Finto in Italian means ‘fake’, and this sugo is finto by dint of containing no meat at all. Instead, red wine is used to tint very finely chopped vegetables to give the impression of minced meat. In Florence it is also sometimes known as sugo scappato – scappato meaning ‘escaped’, the idea being that the meat has run away from the dish. I love sugo finto as it’s wonderfully tasty and satisfying, made with inexpensive ingredients that cook down more quickly than a traditional ragu and come together to create something really special.

Method:

• Very finely chop the onions, carrots, celery and parsley together so that the mixture resembles finely minced meat. You can carefully pulse each vegetable individually in a food processor, but make sure they don’t get mushy.
• Put the chopped vegetables straight into a large heavy-based saucepan with the olive oil and a pinch of salt.
• Leave to gently cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the onion starts to look translucent, pour in the wine.
• Leave to gently cook for 10 minutes while the wine reduces and the alcohol evaporates. Stir in the tomato concentrate and, after a couple of minutes, add the stock cube and 500 ml (17 fl oz) water.
• Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and cook down without a lid on for about 30 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by half and you are left with a thick(ish) brown ‘ragu’.
• Bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Add the rigatoni, give it a good stir so that it doesn’t stick together, and cook until al dente (check the packet instructions). Halfway through the cooking time, scoop out and reserve a mugful of the starchy pasta cooking water.
• While the pasta is cooking, stir 2 tablespoons of parmesan through the ragu.
• Drain the pasta, then toss it through the ragu with a few dribbles of the pasta cooking water. Add a little more if the pasta is looking dry or needs help mixing through the sauce.
• Serve immediately, straight from the pan, with a drizzle more oil and a sprinkling of parmesan.

Adapted from Winter in Tuscany (Thames and Hudson)
Photo: Valentina Solfrini