Directions

COOK THE BEEF

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy based frying pan with a lid, over medium-high heat. Break the beef up into small pieces and add to the pan, season with salt and leave to cook for 8-10 minutes, without stirring.
2. Once it starts to brown, start moving it around a little bit with the wooden spoon and breaking it up even further. Continue cooking until browned all over.
3. Once it’s nice and brown, remove some of the excess fat in the pan. To do this, just push your beef to one side of the pan, tip the pan slightly so the fat piles in one part and spoon it out into a small bowl (you can use the excess later if you need more moisture or put it in the fridge and use next time you’re cooking a steak). Just leave about 1 tablespoon in the pan.

COOK THE BASE

1. Dice the brown onion and garlic cloves. Add the onions to the pan, season with some salt and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onions soften.
2. Stir in the garlic, continue cooking for 2 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes, then fill the cans ¼ full with water and add to the pan to get the rest of the tomatoes out.
3. Add the oregano, basil leaves, passata and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.

ADD THE PASTA AND FINISH

1. Break the pasta sheets into smaller pieces (try to keep them as rectangles), roughly 4 per sheet, and stick into the sauce, standing upright.
2. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring gently at the halfway mark (around 7 minutes). Uncover and check if pasta is softened, then sprinkle over the parmesan cheese and fold through. At this point, if you think the sauce is too thick, just add a little bit of water and stir through.
3. Dollop the ricotta over the pasta in small spoonfuls. Garnish with basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve it from the pot and enjoy!