- Hearty & Grounding
- Mains
- Prep 25 min
- Cook 3 h
- Serves 6
The kind of dinner that makes the whole house smell like Sunday. The oven does nearly all the work: a few unhurried hours turn a tough cut into something you can pull apart with a spoon. Make it the day before if you can, because it only gets better.
Ingredients
For the ragu
- 1 kg beef shin or chuck, cut into large chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 200 ml red wine
- 2 x 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
- 500 ml beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- Salt and black pepper
To serve
- 500 g pappardelle
- Grated parmesan
- Chopped fresh parsley
Method
- Heat the oven to 160°C. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof pot and brown the beef in batches until deep golden on all sides. Set aside.
- In the same pot, cook the onion, carrots and celery over medium heat for 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the wine, scrape up everything stuck to the bottom and let it bubble until reduced by half.
- Return the beef to the pot with the tomatoes, stock, bay leaves and rosemary. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook in the oven for 2½ to 3 hours, until the beef falls apart.
- Lift out the herbs. Shred the beef with two forks right in the sauce, then simmer uncovered on the hob for 10 minutes until thick and glossy. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Cook the pappardelle in well-salted water until al dente. Save a cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta and toss it through the ragu, loosening with a splash of the water.
- Serve with parmesan and parsley.
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