Prep
30 min
Cook
3 hr
Serves
6
Level
Easy
This is the recipe I make when the afternoon is grey and I want the flat to smell like something. It asks for almost nothing from you — a good sear, a slow oven, and the patience to leave it alone. Short ribs are built for this: all that connective tissue melts down into a sauce so rich you'll want to eat it with a spoon before it ever meets the pasta.
The only rule I'll insist on is browning the meat properly, in batches, until it's the color of dark toast. Crowd the pan and you steam instead of sear, and you lose the deep savory backbone the whole dish is built on. Everything after that is just time.
A ragù isn't a weeknight sprint. It's a slow conversation between meat, wine, and time — and your only job is not to rush it.
The recipe
Ingredients
- Bone-in beef short ribs1.5 kg
- Yellow onion, diced1 large
- Carrots, finely chopped2
- Garlic cloves, sliced4
- Tomato paste2 tbsp
- Dry red wine250 ml
- Whole peeled tomatoes800 g
- Pappardelle500 g
- Parmesan, to finishto taste
Method
- 1
Pat the short ribs dry and season well with salt. Sear in a heavy pot over medium-high heat, in batches, until deeply browned on all sides. Set aside.
- 2
Lower the heat. Soften the onion, carrot, and garlic in the rendered fat for 8–10 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and cook until it darkens.
- 3
Pour in the wine and scrape up every brown bit from the bottom. Simmer two minutes, then add the tomatoes, crushing them by hand, and nestle the ribs back in.
- 4
Cover and braise in a 150°C oven for 3 hours, until the meat surrenders off the bone. Shred it back into the sauce and skim any excess fat.
- 5
Boil the pappardelle until just shy of done, then finish it in the ragù with a splash of pasta water. Serve under a snowfall of parmesan.
Notes from the kitchen
Make it a day ahead if you can — like most braises, it's better after a night in the fridge, and the fat lifts off the top in a solid cap. Reheat gently with a little water to loosen. Leftover ragù freezes beautifully for up to three months.
No short ribs? Beef cheeks or a well-marbled chuck do the same slow work. Just keep the pieces large so they don't dry out over the long braise.
