Ragu on a Sunday for two

I am fast discovering that most recipes don’t cater for two people and such was the case this weekend on trying another of Armando’s gems, his version of ragù. Traditionally, for us Australians, this kind of dish would generally be called ‘bolognese sauce’ and would be made with mince meat, but there are actually many versions of ragù.

This particular version is more like a rustic, country-style version where you actually use chunks of pork and veal. The extra sauce can be used to do a first course of pasta with a touch of ricotta (we used Philadelphia cheese because I had forgotten to get ricotta when out shopping), which makes for a very tasty pasta sauce.

In the meantime, the ragù itself takes three hours of open pot, stove cooking but we ran out of gas so I can’t tell you whether completing the third hour in the oven changes anything about the recipe. It’s also not easy to keep the heat down on this, so if you have an electric stove, use it.

Otherwise, we finished with a very tender and fulfilling ragù that’s going on the list of our Sunday house specials. The slight touch of bay leaves and cloves gives just enough spice without being overpowering and the trick is not to under-do the tomato paste – it’s what gives the sauce its thickness. Any ideas for a food-wine match?

Wine for anniversaries and Champion's League finals: celebrating FC Inter

What a vintage, ragazzi miei! The grapes can do what they like in 2010 as so far I got married and FC Inter won the Champion’s League final, following its victories in the Coppa Italia and Serie A. In the future, my new husband and I will celebrate an anniversary on May 8th and memories of an emotional Inter victory on May 22nd.

I know of more than one sommelier and journalist who are die-hard Inter fans and I have yet to discover with what wine they celebrated the Champion’s League victory. I suspect the head of our branch of the Italian Sommeliers’ Association drank something very special.

We, on the other hand, in a sort of combined Italian-Anglo tradition (but don’t tell the Italians) stressed over pizza and later celebrated over beer. And then we joined the impromptu celebrations in the town, getting stuck in a traffic jam as people hit horns, played the Inter anthem loud from their cars and rang cow bells (nothing can ever make enough noise in a situation like this). It was bigger than the 2006 Italian World Cup victory when my husband and I were at the beginning of our love story.

Since we got married, we’ve got a few fine bottles of wine to keep and then drink, thanks to a dear friend of mine and a couple of purchases of my own so we’re well set-up for future reminiscing. And hopefully some celebrations should Inter ever make it a second time. None of its champagne, and most of its nebbiolo, but we can all celebrate in our own way. Thanks to Inter and, of course, “my Milito”.