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Slow Sunday Ragù with Freshly Grated Parmesan
Nestware Kitchen
As soon as the evenings start drawing in, this is what Sunday looks like: a heavy pot on a low heat for three hours, the papers out, and a smell drifting through the house that has everyone asking "is it ready yet?" from about 2pm.
It's not complicated. Brown the beef, soften the veg, add wine and tomatoes and leave it alone. The magic is in the time. Finish with a properly generous grating of Parmesan; we use the fine drum on the rotary grater at the table so everyone can help themselves.
Slow Sunday Ragù with Freshly Grated Parmesan
Serves: 6 servingsPrep: 25 minCook: 3 hr 30 min
Ingredients
- 1kg beef shin or braising steak, cut into large chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, 1 carrot and 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 250ml red wine
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 300ml beef stock
- 2 bay leaves and a sprig of rosemary
- A Parmesan rind, if you have one
- Salt and black pepper
To serve
- 500g pappardelle or rigatoni
- Plenty of freshly grated Parmesan
- A little chopped parsley
Method
- Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan, gas 2). Season the beef well. Brown it in batches in the oil in a large casserole over a high heat, then set aside.
- Lower the heat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cook gently for 10 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the garlic and tomato purée and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Pour in the wine and let it bubble for a couple of minutes, scraping up the tasty bits from the bottom.
- Add the tomatoes, stock, herbs and Parmesan rind, return the beef and bring to a simmer.
- Cover and cook in the oven for about 3 hours, until the beef falls apart when prodded with a fork.
- Remove the herbs and rind, then shred the beef into the sauce with two forks. Simmer on the hob to thicken if needed, and season.
- Cook the pasta, reserving a mug of the water. Toss the pasta with the ragù and a splash of pasta water, and serve with a mountain of Parmesan.
Can you make ragù in a slow cooker?
Yes. Do the browning and softening in a pan, then transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
Freezing and leftovers
Ragù is even better the next day. It keeps for three days in the fridge and freezes brilliantly for up to three months, so portion leftovers into sealed containers for easy midweek dinners. Glass containers like our meal prep tubs won't stain orange like plastic does.
Why grate Parmesan fresh?
Ready-grated Parmesan loses its aroma fast and is often dry and dusty. Grated from the block, it's fluffy, fragrant and melts into the hot pasta. Save the rinds in the freezer for your next ragù or soup.
Made with: Nestware Rotary Cheese Grater
Five stainless drums, a suction base that stays put and a pusher that keeps fingers clear. The fine drum turns a block of Parmesan into a fluffy mountain in seconds.
We chop the soffritto on the veg side of our stainless steel chopping board and trim the beef on the steel side.
