One of the great dishes of Campania, and one that encapsulates the spirit of Italian cooking better than any other. Often only reserved for a family meal on Sunday due to its lengthy preparation, it is in essence a meat and tomato sauce cooked over a very low flame for a long time. Unlike its more famous cousin ragù alla Bolognese, Neapolitan ragù is started without a battuto (the combination of carrot, onion, and celery); includes copious amounts of tomato sauce; and uses whole cuts rather than ground meat. As with most regional Italian dishes, there are as many recipes as there are cooks. Some use a cut of beef called locena – a steak-like cut obtained from the beef chuck. Others only use pork, in the form of bone-in chops or ribs. Many agree that a combination of beef and pork produces the best results in terms of texture and flavour. Therefore, our recipe combines our Olive fed wagyu short rib, renowned for its unparalleled marbling with whole traditional robust Neapolitan sausage and large chunks of boneless pork shin. While we might associate meat ragùs with pasta alone, this traditional ragù is designed to provide a multi-course meal in itself. With the sauce used to dress pasta for primo, and the meat saved for slicing and serving as your secondo. Because of the lengthy and somewhat laborious preparation this recipe is for 8 people and any left overs can be frozen. It could be easier to prepare the ragù a day or two ahead, then reheat it right before serving. In fact, the resting time does it some good, enabling the flavours to mingle and get acquainted, gaining in depth and complexity.

• Season the Wagyu short ribs, pork shank and sausages all over with fine sea salt.

• In a large, tall sided heavy bottomed pot like a Dutch oven or taller, add the olive oil and on medium to high heat brown the pieces of meat on alls ides. Do this in batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pan. If some of the pieces stick to the bottom, don’t worry.

• Once all the pieces are browned, remove from the pan, and lower the heat.

• First add the onion and minced lardo to the pot and gently cook for approx 10 minutes then add the garlic and cook for another minute before finally adding the tomato paste and lightly caramelising for a couple of minutes.

• Now deglaze by adding all the wine and scrapping any caramelised bits form the bottom of the pan.

• Bring to a boil and reduce by half to ensure that all the alcohol has evaporated.

• Return all the caramelised meat to the pan before adding all the passata and the whole bunch of basil including stalks roughly torn. (DO NOT ADD ANY SALT AT THIS POINT AS THE SAUCE WILL REDUCE)

• Partially cover the pan with a lid, leaving just enough room for steam to escape and cook the ragù over a very low heat for approx. 4-5 hours. The sauce should barely be bubbling. Check the sauce often, stirring gently to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom and burn.

“After all the ingredients are in, the ragù has to cook over a very low heat for many hours in order to achieve its signature texture and complexity of flavour. The sauce shouldn’t be simmering; rather, it should be forming the smallest and most sporadic of bubbles – often just one lone, tiny bubble breaking the surface of the sauce every few seconds or so … not unlike an underground volcanic mud bath found in some thermal locations. (TheNeapolitan term for it is peppiare.) To achieve this, first cook the sauce overa very low flame. The other way – tried and tested by many a local cook – to achieve this kind of subtle bubbling is to set the lid on top of a wooden spoon resting across the length of the pot. This way, the lid doesn’t cover the pot completely, allowing for some of the steam to escape.” Valeria Necchio

• At this point the beef short rib should be starting to fall off the bone, gently remove all the meat from the pan and allow the sauce to continue to reduce for another 1-2 more hours, until it becomes dense and shiny, with a deep red oil on the surface. Now season to taste with salt and pepper.

• Place all the meat back into the pot and if using immediately bring backup to temperature, turn off the heat and allow the sauce to rest for about 30minutes before serving.

• If preparing in advance place meat back into the pan and leave to cool for future use.

To serve

• primo course cook 600g of a pasta of your choice but preferably a tubular shape such as ziti, maccheroni or rigatoni. Drain and then combine with the sauce in the pan before placing into a big serving bowl, serve with freshly grated pecorino.

• For the Secondo course the place all the meat and a little of the sauce that has been reserved onto a platter with some lightly sautéed greens such as tenderstem broccoli, or friarielli to keep it traditional and let your guests help themselves.

Ragù Napoletano