beef mince in the oven for 40 minutes to intensify the flavour. This is a time-consuming step that you could potentially skip, but I must admit that this process really enhances and intensifies the beef flavour and generally ups the ante on this gorgeous sauce. Try it both ways and you’ll see the difference!
You can easily make this recipe4 Phase Fat Elimination Protocol Phase 2 compliant, just omit a few ingredients as mentioned in the recipe notes. I just love the addition of the caraway seeds here, I’ve never seen them used in spaghetti sauce before. They add another dimension to the flavour of this sauce. Thanks, Tom!
- 800 g 5% fat beef mince
- 1 Tbsp light olive oil
- 2 large onions, cut in half
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 carrots, cut into 3 cm chunks
- 2 celery sticks, cut into 3 cm lengths
- 3 Tbsp tomato purée
- 700 g fresh beef stock
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 beef stock cube - or - 1 Tbsp Thermomix-made beef stock
- 1 Tbsp caraway seeds
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only
- 200 g button mushrooms, halved
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
- Spread the mince out onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake on the top shelf for 40 minutes, breaking it up every 10 minutes. It should be a deep-brown and even colour. Remove and set aside.
- Add olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots and celery to Thermomix bowl. Chop 5 seconds/Speed 5. Scrape sides of TM bowl with spatula.
- Sauté 5 minutes/100°C/Speed 1/Reverse Blade.
- (If you didn't brown the mince in the oven, add it here and sauté 5 minutes/100°C/Speed 1/Reverse Blade, then continue as below.)
- Add remaining ingredients PLUS reserved browned mince and cook 30 minutes/100°C/Speed 1/Reverse Blade.
- That's it! Enjoy!
- If you don't have 40 minutes to brown the mince in the oven, go ahead and sauté it right in your Thermomix. And if you do have some time, it's really worth it in terms of taste!
- Serve this sauce on pasta, on zucchetti/courgetti, on rice, or use it as part of Tom's original recipe for One-Layer Lasagna.
- Can be made in TM5 or TM31; watch total quantity in TM31 as bowl will be quite full.
- Leave out the carrots and the mushrooms and add one more celery stick
- Omit the oil as Thermomix's constantly turning blade allows you to sauté with no added fat
- Use your home-made P2 compliant beef bone broth and omit the cube
- Make sure your tomato puree has no added sugar 😉
Bon appétit !
