Rigatoni with Beef and Onion Ragu
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 1/4- lb boneless beef chuck eye roast
- 2 oz pancetta cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 oz salami cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small carrot peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small celery rib cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 ½ lb onions halved and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 tbsp minced fresh marjoram
- 1 lb rigatoni
- 1 oz Pecorino Romano cheese grated (1/2 cup), plus extra for serving
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees
- Cut beef into 4 pieces and trim large pieces of fat
- Sprinkle beef with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and set aside
- Process pancetta and salami in food processor until ground to paste, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed
- Add carrot and celery and process 30 seconds longer, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Transfer paste to Dutch oven and set aside; do not clean out processor bowl.
- Now pulse onions in processor in 2 batches, until 1/8- to 1/4-inch pieces form, 8 to 10 pulses per batch.
- Cook pancetta mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fat is rendered and fond begins to form on bottom of pot, about 5 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until browned, about 90 seconds.
- Stir in 2 cups water, scraping up any browned bits.
- Stir in onions and bring to boil.
- Stir in 1/2 cup wine and 1 tablespoon marjoram.
- Add beef and push into onions to ensure that it is submerged.
- Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, until beef is fully tender, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
- Remove from the oven and transfer beef to carving board.
- Place pot over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is almost completely dry.
- Stir in remaining 1/2 cup wine and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Using 2 forks, shred beef into bite-size pieces.
- Return the beef to the pan
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon marjoram into sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.
- Cook your pasta to al dente according to package directions
- Drain rigatoni and add to warm sauce.
- Add Pecorino and stir vigorously over low heat until sauce is slightly thickened and rigatoni is fully tender, 1 to 2 minutes.
Notes
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
Nutrition
Calories: 500kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 26gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 355mgPotassium: 701mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1140IUVitamin C: 11.7mgCalcium: 102mgIron: 2.9mg
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