James Martin’s beef ragu with linguine builds a rich sauce of beef mince and smoked bacon lardons on a soffritto of onion, carrot and celery, simmered in tomato and red wine with basil, tossed through homemade ’00’ egg linguine. The ragu simmers for 45 minutes, the pasta is rolled fresh on a machine, and it serves four as a proper winter warmer.
The recipe comes from BBC’s James Martin: Home Comforts, where he calls it comfort food at its best and notes it’s great for making ahead. This is the full from-scratch version, with the linguine made by hand from ’00’ flour and eggs. Smoked bacon lardons and torn fresh basil are what lift it above a standard bolognese.
The technique that makes the sauce is patient layering. You soften the soffritto first, render the bacon, brown the mince, then cook out the tomato purée before the liquid goes in, and finish with a 45-minute simmer. That slow reduction is what turns mince and tomato into a deep, glossy ragu rather than a thin, quick sauce.
James Martin Beef Ragu With Linguine
Course: Dinner, LunchCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings40
minutes45
minutes955
kcal1
hour30
minutesJames Martin’s beef and bacon ragu from BBC’s Home Comforts, tossed through fresh homemade ’00’ linguine. A classic make-ahead winter warmer built on a proper soffritto, smoked bacon and a 45-minute simmer, finished with basil and Parmesan. Serves four.
Ingredients
- For the homemade pasta:
300g/10½oz ’00’ flour, plus extra for dusting
3 free-range eggs
- For the ragu:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, trimmed, finely chopped
200g/7oz smoked bacon lardons
500g/1lb 2oz beef mince
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 x 400g tin tomatoes
150ml/5fl oz red wine
handful fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan, to serve
Directions
- Make the dough:Tip the flour onto a work surface and make a well. Crack in the eggs and gradually draw the flour into them until it forms a sticky dough, then knead on a floured surface until smooth. Alternatively, blitz the flour and eggs in a food processor to crumbs, tip out and knead into a smooth ball.
- Chill:Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 20 minutes.
- Roll the pasta:Flour the machine’s rollers. Cut the dough into 3 pieces and flatten each to 1cm thick. Starting at the thickest setting, feed each piece through, then step down a setting and re-flour, repeating 3-4 times to the last-but-one setting, until you have long sheets.
- Cut the linguine:Fold the sheets loosely and cut lengthways into strips about 3mm thick. Hang the linguine over a rack to dry slightly while you make the ragu.
- Start the ragu:Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole over medium heat. Fry the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes until softened but not coloured, then add the carrot and celery and fry for 2-3 minutes more. Add the bacon and fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Brown the mince:Add the beef mince and fry for 2-3 minutes each side, until just browned.
- Build the sauce:Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the tinned tomatoes and red wine and bring to the boil.
- Simmer:Stir in half the basil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes, until thickened. Season, and stir in the rest of the basil just before serving.
- Cook and combine:Boil the linguine in salted water for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain, add to the ragu and toss to coat. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.
Notes
- Note: Any leftover linguine can be frozen in batches for future dishes.
FAQs
Do I have to make the pasta from scratch?
The recipe is written for fresh homemade linguine and calls for a pasta machine, and fresh egg pasta is undeniably lovely with a rich ragu, soaking up the sauce as it’s tossed. If you’re up for it, the ’00’ flour and egg dough is straightforward, just time-consuming.
But the ragu is really the star, and it works just as well with good dried pasta if you’d rather skip the machine. Dried linguine, tagliatelle or pappardelle all suit this kind of meaty sauce, since broad or long strands carry it well. Just cook dried pasta to its packet timing rather than the 3-4 minutes fresh pasta needs.
How do I roll the pasta to the right thickness?
Work down through the settings gradually. Start with the machine on its thickest setting and pass each flattened piece of dough through, then lower the setting one notch at a time, flouring the rollers and the sheet between passes to stop it sticking. Martin takes it down to the last-but-one setting, which gives linguine enough body to hold the sauce.
Once you have long, even sheets, fold them loosely and cut lengthways into strips about 3mm thick. Hanging the cut linguine over a rack to dry slightly firms it up and stops the strands clumping together before they hit the water. Don’t roll to the very thinnest setting, or the strands can turn fragile under a heavy ragu.
Why smoked bacon lardons in the ragu?
They add a smoky, salty depth that plain beef alone can’t give. Fried at the start, the lardons render their fat, which becomes a savoury base for cooking the soffritto and browning the mince, so their flavour runs right through the sauce rather than sitting on top.
It’s a step up from a basic bolognese, giving the ragu more richness and complexity. If you can’t get smoked bacon lardons, chopped smoked streaky bacon or pancetta does the same job, since the point is that smoky, salty, fatty base note. Martin uses this bacon trick across several of his ragu recipes.
How is this different from spaghetti bolognese?
Ragù is really a broad Italian family of slow-cooked meat sauces, and bolognese (ragù alla bolognese) is one specific member of it, traditionally made with a mix of beef and pork, a little milk, not much tomato, and a long, slow cook, served with tagliatelle rather than spaghetti.
Martin’s BBC version here is tomato-and-wine forward, made with beef and smoky bacon, fresh basil and a relatively quick 45-minute simmer, which makes it more of a comforting British-Italian weeknight ragu. Interestingly, his own later recipes push closer to the classic, adding pork mince and simmering for longer, so even he cooks it more than one way.
Can I make it ahead or freeze it?
Yes, and Martin specifically recommends it as a make-ahead dish. Like most meat ragus, the flavour deepens overnight, so it often tastes even better reheated the next day, gently until piping hot. The sauce also freezes well once cooled, making it worth doubling the batch for an easy future meal.
The fresh pasta is freezer-friendly too: his own tip is that any leftover linguine can be frozen in batches for future dishes. Freeze it in nests, well floured, and cook it from frozen. Cook the pasta fresh to serve rather than freezing the finished, sauced dish, so the strands don’t turn soft.
What should I serve and finish it with?
Martin finishes his simply, with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan and the reserved torn basil stirred through at the last moment for freshness. A generous grating of cheese and a good grind of black pepper are really all a good ragu needs on top.
Alongside, keep it classic and comforting: a crisp green salad to cut the richness, or some garlic bread to mop up any sauce left in the bowl. Since it’s a hearty, filling plate, you don’t need much else, which is part of what makes it such an easy make-ahead supper.
