Saturday, April 20, 2019

Rustic Italian Beef Ragu

Rich flavours in the sauce, tender beef and perfect pasta. The ultimate rainy day comfort food.


Ingredients:
1 lb boneless cross rib beef
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsps + 1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
14 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tsps dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup red wine
8 oz pappardelle egg noodles
1 - 1 1/2 cups reserved pasta water

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsps of olive oil and brown meat on all sides then remove to a plate.

On medium heat add 1 tbsps of olive oil and sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the carrots and cook 5 minutes.

Now add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, water, celery seed, thyme, bay leaf and onion soup mix.



Lay the beef back in the pan and spoon some of the sauce on top. Simmer covered for about 2 hours.

When the meat is cooked it should be very tender. Shred it with two forks like you would a pulled pork. You could leave some larger pieces if you like.



Lastly, add the red wine and simmer an additional 30 minutes until all the flavours have melded together. 
Remove the bay leaf.



About this pasta... I  went to a couple of stores and didn't find it. The thought crossed my mind that I would just use rigatoni or some other pasta instead. So glad I went to that third store and found it! The dish wouldn't have been the same without these tender strips of pasta!

Cook the noodles in well salted water and reserve a good amount of the pasta water. I just dipped a 2 cup measuring cup in at the end. Remove the pappardelle 2 minutes before the end of cooking, so these were supposed to take 7 minutes. I removed them at 5.  Stir them into the sauce and cook in the sauce for the remaining 2 minutes. Here is where you would add the reserved pasta water. I added approximately 1 cup.




Give the sauce a taste, salt and pepper again if needed, and serve with a nice red wine. 



Serves 4

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