Rich meaty ragu, perfect served with rigatoni. I always make my ragu the day before to allow the flavours to develop. If you don't have a pressure cooker, it can be cooked in the oven for 3 hours.
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Ingredients
- 1.5 kg beef cheek each cheek cut into 3
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion diced
- 3 carrots diced
- 2 sticks celery diced
- 6 cloves garlic finely diced
- 500 ml red wine
- 200 ml beef stock
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- 1/2 tsp tabasco
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 500 g rigatoni to serve
Instructions
- Season the beef with plenty of salt on all sides.
- Put the pressure cooker on a high heat and add half the oil. Brown the beef cheeks in batches, remove to a bowl.
- Lower the heat, add the remaining oil, onions, carrots and celery, sauté for 5-10 minutes until soft. Turn heat to high, add the red wine and allow to bubble until reduced by a third. Add the beef back to the pan along with stock, tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, star anise, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and oregano. Give everything a good stir.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker, once up to pressure cook for 50 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow pressure to release naturally.
- If you don't have a pressure cooker, bring the ragu to a simmer, cover with a lid or tightly with foil and put in the oven for 3 hours at 180C.
- The ragu is ready when the meat is falling apart. Using a slotted spoon or spider strainer, remove the vegetables and meat to a large bowl, picking out the thyme, bay leaves and star anis as you go.
- Return the pan to the cooker and reduce the sauce by half. Return the vegetables and meat to the pan and if not serving immediately, can be cooled and stored for up to 4 days.
- Serve with Rigatoni.
Nutrition
Calories: 754kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 48gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 338mgPotassium: 1421mgFiber: 6gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 5363IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 109mgIron: 7mg
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