Cheap Beef Ragu

What you need

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 500g gravy beef or chuck steak
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 brown onion, diced
  • 2 large carrots, diced
  • 0.5 cup celery, diced
  • 400g diced tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 500g pasta (ideally pappardelle, but rigatoni or fettucini are ok too)

How it’s done

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper

Sear all sides of beef in 1 tbsp oil in a hot pan, then remove onto a plate.

Turn stove down to medium low and add remaining tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic and onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add the carrots and celery and sauté slowly for 5 minutes.

Return beef to pan, add wine and cook on high until reduced by half

Move mixture to slow cooker and add remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (until beef is falling apart).

Remove beef then coarsely shred in a bowl with 2 forks.

Blend sauce in slow cooker with stick blender

Return beef to the pot. Cook on high for 30 minutes until sauce is reduced and thickened - beef will soften slightly more during this step.

Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning to your taste with salt and pepper. ALSO, add 1/2 tsp sugar if sauce is a bit sour for your taste

Cook pasta for 1 minute less than packet instructions. Drain pasta, reserving the water. Add ragu and 1/3 cup of pasta water to the pasta pot. Toss over low heat until ragu sauce thickens up again.

Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan