Tender and Savory Beef Ragu or Ragu de Ternera
This hearty and flavorful beef ragu is perfect for a cold winter day. The beef is slowly cooked in a tomato sauce with vegetables and spices until it is fall-apart tender. This ragu is delicious served over pasta, rice, or polenta. A Spanish version of Tender and Savory Beef Ragu or Ragu de Ternera with Tarantas Wines – served with Roasted Herbs and Potatoes.
Looking for a hearty and flavorful winter meal? Look no further than beef ragu! This classic Spanish and Mediterranean dish is made with beef that is slowly cooked in a tomato sauce with vegetables and spices until it is fall-apart tender. The result is a rich and delicious sauce that is perfect for serving over pasta, rice, or polenta.
Beef Ragu or Beeg Ragout or Beef Ragù
Beef Ragu is simply beef cooked in spices, tomato, bell peppers, and wine. Do you know the difference between Ragu and Ragout? FoodandWine.com describes it very well.
“They’re both saucy, both hearty, and both pronounced the same way, but ragù and ragout are not the same thing. Let’s break it down: Ragù is a class of Italian pasta sauces made with ground or minced meat, vegetables, and, occasionally, tomatoes. Bolognese, for example, falls under the ragù umbrella. Conversely, Ragout is a slow-cooked French-style stew that can be made with meat or fish and vegetables—or even just vegetables. You can eat it on its own or with a starch like polenta or couscous or pasta.” (food&wine.com)
So now that we have both learned the difference between ragù and ragout, let’s continue with the recipe. If you are interested in making this recipe, you will need to purchase a nice cut of Beef Shank. The Beef Shank cut is rich in flavor. It is excellent in stews, soup, and stocks. It is also great for braising, especially with wine.
Beef Ragu or Ragu de Ternera is prepared with fresh spices such as parsley, thyme, garlic cloves, scallions, onion, and many more aromatic spices. I opted for fig vinegar instead of lemon juice, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar for this recipe. The reason is that fig vinegar is not only mild vinegar, but I did not want the recipe to be too acidic because of the Tarantas organic wine.
To make beef ragu, you will need:
- Beef shanks
For the marinade:
- Parsley
- Garlic cloves
- Scallions
- Green pepper
- Thyme
- Onion
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fig vinegar or Champagne vinegar
To continue cooking the beef:
- Olive oil
- Fresh tomatoes chopped
- Onion
- Parsley
- Thyme
- Bay leaf
- Carrots
- Tarantas Tempranillo, Malbec or your preferred red wine
- Red bell pepper
- Green Peas
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the potatoes
- baby gold potatoes
- Unsalted butter
- Olive oil
- Garlic clove
- Chives
- Salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- To make this dish, you will need beef shanks, potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, red bell pepper, wine, hot pepper (optional), garlic, chives, butter, and olive oil.
- First, cut the beef shanks into even pieces and marinate them in a mixture of parsley, garlic, scallion, green pepper, thyme, onion, vinegar, salt, and pepper for at least 2-4 hours.
- Next, heat olive oil in a Dutch oven and brown the beef shanks on all sides. Add the marinade, chopped onion, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, carrots, and wine. If using hot pepper, add it now and stir gently so as not to burst it. Cover the pot and cook on low heat for about 2 hours or until the beef is tender.
- While the beef is cooking, clean the potatoes and cut them in half. Heat the butter and oil in a skillet with a metal handle and oven-proof. Add garlic and chives and cook for about 1 minute. Add the potatoes, salt, and pepper and stir to coat. Pan-roast the potatoes for 5 minutes, then transfer the skillet to the oven and roast at 415 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and golden.
- When the beef is almost tender, add the peas and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until heated through. Remove the hot pepper and discard.
- Serve the beef shanks and potatoes immediately, and enjoy! This dish is best paired with a glass of red wine.
I opted to serve the beef ragu with roasted potatoes, not your typical side dish but a great accompaniment to this delicious meal. The potatoes are first roasted on a stovetop for about 5 minutes and then in the oven for about 20 – 30 minutes.
Beef ragu is a delicious and hearty dish that is perfect for a cold winter day. It is also a great make-ahead meal that can be easily frozen for later. So next time you’re looking for a comforting and satisfying meal, be sure to give beef ragu a try!
Enjoy this wonderful with your family.
Reference
http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/whats-difference-between-ragu-and-ragout
Tender and Savory Beef Ragu or Ragu de Ternera
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef shanks cut in even pieces
For the marinade:
- 1 ½ tablespoon parsley chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 scallions chopped
- 2 tablespoons green pepper chopped
- 1 thyme sprig
- 1 small onion
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup fig vinegar
To continue cooking the beef:
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup tomatoes chopped
- ½ onion julienned
- 1 parsley sprig
- 1 thyme sprig
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ cup of Tarantas Tempranillo or your preferred red wine
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- ¼ cup green peas
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the potatoes
- 1- pound baby gold potatoes
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon chives chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the meat into even pieces (do not discard the center bone of the shanks as they are used for extra flavoring), clean and pat dry and set aside. In a blender or food processor add parsley, garlic, scallion, green pepper, thyme, onion, vinegar, salt and pepper and blend. Pour marinade over beef and let marinate for at least 2 – 4 hours.
- In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil. Remove meat from marinade, shake off excess marinade. Brown the meat on all sides, and add the marinade and let cook down for 5 minutes then add the chopped onion, tomatoes, parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Add carrots and stir to mix all ingredients. Add wine and whole hot pepper if using, stir gently not to burst hot pepper, cover and cook on low heat, adding a chopped red bell pepper halfway through the cooking process.
- While the beef is cooking, clean the potatoes to remove any dirt. Cut each potato in half and set aside. In a skillet with a metal handle and also one that is oven proof, heat butter and oil. Add garlic and chives and cook for about 1 minute while stirring. Add potatoes, salt and pepper and stir to incorporate. Add additional oil if necessary. Pan roast the potatoes for 5 minutes while stirring and continue to roast in a 415 degree Fahrenheit heated oven for 20 – 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and golden.
- When the beef is almost tender, add peas, check for salt and cook gently until all ingredients are tender. Remove hot pepper and discard.
- Serve immediately with potatoes and pair with Tarantas Tempranillo or your preferred red wine if preferred for a finished delicious and comfort meal.
Notes
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
