A rainy day is the perfect time to get out the pasta machine and your biggest Le Creuset pot and make a beautiful batch of fresh pasta and ragu. I'll often make a double batch of ragu and freeze some to pull out as dinner after a busy day. Italian "fast food"!

This ragu has a 50/50 mix of beef and pork mince for ultimate flavour. You could skip the tortelli filling and make wide strips of pasta instead, but this is worth investing the extra time and the kids are fantastic and creating the little tortelli. Teach your children to make pasta too - they can turn the handle from the age of about 2, and will graduate to eventually make you dinner!