Ragù di manzo – Slow-cooked beef shoulder ragù
Recipe for slow-simmered Italian beef shoulder ragù – ragù with soffritto, red wine and stock.
Servings 8 servings
Calories 608kcal
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef shoulder, chuck or similar braising beef
- 2 onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 sticks celery
- 200 g carrots
- 100 g tomato purée
- 300 ml red wine
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 400-500 ml beef stock
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 parmesan rind (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Olive oil
- A little sugar and red wine vinegar, if needed
To serve
- 800 g pasta – ideally rigatoni
- Parmesan, for the top
Instructions
- Trim the meat of any larger sinews and gristle and cut it into large chunks.
- Heat a good splash of olive oil in a large pan and brown the meat well on all sides. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Meanwhile, blitz the onions, garlic, celery and carrots finely in a food processor – or chop them finely by hand.
- Once the meat is well browned, remove it from the pan and fry the vegetables well for about 10 minutes. Season these too with a little salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Stir in the tomato purée and cook it through for a couple of minutes, then return the meat to the pan.
- Pour in the red wine and let it reduce for 5-10 minutes, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and the stock.
- Add the rosemary and bay leaves, stir everything together and let the meat simmer over a low heat, with the lid on, for about 3 hours, or until it is so tender that it pulls apart easily.
- Remove the rosemary sprig and bay leaves and pull the meat apart. You can do this directly in the pan, or lift the meat onto a plate, pull it apart there and return it to the pan.
- Add the parmesan rind, stir it in with the meat and let the sauce simmer for a further 30 minutes or so, without the lid, so it can reduce and thicken.
- Remove the parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper – and a little red wine vinegar or sugar, if needed.
- Cook the pasta al dente, following the instructions on the packet. Reserve a little of the pasta water.
- Toss the pasta straight into the sauce and serve with parmesan on top.
Nutrition
Calories: 608kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 436mg | Potassium: 850mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4500IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 4mg