Beef Short Rib & Merlot Rigatoni
- 2 Beef Short Ribs, approx 1.5KG
- 1 white onion, finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, finely chooped
- 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp of tomato purer
- 200ml of Merlot
- 1 Beef stock cube
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 large sprig of thyme
- 1 x 400g tin of good quality plum tomatoes
- 1 tsp of white sugar
- 150g of Northern Pasta Co Rigatoni
- Small bunch of fresh Parsley, finely chopped
- Preheat the oven to 140C fan. Season the beef shirt ribs all over with salt and pepper. Heat a large splash of oil in a large heavy bottomed pan over a medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown until dark brown and caramelised all over. This should take around 8-10 minutes to gain a good caramelisation over the meat. Rather than constantly moving the meat around the pan, leave it alone for a good few minutes to gain a good colour before turning and flipping to the other sides. Remove the meat from the pan once browned and add to a large casserole dish.
- Turn the heat down on the pan to medium low. Add 2 tbsp of Olive Oil followed by the Onion, Carrot and Celery. Fry for 5 minutes or so until well softened and the onion has become translucent.
- Add the Tomato puree and fry for a further minute before adding the Red Wine. Deglaze the bottom of the pan by scraping the bottom of the pan clean to release extra flavour.
- Pour this red wine and onion mixture into the casserole dish. Add the herbs, tinned tomatoes and beef stock.Add the sugar and season well with Salt and Pepper generously. Place into the oven for at least 5 hours or until the meat is completely falling apart and comes of the bone easily. The longer and slower cooking the better.
- Cook the Rigatoni in generously salted boiling water for 6 minutes or until al-denote. Drain the pasta, remove the bones from the ragu and gently mix to break up the meat.Add the drained pasta to the ragu along with the fresh parsley. Mix well and taste to check for seasoning before dividing between 2 bowls and serve immediately.
