With the season change here in Michigan well upon us, it's time to break out those hearty meals that warm the soul. Comfort food. This recipe is one of my family's favorites! Perfect for those cold fall nights. Grab a warm bowl of this ragu, a blanket meant for two, curl up on the couch with a loved one and stream your favorite holiday movie.
I've used everything from oxtail to a good roast for this dish. It's not so much what cut of meat you use, but how long you roast it. The reason I like oxtail or a good shank with the bone still in, is that you get a lot of tenderness and flavor from the marrow that cooks off during the roasting process. Fire roasting the peppers is a personal touch, and brings a little smokiness and char to the dish, but if you're not a huge fan of your entire house smelling like charred pepper, you can cook them down with the beef when you slow cook that.
Set your oven to 140°. Clean the seeds out of the peppers and arragnge them one a sheet tray. Sear all sides of the beef and arrange it on the same sheet tray with the peppers. Season the whole sheet with salt, black pepper and drizzled olive oil. Roast the sheet tray for around 4-6 hours. The slow roasting of both will break them down but not lose any of the flavor. The beef will be tender and ready for your ragu, and your peppers will be easily malleable.
Dice up all your veggies, and put them together in a bowl. Add your pureed tomatoes and chicken stock. In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring some oil to temp. Add the tomato paste and cook down until a dark red color, but don't burn it! A dark crimson color is what I usually shoot for. As soon as it gets to that desired color, hit the pan with your white wine to deglaze the pan. Increase the heat to help burn off the alcohol, and add your veggie and stock mix. Bring that all to a boil and stir to incorporate it all together. Bring the heat down to a simmer, and let it go, stirring occasionally during the last 30 minutes of your roasting.
Once the roasting is done, add the peppers to your ragu. I typically use an immersion blender to break up the peppers, but if you don't have access to one, you can take a couple forks and tear up the peppers into small pieces before you put them in. Clean all the tendons and gristle on the beef and then incorporate that into the ragu. Add 1 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp Italian seasoning blend, and salt and black pepper to taste. Let it simmer with everything for another 5-10 minutes, or while your pasta is boiling. You can make the ragu up to 3 days before your ready to serve it, just keep it refrigerated.
When ready to serve, warm up ragu in saucepan while you boil your pasta (don't forget to salt your pasta!!!). Once your pasta is done, drain the water and add the ragu until the noodles are swimming in it. The best part of using the large rigatoni noodles is that the ragu gets into the tubes and clings to those fat ridges on the outside. Any noodle would be good in this sauce, but I love big fat pasta for hearty stuff like this ragu. The type of noodles that take a bite or two to get thru! Portion this ragu into bowls and top it with some grated parmesan cheese, and don't forget the garlic bread. Enjoy!
Comments