Justin and Ashley Ludwig of Party On shared with us this delicious recipe for Pappardelle with Beef Short Rib Ragu. This is a perfect Sunday supper for this time of year, using up summer tomatoes from the garden in a rich, comforting ragu. Braising the beef short ribs before making the sauce allows you to really concentrate the decadent beef flavour, and can be done in the morning or even the day before.
Pappardelle with Beef Short Rib Ragu
Ingredients:
For Braised Beef Short Ribs
- 1 kg (2lbs) English-style beef short ribs
- 60ml (4tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 120g (4oz) leek, chopped
- 120g (4oz) fennel, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 30ml (2 tbsp) tomato paste
- 250ml (1 cup) dry Italian red wine
- 1 700ml jar My Butcher beef bone broth
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 6 sprigs thyme
For Sugo
- 100g pancetta, minced
- 1/2 large yellow onion, minced
- 30ml (2tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil
- 30ml (2tbsp) tomato paste
- 120ml (1/2 cup) dry Italian red wine
- 250ml (1 cup) braising liquor
- 1.5L tomato passata (fresh, jarred, or from canned DOP San Marzano tomatoes)
- 1 bunch basil
- 30ml (1tbsp) butter
- 1 cup grated Parmigiana-Reggiano
For Pasta
- 280g “00” flour
- 2 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
Directions:
For Braised Beef Short Ribs
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
2. Generously season the short ribs with salt and pepper, then sear in olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until browned.
3. Remove the short ribs from the pot, and throw in the rough-chopped onion, carrot, leek fennel and garlic. Sautee in the oil and rendered beef fat until slightly softened, about 5-10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring the paste to coat the vegetables.
4. Deglaze the pan with the wine, and simmer until reduced and the alcohol has cooked off. Add the broth and the herbs, then add the ribs back into the pot, cover and transfer it to the oven.
5. Braise until the meat easily shreds with a fork, about 2 ½ hours. Check the pot every hour or so to ensure the meat is being cooked evenly, turning the ribs over as needed.
6. Let the pot cool just enough that it can be handled. Pull the ribs out, and using two forks roughly shred the meat off the bones.
7. Strain the braising liquor from the pot. Spoon about half of it onto the shredded meat and then cover the bowl with aluminum foil.
8. Refrigerate the remaining braising liquor. Once the fat has risen and solidified at the top, spoon it off and discard.
For Sugo
1. Using the same pot you cooked the beef in, fry the pancetta and the onion in olive oil on medium-low heat until the fat is rendered from the pancetta and the onion is browned.
2. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then deglaze with the wine.
3. Add the skimmed braising liquor and the passata and simmer until the sauce reaches desired consistency. (NOTE: This will depend on the tomatoes you use. Fresh tomatoes will need to cook longer as they have a lot more water in them. If you’re using passata out of a jar, it’s already pretty close to the right consistency. Canned tomatoes can either be pureed, passed through a food mill or pushed through a fine-mesh strainer, which all have different consistencies.)
4. When the sauce is getting close to finished, add the whole bunch of basil and let it cook in the sauce. Remove before serving.
For Pasta
1. After the dough has been kneaded and rested, roll it to a 7 and cut into 1” wide strips.
2. Spoon enough sauce needed for the meal into a deep frying pan, then add the braised beef (if adding half the sauce, use about half the beef etc). Bring to a high simmer and add the butter.
3. Boil the pappardelle for just a minute or two until floating and al dente, then transfer to the sauce. Add a bit of pasta water and let the pasta marry to the sauce at a high simmer for a minute or two.
4. Top with some Parmigiano-Reggiano (saving the rest for the table) and eat immediately!
