Ragu with Cheesy Garlic Bread
One of our all-time favorite dishes for cold, chilly, or rainy days. A big pot of ragu looks impressive but isn't as hard as it seems — let it stew all day on a cozy weekend, and pair it with cheesy garlic bread if you like.
Our Quintessential Ragu
You will have leftovers ;)
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless beef chuck roast
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 large carrots
- 4 stalks celery
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup tomato paste OR 1 1/2 cups simple chunky tomato sauce OR 1 1/2 cups whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed (we used our homemade tomato sauce)
- 1 1/2 cups red wine, preferably an Italian wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 parmesan rind
- 4 sprigs thyme or rosemary, or 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups parmesan, freshly grated
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta
- Salt & pepper
- Basil, optional
Preparation
- 1
Salt and pepper the beef chuck on all sides and melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Sear the beef on all sides until golden brown, then remove from the pan.
- 2
While the meat cooks, add the onion, carrots, and celery to a food processor and finely chop — do not purée.
- 3
Add the veggies and 1 tbsp olive oil to the beef renderings and cook on medium for 5 minutes, then add the whole garlic cloves.
- 4
Add your tomato of choice — if using tomato paste, caramelize it a bit in the pan with the olive oil.
- 5
Add the wine and turn to high heat to cook off the alcohol.
- 6
In goes the beef, beef broth, parm rind, and herbs — cover and cook on low for 3–4 hours!
- 7
Once the meat easily pulls apart, turn off the heat and remove the herbs and parmesan rind.
- 8
Pull all the meat, removing any excess fat or silver skin. We like to reduce the sauce a bit at this stage on medium heat.
- 9
Add the grated parmesan and taste for salt and pepper.
- 10
Here's where you can pull out some ragu to freeze or set aside for another meal — it will likely be too much for the amount of pasta.
- 11
Cook the pasta al dente, then add it to the ragu to finish cooking and absorb the extra liquid; mix in more cheese if desired. (Pro tip: undercook by 1 minute so the pasta soaks up the ragu juices.)
- 12
Top with parmesan, basil, olive oil, and cracked pepper.
Cheesy Roasted Garlic Bread
This is more of a method than a recipe since it depends on how many people you're cooking for. Half a baguette or an Italian loaf cut in half is plenty for 4 people.
Ingredients
- 1/2 a crusty baguette
- 1 small head garlic, top 1/4 inch cut off
- PLUS 1/2 clove garlic, grated, OR 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 4 tbsp salted butter, room temp
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 8 thick slices of mozzarella
- Grated parmesan
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
Preparation
- 1
Roast the head of garlic in a 400°F oven: drizzle the cut top with a bit of olive oil, salt & pepper, wrap tightly in parchment or foil, and roast 30–45 minutes until softened and browned.
- 2
Once the garlic cools, squeeze out the cloves (almost like a pimple popper LOL).
- 3
Mix the butter with the roasted garlic, fresh grated garlic or garlic powder, parsley, a bit of grated parm, salt, and pepper until well combined — we add a little olive oil too for flavor.
- 4
Spread the butter mixture over the bread and bake at 400°F for about 10 minutes until slightly browned.
- 5
Add the mozzarella and broil no more than 5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and brown.
- 6
Slice and serve — you'll make this for every Italian dinner moving forward.