Main dish

Beef Ragù recipe

Name: Beef Ragù
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 red onion, diced; 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced; 1 stick celery, finely diced; 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped; 10g dried porcini mushrooms; 2 rashers bacon (or around 60g pancetta); 125ml red wine; ½ beef stock cube; 250g beef mince (I use 5% fat); 200g chopped tomatoes; ½ tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp balsamic vinegar; 6 chestnut mushrooms, sliced (optional); salt and pepper; a small handful of basil leaves; Parmesan cheese (to grate); 500g fresh pasta (or 350g dried, e.g. tagliatelle, pappardelle or spaghetti)

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Beef ragù made with porcini mushrooms, red wine, balsamic vinegar and pork. Great with fresh pasta.

Prep15m
Cook45m
Total1h

beef italian pasta

Beef ragu with tagliatelle, salad and wine

This recipe was born from an almighty craving for ragù, but something darker, richer and (stay with me here) drier than the tomato-rich bolognese I usually make. The kind of sauce that clings to pasta with no watery tomato juice collecting at the bottom of the plate. More brown than red.

The ingredients that transform the ragù are: porcini mushrooms, beef stock cubes, red wine, Parmesan, balsamic vinegar and definitely pork. I don’t always use beef and pork together but this is an indulgent recipe so I’ve included it.

I discovered the pork-beef combination after trying M&S’s lasagne al forno. I almost didn’t buy it as it’s smaller and more expensive than their standard lasagne. I'm glad I did because the difference is like night and day. When I compared the ingredients I saw pork included in the al forno lasagne so I've included it in my ragù.

If you’re missing an ingredient like porcini, beef stock, or pork, it doesn’t matter but if you can include them then the ragù will be better for it. This is by no means an authentic recipe (my brother recommends Bon Appetit’s Classic Ragù if that’s what you’re after). It’s just some of my favourite savoury things combined with beef and eaten with pasta; it’s my ultimate comfort food.

Recipe

Beef Ragù

Prep15m
Cook45m
Total1h

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Beef ragù

1 red onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 stick celery, finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
10g dried porcini mushrooms
2 rashers bacon (or around 60g pancetta)
125ml red wine
½ beef stock cube
250g beef mince (I use 5% fat)
200g chopped tomatoes
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
6 chestnut mushrooms, sliced (optional)
salt and pepper
a small handful of basil leaves
Parmesan cheese (to grate)

Pasta

500g fresh pasta (or 350g dried, e.g. tagliatelle, pappardelle or spaghetti)

Method

Place a medium saucepan over a medium to high heat and fill and boil your kettle.
Add 1 diced red onion, 1 diced carrot and 1 stick of diced celery to the saucepan and fry for 5-10 minutes then add 2-3 chopped garlic cloves. Fry until the vegetables start to colour.
While the vegetables are softening in the saucepan, add 10g of dried porcini mushrooms to a small cup or jug and pour in 150ml of boiled water. Give the mushrooms a stir then set to one side.
Snip in 2 rashers of bacon, or around 60g of pancetta and fry until the pork is no longer translucent.
Add 125ml of red wine to the saucepan and allow to bubble for a few minutes then crush in half a beef stock cube.
Add 250g of beef mince to the pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and fry for around 5 minutes until the beef loses its rawness.
At this stage I use scissors to snip the porcini mushrooms into smaller pieces while still in their liquid (leave them whole if you prefer) then scoop them out with a fork and add them to the saucepan. Very slowly and carefully pour the mushroom liquid into the pan, leaving the last bit as it’ll be gritty and you don’t want that in your ragù.
Add 200g of chopped tomatoes to the pan along with ½ teaspoon of dried oregano and 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.
If I'm using chestnut mushrooms, I'll add them now, but bear in mind that they'll release water into the ragù so you'll need to add another ten minutes or so to the cooking time.
Simmer for at least 15 minutes (longer if you've added chestnut mushrooms) until the sauce has thickened and most of the water has evaporated.
Before seasoning with salt and black pepper, taste the ragù. I usually don’t need to add salt because of the beef stock cube.
Cook 500g of fresh pasta or 350g of dried pasta according to the instructions on the packet but reduce the cooking time by a minute or two.
Drain the pasta and add it to the ragù. Cook for a minute to allow the pasta to absorb any remaining liquid then divide between four plates, tear over the basil leaves and top with grated Parmesan cheese.