Slow-cooked beef ragu pasta

Substack #10

This last week at home has been nourishing…we’ve been in bed by 9.30pm most nights and very happily fallen back into our routine of early dinners and no booze. You’re probably yawning to the sound of this, I need it and I love it.

We spent Saturday morning at the park, had lunch out and came home for a long nap. It would have been a waste of an afternoon to be home without having something bubbling away, so I put on a pot of classic beef ragu before snoozing away. It was a perfect day. 

Slow-cooked dishes are accessible to everyone (who has time), no cooking skill is required, just patience. This is a universal winner with meat lovers, and as easy as ragus come. Cook it slowly but surely, in the rules of the art, because good things come to those who wait. Always better the next day once the flavours have really had time to get acquainted to one another. Any leftover ragu is good on a slice of toast for a hearty lunch or for breakfast with a fried egg.

I was going to serve it with polenta, then mashed potatoes and at the last minute I opted for the easiest option, pasta. I only had long fusilli in my cupboard but pappardelle would have been better - its large surface area and rough texture makes it the perfect vehicle for saucy pastas.

We all think we can cook pastas - it's the basics isnt’ it? But when is the last time you ate pasta at someone's house or even out and thought wow that’s amazing? I am a foodie, but I’m mostly just greedy, I will always eat what's on my plate. I'm an easy guest. However I can’t say I often eat great pasta dishes, in my home included. Although, in this case, my husband did say it was one the best dishes I had cooked for a while - he likes the simple things.

So here are some basic rules we should all follow (if you’re using dry pasta), to make sure our pasta tastes as good as it can:

Water pot

One of the tricks to cooking excellent pasta is to use a pan about five times bigger than the amount of pasta you're cooking. This allows the pasta to move freely and cook evenly. And less likely for it to stick at the bottom. 

Saltiness

• We rarely salt our pasta water enough, according to most chefs, you want it to resemble sea water. I know this may seem like a lot of salt, but remember that only a fraction of the amount you add will be absorbed into the pasta. If cooking for little little ones, I wouldn't add any salt to the water. For slightly older children, I will let you decide.

• Add salt to water after it starts to boil - this way it will dissolve almost immediately so you can check straight away if the water is seasoned (if you add it when the water is cold, then you run the risk of adding too much).

On to the recipe:

Beef Ragu pasta 

Beef Ragu Pasta

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Makes: 6 adult servings

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 3hrs 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef shin , off the bone, sinew removed

• olive oil

• 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

• 2 x bay leaves

• 2 onions

• 4 cloves of garlic

• 2 sticks of celery

• 175 ml Italian red wine

• 1 x 400 g tin of plum tomatoes

• 3 tbsps tomato puree

• 500ml beef stock

• 500gr dried pasta of you choice 

• Freshly grated parmesan 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven 160c

2. Season the beef and heat 1 tbsp oil in a flameproof/ ovenproof casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the beef until brown for about 15 mins, in batches if you need to, using 1 tbsp oil for each batch. Remove the beef from the casserole and set aside. 

3. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic with a pinch of salt to the casserole, and cook for 8-10 mins over a low-medium heat. Add oil if you need to. The vegetables should shine and caramelise very slightly.

4. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further 3 mins. Add the wine, herbs, tinned tomatoes and stock, season and bring to the boil, stir the beef back into the sauce and reduce to a simmer. 

5. Cover and put in the oven for 2 hrs 30 mins, then remove the lid, stir and put back in the oven, uncovered, for 30 mins or until the sauce is very thick. Remove the bay leafs. Use a fork to roughly shred the beef, and season. Serve now, or chill until serving – it tastes better if made a day ahead.

6. When ready to serve, gently reheat the ragu over a medium heat. Bring a very large pot of water to the boil, salt generously. Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time as per the packet instructions.

7. When the pasta is ready, transfer it directly from the pot into the casserole, using tongs. Add 3/4 cup of pasta water into the fry pan.

8. Gently toss the pasta with tongs for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce water evaporates and leaves you with a thick ragu sauce that coats the pasta, it should be glossy.

9. Ladle the pasta into bowls, scatter over the parmesan and serve.

Great for a hands-off dinner party, or to have in your fridge to pick at during the week. 

Enjoy x