We all know that feeling of disappointment when we return from a trip having eaten an amazing dish, only for our recreation to fall flat and taste rather dull in comparison. Whether that is down to lesser quality ingredients or no rolling hills or wine at lunchtime and the exotic people all around, we'll never put our finger on it. This ragu, or 'sauce,' however, is the closest I have come to evoking in taste and sensation an incredible 'tagliarini al ragu' we had in a small restaurant in Apricale, northern Italy. Just make sure you use the best olive oil you can, and that all the other ingredients are of good quality.

Ingredients:

• 3 small onions, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 small red chilli
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 8 Chantenay carrots, diced (if you can't get these, use 1 large carrot)
• A good deep glug of olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• ½ a bottle of red wine that you would happily drink
• 125ml of water
• ¼ of a tube of tomato purée
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 pack of beef mince, roughly 450g, at room temperature
• 10 sage leaves
• 4-6 thyme sprigs

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and add the vegetables. Season very well with salt. Put in the herbs, stir and cook on a low heat until super soft and sweet, but not coloured. This should take about 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the mince with salt all over, turn the heat up and throw it in the pan. Put in a splash more olive oil if necessary. Stir well and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

When the meat is brown and sticking to the pan and there is hardly any moisture left add the wine. Stir again and reduce the liquid to almost nothing. Add the tomato purée, stir and cook for a further five minutes. Now add the water, cook on high for five more minutes, or until reduced a little. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, cover the pan and cook on the lowest heat for about three hours. Check the sauce every now and then and add some water if necessary. Take the lid off for the last fifteen minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. Turn off the heat and leave in the pan with the lid on while you cook the pasta. I recommend tagliarini, but if you can't find this, it is delicious with papardelle, tagliatelle or the old favourite, spaghetti.