Description
This slow cooked beef ragu pasta features melt-in-your-mouth beef simmered in a rich tomato and red wine sauce, served over wide ribbons of pasta. A deeply comforting, make-ahead-friendly dish perfect for gatherings or cozy dinners.
Ingredients
- 250 g fettucce pasta
- 800 g beef chuck steak, cut into large cubes
- 1 medium carrot, finely diced
- ½ medium onion, finely diced
- 1 celery stalk with leaves, finely diced
- 1 fresh rosemary stalk
- 4–5 bay leaves
- 1 small handful fresh basil leaves
- 700 ml tomato passata
- 1 liter vegetable stock
- 120 ml red wine
- 3 tablespoons plain flour
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or casserole dish over medium heat. Add diced carrot, onion, celery, and a splash of water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft.
- Add chopped rosemary leaves and stir until vegetables are almost creamy. Add beef cubes and brown on all sides.
- Sprinkle flour over beef and vegetables. Stir well to coat. Pour in red wine and stir until mostly evaporated.
- Add a little vegetable stock to prevent sticking, then stir in tomato passata. Let cook for 2 minutes.
- Add about 500 ml vegetable stock, bay leaves, celery leaves, remaining rosemary stalk, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer on low heat for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Add more stock as needed.
- During the last 30 minutes, remove lid and discard rosemary stalk, bay leaves, and celery leaves. Let sauce reduce and thicken.
- Turn off heat and stir in fresh basil. Cover and rest while cooking pasta.
- Boil fettucce in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain.
- In a frying pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Add 3 ladles of ragu and warm through. Add cooked pasta and toss. Add more sauce and pasta water as needed to coat pasta evenly.
- Serve immediately with extra sauce on top.
Notes
- Chuck steak is ideal for slow cooking as it becomes very tender.
- For richer flavor, add a small knob of butter when tossing pasta.
- Use tagliatelle or pappardelle as alternatives to fettucce.
- Make sauce ahead and store or freeze for later use.
- Gently shred beef with a fork for a smoother, more uniform sauce texture.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 portion (1/6 of recipe)
- Calories: 520
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 670mg
- Fat: 26g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 17g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 35g
- Cholesterol: 90mg
