This Weekend, Perhaps a Ragu

This weekend I'm planning to prepare a Ragù. No, not that brand-named sauce in a jar. I'm talking about this kind of Ragù (courtesy of wikipedia):

Ragù is an Italian term for a meat-based sauce, which is traditionally served with pasta. Etymologically the word derives from the French ragoût, a noun derived from ragoûter (to revive the taste).

Typical Italian ragù include ragù bolognese (sometimes known as Bolognese sauce), Neapolitan ragù, and Ragù a la Barese (which contains horse meat).

I am looking for a new recipe for Ragù, but I don't think a recipe for the "a la Barese" variety is quite what I'm thinking of. More from wikipedia:

A ragù is usually made by adding meat to a soffritto (a partially-fried mixture of chopped onions, celery, carrots, seasonings, etc.) and then simmering it for a long time with tomato sauce.

Served with a nice bottle of red wine, of course.

Here's a recipe I found for Ragù Bolognese from Mario Batali at the Food Network's website. It might serve as a good template, although I frequently improvise a little. Hmmm, maybe I'll replace some of the onion with shallot.