Ingredients

• 2 large chuck steaks (approx 600g - 21oz)
• 4 tbsp Olive oil
• 17oz - 500g Tortiglioni pasta
• 1 brown onion
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery sticks
• A few sprigs of thyme (or one tsp dried)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cans of tomatoes (400g)
• 1 cup red wine (or use one cup extra beef stock)
• 4 cups beef stock
• Salt and Pepper
• A few sprigs of fresh parsley
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or as per taste)

Steps

• Step 1

  Pre heat your oven to 320°F – 160°C

• Step 2

  Cut up the steaks into chunky pieces. Place an oven proof (cast iron) pot on high heat, add a large drizzle of olive oil, once oil is hot add the meat pieces and caramelise until nice and brown. You may need to do that in two batches if your burner is not hot enough.

• Step 3

  Peel and chop the onion, add to the meat, caramelise the onions, add the thyme and 5 minced garlic cloves. Peel and grate the carrots, chop the celery sticks and add to the meat along with two cans of tomatoes. Add the tomato paste, (red wine) and beef stock. Add one bay leaf, season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover with an oven-proof lid and bake for 3 hours at 320°F – 160°C.

• Step 4

  Remove from oven, take out the bay leaf and give it a vigorous mix until all the meat pieces have shredded apart. Taste and adjust seasoning.

• Step 5

  Boil a large pot of water. Add salt, once boiling. Place your pasta in boiling water cook for two minutes less than indicated on packet (approx 12 minutes). Once cooked, drain and place directly into hot ragu. Mix very gently for 1 minutes and serve.

• Step 6

  Top with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Little Tips

You can use this ragu recipe for many other uses such as meat pies or simply adding it to a tomato pasta.
Ragu meat freezes well, make extra so it's always ready to use.