Beef ragù with brown butter gnocchi
A really good ragù often uses larger pieces of beef instead of mince, letting the long braising time do all the work to break them down into the sauce. That's exactly what we've done here, creating a wonderful sauce which would sit happily on all sorts of pasta. Pairing it with gnocchi crisped up in nutty, sage-infused brown butter with some confit garlic cloves nestled in, however, takes it from great to outstanding.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- olive oil, to fry
- 1.2kg beef skirt, cut into large chunks
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp of tomato purée
- 300ml of red wine
- 1.2l beef stock
- 400g of tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs of thyme
- Parmesan, finely grated, to serve
Gnocchi
- 120g of unsalted butter
- 8 sage leaves
- 1kg ready-made potato gnocchi
Confit garlic
- 12 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
- 200ml of olive oil
Method
For the confit garlic, add the garlic cloves and oil to a small pan with a pinch of salt. Put over a low heat and gently cook for 35-40 minutes until the cloves are soft, pale gold and creamy. Set aside
- 12 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
- 200ml of olive oil
Season the beef heavily with salt and pepper. Put a large saucepan or casserole over a medium-high heat with a dash of oil, then brown the beef in batches. Set aside
- 1.2kg beef skirt, cut into large chunks
- olive oil, to fry
Add the onion, celery and carrots (with a splash more oil if you need it) and cook for 10-12 minutes until soft, sweet and lightly caramelised. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, then add the tomato purée and cook for another 2 minutes
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp of tomato purée
Pour in the wine to deglaze, then add the stock, tomatoes, bay and thyme. Tip the beef back in, then bring to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 2.5-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the beef collapses into the sauce and everything becomes nice and thick. Season to taste
- 300ml of red wine
- 1.2l beef stock
- 400g of tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs of thyme
When the ragù is ready, add the butter for the gnocchi to a wide saucepan over a medium heat. Cook for about 8 minutes until it turns golden and smells nutty. Add the sage leaves and gnocchi, then cook, stirring regularly, until everything is golden and beginning to crisp
- 120g of unsalted butter
- 8 sage leaves
- 1kg ready-made potato gnocchi
To serve, divide the gnocchi among bowls, then top with a generous amount of the ragù. Nestle some confit garlic cloves into each serving, then shower with grated Parmesan
- Parmesan, finely grated, to serve
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