Tag: Italian cooking

What To Cook Wednesday

Winter Warmer

AussieHousewife
Image courtesy: https://scubasanmateo.com/explore/women-clipart-kitchen/

I am going to attempt to dedicate Wednesday’s with a recipe for the week. In Australia we are a couple of days away from Winter, and she has already made her presence known. It is cold and rainy today so the weather has played a part in my recipe for today.

Whenever the weather starts cooling down, our family loves to bring out the slow-cooker for easy and hearty meals to warm us up. I love cooking with a slow-cooker , as it usually requires a small amount of prep work, then just let it simmer all day for a delicious dinner to fill our bellies up!

Today’s recipe was found in the following book (which comes in a series we bought from a department store chain in Australia – Big W *NOT a paid ad) :

Photo credit: My daughter Abby

BEEF RAGU WITH TAGLIATELLE

Serves 6 Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 8 hours

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 85 g / 3 oz pancetta or bacon, diced
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 celery stick, chopped
  • 500 g / 1 lb minced beef/steak
  • 125 ml / 4 fl oz red wine
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
  • 400 g / 14 oz canned chopped tomatoes
  • 300 ml / 10 fl oz beef stock
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 450 g / 1 lb dried tagliatelle (or your preferred pasta)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Grated Parmesan cheese to serve
  • (remember you can always add other ingredients to suit your taste ie mushrooms, capsicum/bell pepper, chilli flakes)

Method:

  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the pancetta (or bacon) and cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat, add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
  2. Increase the heat to medium and add the minced steak. Cook, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes, until evenly browned. Pour in the wine and cook for a few minutes to evaporate the alcohol, then stir in the tomatoes, tomato puree, stock, oregano and salt and pepper to taste
  3. Bring to the boil, then transfer ragu to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
  4. Shortly before serving, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to packet instructions. Drain and serve with ragu, topped with grated parmesan.