Oven-Braised Beef Ragu with Pappardelle

By Sprig Originals ✓ · with credit

Adapted from therealfooddietitians.com

Chuck roast browned hard, then left to melt into a tomato sauce for four slow hours in the oven until it shreds under a fork. One pot, almost no attention, and a sauce rich enough to make a Tuesday feel like a celebration.

Ingredients

• 2.5 lb beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 5-6 pieces
• fine salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil, divided

• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 large carrots, peeled and finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 celery stalks, finely diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups beef broth, plus more as needed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

• hot cooked pappardelle or polenta, grated Parmesan and chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 300°F. Pat the beef chunks dry with paper towel and season both sides generously with fine salt and black pepper.
2. Set a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven with a tight lid over medium-high heat. When it's thoroughly hot, add 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil and swirl to coat — a wisp of smoke is exactly right.
3. Lay the beef in the pot and leave it alone for 7 minutes, until a deep brown crust forms. Flip and brown the second side for 8 minutes, then move the beef to a plate.
4. Turn the heat down to medium and add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil. Stir in the onion, carrots and celery and cook 7 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion softens. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, just until fragrant.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and Italian seasoning, coating the vegetables, and cook 1 minute to take the raw edge off the paste.
6. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and beef broth, raise the heat and bring it almost to a boil. Pull the pot off the heat, nestle the beef back in along with any juices from the plate, and tuck in the bay leaves.
7. Cover and braise in the oven for about 4 hours, until the beef falls apart at the nudge of a fork. Peek once or twice — if a lot of liquid has steamed away, stir in another 1/4 to 1/3 cup broth.
8. Lift the beef onto a board and shred it with two forks. Fish out the bay leaves, return the meat to the sauce, stir in the red wine vinegar and taste for salt. Spoon over hot pappardelle or polenta and finish with Parmesan and parsley.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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