Tag Archives: beef ragù

Weeknight Ragù Bolognese

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Ragù Bolognese over Fettuccine is one of the great classics of Italian cuisine — a deeply satisfying, soul-warming dish from the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.

The aroma is heady — savory, sweet from the carrot and onion, with hints of wine and the warm, roasted depth of slowly cooked meat. The taste is profoundly comforting: rich without being heavy, complex without being fussy. It’s the kind of dish that feels like it took all day — but here you get top-quality results in one hour!

Typically, the ragù is a slow-cooked meat sauce, rich and complex in flavor. In this short-cut version, meatloaf mix is used. Beginning with a soffritto — a fragrant base of finely diced onion, celery, and carrot sweated in butter and olive oil, the meat mixture is browned into this base, then married with dry white or red wine, a modest amount of tomato paste, and heavy cream, which softens the acidity and rounds out the sauce.

Flat, ribbon-like egg pasta — such as pappardelle, fettuccine or tagliatelle — is the ideal vehicle. Its broad, slightly porous surface clings to the thick ragù beautifully, and its richness (egg yolk in the dough) complements the butteriness of the sauce. When cooked properly to al dente, it has a satisfying chew and a gentle golden color.

On the plate, the result is a lustrous, amber-brown tangle of pasta, each strand coated in a clinging, meaty sauce studded with tender bits of browned meat. It’s finished with a generous shower of freshly grated Parmesan, which melts slightly into the warmth of the dish and adds a sharp, nutty counterpoint. A drizzle of good olive oil or a knob of butter can be added at the end for gloss.

In lieu of pancetta, we used guanciale since we had exactly 4 ounces on hand.

Weeknight Ragù Bolognese

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 oz. piece pancetta, cut into ½-inch chunks
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • ½ cup dry red or white wine
  • 1 lb. meatloaf mix
  • 6 oz. can tomato paste
  • 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
  • 1⁄2 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely grated (1⁄4 cup); more for serving
  • 1 qt. low-sodium beef broth
  • 1⁄4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

  1. On a 6-quart Instant Pot, select More/High Sauté. Add the oil, pancetta, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the pancetta has rendered some fat, 5 to 6 minutes.
  2. Add the wine and meatloaf mix; cook, breaking up the meat in small pieces, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in the tomato paste, cream, Parmesan and 1/2 cup water, then distribute the mixture into an even layer.
  4. Press Cancel, lock the lid in place and move the pressure valve to Sealing. Select Pressure Cook or Manual; making sure pressure level is set to High. Set the cooking time for 15 minutes. When pressure cooking is complete, quick-release the steam by moving the pressure valve to Venting. Press Cancel, then open the pot.
  5. Stir the parsley into the sauce, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve over cooked ribbon-like pasta.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe for Milk Street

Cabbage Roll Casserole

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LOVE this main dish inspired by classic Eastern European cabbage rolls. The super-cozy bake from recipe developer Asha Loupy takes a spin from the lasagna handbook—a Polish Lasagna if you will. Blanched cabbage leaves are stacked with spiced beef ragù and lemony herbed rice for a casserole that’s chock-full of all the flavors of cabbage rolls, without the rolling.

Asha shows us two tricks for the perfect cabbage roll casserole—no mushy rice or soggy bottoms here, thank you. First, reduce the tomatoes until they reach a thick, almost paste-like consistency. This ensures that you’ll get neat slices, without a runny, liquidy sauce. Second, parboil the rice (as you would for tahdig or biryani) and sprinkle it lightly between the layers. This gives the grains room to cook to fluffy perfection while baking.

It took both of us two full hours from start to finish, so it’s not necessarily a quick, easy weeknight meal. However, some make-aheads are the meat sauce, parboiling the rice, and blanching the cabbage leaves up to three days ahead. Cover and chill separately. Then when ready, assemble the casserole just before baking.

If you are not a red meat eater, switch out the ground beef for ground turkey or even plant-based meat to make it vegetarian.

Cabbage Roll Casserole

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch dill (save some fronds for garnish)
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1½ lbs. ground beef; or plant-based meat, or ground turkey
  • 3 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided
  • ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for pan
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 large head of savoy or green cabbage
  • 1¼ cups long-grain rice (such as basmati)
  • 1 lemon, zested over cooked rice (see Step 7)
  • 8 oz. crème fraîche
  • 8 oz. shredded, low-moisture mozzarella

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 400°. Start by prepping the beef filling. Coarsely chop 1 large bunch dill (you should get about ¾ cup), then crush and finely chop 3 large garlic cloves. Transfer a third of dill and a third of garlic to a large bowl. Add 1½ lb. ground beef or plant-based meat, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ kosher salt, and ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper and mix with your hands to incorporate. Set remaining dill and garlic aside separately.
  2. Heat 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high until shimmering. Add half of beef mixture, dropping into pot in small clumps. Cook, undisturbed, until deeply browned underneath, about 5 minutes (or about 3 minutes if using plant-based meat). Stir and continue to cook 1 minute (it’s okay if the meat is not fully cooked through, it’ll finish cooking in the sauce). Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a plate. Repeat with remaining beef mixture. Wipe out pot.
  3. While the meat is cooking, finely chop 1 large onion.
  4. Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in same pot over medium. Add onion and remaining 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Cook onion, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until softened and starting to turn golden, 6–8 minutes. Add ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon, and reserved garlic, and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.
  5. Return beef mixture to pot and add one 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes. Break up meat and tomatoes into smaller pieces with spoon. Add ½ cup water and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is cooked off and mixture is just a little looser than tomato paste, 20–25 minutes.
  6. While the sauce is cooking, line a large rimmed baking sheet with kitchen towels and bring a medium pot of generously salted water to a boil. Using a paring knife, cut about 1″ deep circle around core of 1 large head of savoy or green cabbage. Gently pull off 16–20 cabbage leaves, cutting away from core if needed. (Save any extra cabbage for another use.) Cut a small V in the bottom of each leaf, about ½” big, to remove the thickest part of the fibrous stalk. Working in batches of 3–4 leaves at a time, cook cabbage until just pliable, 10–15 seconds. Transfer to prepared baking sheet with tongs. Pat leaves dry.
  7. Return water to a boil, add rice, and cook, stirring occasionally, until barely al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain rice and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking. Shake rice well to remove most of the water, then transfer to a medium bowl. Finely grate zest of 1 lemon on Microplane over rice and add reserved dill; mix well to combine.
  8. Rub bottom and sides of a 9×13″ deep lasagna dish with oil. Cover bottom of dish with a single layer of cabbage leaves, overlapping slightly. Set ½ cup sauce aside and spread half of remaining sauce over cabbage. Sprinkle half of rice mixture evenly over sauce. Top with another layer of cabbage leaves, then remaining half of sauce, and remaining rice. Top with a final layer of cabbage leaves.
  9. Spread 8 oz. crème fraîche evenly over cabbage. Dollop reserved sauce on top. Grate 8 oz. low-moisture mozzarella on the large holes of a box grater and sprinkle over. Cover dish with foil and set on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Uncover dish and increase oven temperature to 425°. Continue to bake until cheese is golden brown and bubbling, 18–20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Garnish lightly with dill fronds.
  10. Any leftovers can be cooled, sliced into squares, packed in lock-n-locks with a tight lid and refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Do ahead: Meat sauce can be made, rice can be parboiled, and cabbage leaves can be blanched 3 days ahead. Cover and chill separately. Assemble casserole just before baking.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe by Asha Loupy for Bon Appétit