Recipes

Mark Moriarty’s rigatoni beef ragu: the go-to for a hug in a bowl

Rigatoni beef ragu. Photograph: Cliodhna Prendergast

Mark Moriarty
Sat Sep 23 2023 - 03:58
Serves: 4
Course: Dinner, lunch
Ingredients
  • 200g stewing steak, diced
  • 200g beef mince
  • 100g bacon lardons or pancetta
  • 2 onions, finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tbsp dried chilli flakes (or less if you don’t like the heat)
  • 300ml red wine
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1 heaped tsp cornflour
  • 2 rich beef stockpots
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 250g tomato pasta sauce
  • 250g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 400g rigatoni pasta
  • Parmesan, to grate
  • chopped parsley

I’m hoping this becomes a go-to recipe as it’s one I go to when I need a hug in a bowl. The magic moment involves cooking the pasta in the ragu sauce, allowing it to soak up all the goodness. And only one pot to clean afterwards!

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. In a large, heavy-based, flameproof casserole dish, brown off the diced beef, minced beef and bacon or pancetta over a high heat until it’s nice and golden brown. This will take a few minutes.
  3. Add the onions, garlic and chilli flakes and cook for a further minute until they start to break down and soften. Keep the heat high to add some colour.
  4. Add the wine and boil to reduce it by half.
  5. Blend the water and cornflour to a paste, then stir it into the meat with the stockpots, soy sauce, tomato sauce and tomatoes, and bring to the boil.
  6. Place a lid on the dish and cook in the oven for 1 hour until the stewing steak is tender to touch.
  7. Remove the dish from the oven carefully, as it will be very hot. Add the dried pasta, and place back in the oven for a further 20 minutes until the pasta is soft and has soaked up all the sauce.
  8. Serve the ragu in the pot, and finish with grated Parmesan and parsley.
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