Florentine ragu

Over the weekend, I made the Florentine ragu from Biba's Italy.

It's different from the other ragus that I make because it only has ground beef and chicken livers. The recipe is simple really.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 carrot
1 small onion
1 stalk celery
chopped parsley (about 1 tbsp)
chopped rosemary (leaves only off one small stem)
2 minced garlic cloves
1 lb ground beef
4 minced chicken livers
1 cup red wine (like chianti, they say!)
2 cups chicken broth


1) Saute carrot, onion, and celery in olive oil. Let cook 5 min.
2) Add parsley, rosemary, and garlic. Let cook another couple minutes.
3) Add ground beef and chicken livers. Cook 10-12 minutes, breaking up and browning meat.
4) Add red wine. Stir continuously and cook until wine is reduced by half.
5) Add chicken broth.
6) Bring heat to low so it simmers and let simmer merrily until most of the liquid is gone, stirring occasionally.

It certainly is rich so you don't need a lot with your pasta. Be sure to mix the pasta with the sauce before serving. Biba recommends adding a tablespoon or two of unsalted butter and parmesan cheese to the mix. Some pasta water may add smooth out the sauce, too.