Nigella Lawson's Rapid Ragu

While browsing some cooking blogs, I caught wind of a cooking group called I Heart Cooking Clubs and saw that they will be featuring Nigella Lawson recipes for the next 6 months. Well, Nigella Lawson is one of my favorite personalities on the Food Network, I make sure to DVR whenever she's on. Watching the way she cooks and describes things makes me want to curl my hair, put on a cute outfit and get in the kitchen. She's so lovely and I'd like nothing more than to sit and gossip with her.

Anyways, this week's recipe was for "Man Food". Could be a number of things, steak, hearty stews, etc. I quickly browsed through my collection of Nigella cookbooks and decided on the "Rapid Ragu" It looked so hearty and delicious, I knew it'd be perfect to make. I adjusted the recipe a little to use ingredients that I had on hand. For Nigella's exact recipe, click here.

Here's what I used:

• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 small container of sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 14oz can of diced tomatos
• 1 8oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup of small cubed pancetta ( you could also use diced bacon)
• 1/3 cup of Marsala wine
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• Grated cheddar (optional)

First you will cook the pancetta with the oil until it's crispy. Once cooked, remove from the pan and set aside. Add your sliced onions and sautee them with the tablespoon of sugar until they are a beautiful golden shade. Nigella uses onion confit in her recipe, which I can't seem to find here. I made to make due! Add the mushrooms and garlic clove to the onions and cook until they have gotten soft. Add the ground beef, stirring it to break it up, also add the pancetta back into the pan at this time. Cook until beef is no longer rare.

Then you'll add the can of tomatoes, tomato sauce, Marsala, and water to the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. You can serve it as is, or be like me and serve it on top of buttered egg noodles.

Trust me on this, it's a perfect man food. It'll stick to your ribs and is perfect for the chilly winter months coming up. Make it for your man this weekend and he may wash your floors and do the laundry for you :)