Tender and Savory Beef Ragu or Ragu de Ternera
Tender and Savory Beef Ragu or Ragu de Ternera
A Spanish version of Tender and Savory Beef Ragu or Ragu de Ternera with Tarantas Wines – served with Roasted Herbs Potatoes.
A few months ago, I was invited to participate in a competition using Tarantas Wine, an organic wine. I chose an authentic Spanish Beef Ragu or Ragu de Ternera. I changed the recipe a bit to incorporate the organic wine.
I am choosing not to do an extensive review of Tarantas wine because I am not a wine connoisseur. But if you want to taste the wine, you can certainly research the locations where it can be purchased. If you are also looking for a deep flavored wine, I can only suggest not to buy this wine as the flavor is a bit mild.
To make this delicious and tender beef ragu, only fresh spices were used. Spices such as parsley, garlic, and thyme deliver a savory taste to this particular beef dish. When reading this recipe, the beef ragu is not only authentic to the Spanish community but to the Caribbean community as well.
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. Ragout, on the other hand, 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. 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. For this recipe, I opted for fig vinegar instead of lemon juice, white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. The reason is because fig vinegar is not only a mild vinegar but because I did not want the recipe to be a bit too acidic because of the Tarantas organic 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.
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.
