Cover the bottom of a pot with extra virgin olive oil. Add the butter and finely chopped vegetables, along with a generous pinch of salt—this will help you cook the vegetables without burning them, as the salt will extract the moisture from the vegetables.

Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often. The battuto should be happily sizzling; do not burn it or let it darken too much. Now that the battuto has been sautéed in olive oil, we call it a soffritto.

Move the pot to a medium heat and add the ground beef, pork and pork belly. Stir with a wooden spoon to break the meat into smaller pieces and mix it into the soffritto. Stir continuously, using the wooden spoon to scrape the meat from the bottom and the sides of the pot. The meat will release some liquid, so cook it until the liquid has been completely absorbed and the meat is nicely browned. It will take at least 20 minutes.

Now gradually pour in the white and reduce it completely.

When you no longer smell the alcohol, pour in the milk and let it reduce, stirring occasionally, over medium heat.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomato purée and the tomato paste, diluted in a cup of hot water, stirring thoroughly. The ragù will begin to sputter. Cover the pot and simmer slowly, on the lowest heat.

Cook for at least an hour and a half, even two hours, stirring from time to time. You will notice puddles of olive oil forming on the surface of the meat sauce, coloured red by the long cooking time with the tomato sauce. This is when the ragù will be ready.