Braised Beef Ragu with Pappardelle

Braised beef ragu… served with pappardelle and parmesan.

This rich, indulgent pasta recipe is a classic for a reason – the flavours are absolutely unmatched. There is no better show-stopper sauce to serve up when entertaining in my opinion.

This ragu is best served with a long, flat pasta such as pappardelle, but you could also use tagliatelle or spaghetti. Slow cooking allows the flavours to develop and lends itself well to a cheaper cut of meat, without sacrificing delicious-ness!

Braised Beef Ragu Recipe:

Ingredients

• 500g chuck beef (or you can use diced braising beef)
• 1tsp salt (+ pepper)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 celery stick, diced
• 1 tin of crushed tomatoes (400g)
• 1tbsp tomato paste
• 500ml beef stock
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 400g (or 4x servings) dried pappardelle
• Parmesan (for serving)

Step by step:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 C. Season the beef with salt and pepper on all sides.
2. Add oil to a large, heavy-bottomed casserole dish over medium heat. Brown the beef on all sides until caramelised and then remove and set aside.
3. Into the same dish, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic – saute for roughly 5 minutes until the onion and celery have softened.
4. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock and herbs to the dish, bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer.
5. Return the beef to the dish, cover with lid and transfer to your pre-heated oven for 2-3 hours until the beef easily shreds. Season to taste.
6. Cook the pappardelle according to packet instructions. Serve with ragu and parmesan shavings.

Note – if you have too much liquid remaining at step 5 – transfer dish back to the stove top and simmer to reduce.

Try some of our other pasta recipes:

Roasted Tomato, Garlic and Ricotta Pasta

Chicken and Mushroom Baked Orzo

Lentil Ragu