Hot Honey Ragu
Medium-spicy pork-mince ragu with Calabrian chilli sauce, honey and spinach.
makes 20 blocks, about 29p each
- Time
- 1 hr 5 min13 min prep · 52 min cook
- Makes
- 20 blocks
- Cost per blockPer block
- 29p
- Calories per blockCalories
- 92 kcal
- Spice
- 3 of 5
You’ll need
- 500gpork mince (20% fat)
- 2 tins (800g)chopped tomatoes
- 150gCalabrian chilli pasta sauce
- 1½ (220g)onions
- 2 (160g)carrots
- 125gbaby spinach
- 30gtomato purée
- 3 clovesgarlic
- 5mlrapeseed oil
- 20g (1 tbsp)runny honey
- 3gsmoked paprika
- 1grosemary
- 1gchilli flakes
- 2bay leaves
- 2gsalt
Allergens: none of the 14 major allergens in the ingredients as listed. Check the labels on stock cubes, sauces and pastes, as brands vary.
Serve it
Rigatoni with parmesan · A jacket potato · Over soft polenta
Method
- Step 1: Brown the mince well in the oil, breaking it up, until crispy at the edges. (8 min)
- Step 2: Add the finely chopped onion and grated carrot and soften. (6 min)
- Step 3: Add the garlic, purée, paprika, rosemary and chilli flakes for 1 minute.
- Step 4: Add the tomatoes, Calabrian sauce and bay. Simmer partly covered, stirring now and then. (35 min)
- Step 5: Stir in the spinach a handful at a time until wilted. (2 min)
- Step 6: Off the heat, stir through the honey and season. Remove the bay, cool and freeze in 67g blocks.
Hotter: add 1 tsp chilli flakes, and warm extra chilli into the honey.
| kcal | protein | carbs | fat | fibre | salt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per block | 92 | 5.3g | 5g | 5.5g | 1.2g | 0.16g |
| Per 3 blocks | 276 | 15.9g | 15g | 16.5g | 3.6g | 0.48g |
Cook’s notes
- No Calabrian sauce? Use 1 tbsp chilli paste plus ½ tsp fennel seed, or 30g 'nduja for a meatier heat.
- For real hot honey, warm the honey with a pinch of chilli flakes and drizzle it over after reheating.
Serve it
Rigatoni with parmesan · A jacket potato · Over soft polenta.
Freeze, reheat and serve
- Freeze
- Cool it within two hours, portion it into 70g blocks in a silicone tray, then bag and label them. It keeps for 3 months.
- Reheat
- Microwave 3 blocks, covered, for 1 minute, stir, then heat for another 1 to 2 minutes until piping hot all the way through. Or warm them in a pan with a splash of water. Never refreeze thawed blocks.
- A portion
- 3 blocks (210g) make a dinner for one adult: about 276 kcal and 15.9g protein before rice, bread or potatoes.
Hot Honey Ragu questions
Can I use beef mince instead of pork?
Beef mince works and gives a deeper, meatier ragu. Pork is a little sweeter and richer, which suits the honey, so a half-and-half mix is a good middle ground.
Why brown the mince until it's crispy at the edges?
The browned bits add a lot of savoury flavour to a sauce that only simmers for 35 minutes. Give it the full 8 minutes and don't stir too often, or it steams instead of browning.
Why does the honey go in off the heat?
Long simmering dulls the honey's flavour and can make the whole sauce taste sugary. Stirred in at the end, it stays a distinct sweet note against the chilli.
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Updated . Nutrition, costs and yields are estimates.