Description
Rich, hearty slow cooker beef ragu made with tender chuck roast, aromatic vegetables, and herbs, slow-cooked to perfection and served over pasta with fresh Parmesan.
Ingredients
For the Ragu:
- 1.2 kg (about 2½ lb) beef chuck (braising/casserole steak)
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper, plus more to taste
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion (red or brown), finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1 tbsp fresh garlic, grated
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup red wine (or substitute with 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
- 700 g passata (tomato puree)
- Beef stock—1 cube or powder equivalent
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
For Serving:
- Pasta of your choice (fresh lasagne sheets recommended)
- Extra-virgin olive oil (for tossing pasta)
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Salt and pepper that beef good. Heat up your pan with the oil until it’s hot. Brown the beef in batches – don’t crowd it or it’ll steam instead of brown. Takes about 6-8 minutes to get those nice edges. Set it aside when done.
Same pan, add your chopped onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook them for maybe 4 minutes until they smell good and soften up.
Stir in that tomato paste and let it cook for a couple minutes – you’ll see it get darker. Pour in the wine and let it bubble away for 2-3 minutes.
Dump everything into your slow cooker. Add the tomato sauce, stock cube, sugar, thyme and bay leaves. Put the beef back in and give it a stir. Cook it low for 8 hours or high for 5. The beef should fall apart when it’s done.
Fish out those thyme stems and bay leaves. Shred up that beef with two forks – it should be super easy if it cooked right. Mix it back into the sauce and taste it. Add more salt if you need to.
Cook your pasta however the box says. If you’re using those lasagne sheets cut into strips, they only need like a minute. Drain it and toss with a little olive oil so it doesn’t stick.
Here’s what I do – mix some of the sauce with the pasta first, then put it in bowls and top with more sauce. Lots of parmesan on top. Done.
Notes
Chuck a parmesan rind in the slow cooker if you have one – it melts and makes everything taste better
Sauce too watery? Take the lid off and cook on high for 20 minutes
No wine? Use 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar plus 2 tbsp beef stock instead
Stop lifting the lid to check – every time you do, you add 20 minutes to cooking time
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours (low) or 5 hours (high)
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American