Spiced Beef Ragu with Pappardelle - Carolina Gelen

Spiced Beef Ragu with Pappardelle - Carolina Gelen

from carolinagelen.com
20 min
6 servings

A comforting, hearty, spiced beef ragu sauce with pappardelle that's perfect for impressing a hungry crowd. Bonus: it freezes very well!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (450g) 80/20 ground beef
  • Kosher salt
  • Extra-virgin olive oil or neutral oil
  • 3 medium carrots, finely chopped
  • 5 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 8 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoons chili flakes
  • Black pepper
  • 1/2 cup red wine or water
  • 4 cups beef bone broth or stock (or water)
  • 1 (36-ounce) can whole tomatoes
  • 6 servings of pappardelle

Directions

  1. 1

    Place a medium (4 to 5 quart) heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beef, a pinch of salt and cook until deeply brown, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium, as needed.

  2. 2

    Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a small bowl, leaving most of the beef fat in the pot. If needed, add more oil.

  3. 3

    Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the veggies have significantly reduced in volume and have a light brown color throughout with caramelized brown bits here and there.

  4. 4

    Add the coriander, fennel, cumin, paprika, chili flakes, some black pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until toasty and fragrant, about 1 minute.

  5. 5

    Carefully add the wine and scrape off any brown bits off the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. They will bring lots of flavor to the ragu.

  6. 6

    Return the browned beef to the pot. Add the beef broth, the canned tomatoes and tomato juices from the can (crushing them as you add them to the pot) and a hefty pinch of salt.

  7. 7

    Stir everything to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover with a lid and cook, slowly simmering the ragu for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until reduced by half and significantly thickened.

  8. 8

    To serve the sauce right away, 10 minutes before the beef ragu is ready, bring a pot of water to a boil. Season with a hefty pinch of salt. Add the pappardelle to the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes less than what the packaging calls for.

  9. 9

    Using a pair of tongs, add the pasta to the sauce, alongside a few splashes of pasta water. Stir to combine and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce sticks to the pasta and looks nice and glossy.

  10. 10

    Serve right away.