Beef Cheek Ragu

Ingredients

• 2 kg (4lbs) beef cheeks
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil
• 2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 celery ribs, washed and finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 4 beef stock cubes
• 5 ml (1 tsp) dried oregano
• 500 ml (2 cups) red wine
• 800 g (2lbs) passata
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) brown sugar [optional]

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F/gas mark 3.

2. 2

   Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole.

3. 3

   Brown the cheeks all over on a high heat, remove from the casserole and set aside.

4. 4

   Lower the heat, then add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot to the casserole and fry for 3 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.

5. 5

   Return the meat to the casserole.

6. 6

   Sprinkle the herbs over the vegetables.

7. 7

   Crumbled the stock cubes over the meat.

8. 8

   Turn up the heat and pour in the wine, letting it sizzle for a few minutes.

9. 9

   Pour in the passata and add the sugar.

10. 10

    Give everything a good stir and wait for the stew to reach a slow simmering point.

11. 11

    Place the lid on the casserole and transfer it to the oven.

12. 12

    After 1 hour, remove the lid and cook for another 3 hours. Check on the meat once in a while, turning over the top pieces so that their surfaces don’t harden and burn.

13. 13

    Place the lid back on, lower the heat to 140°C/275°F/gas mark 1.

14. 14

    The meat should now fall apart with the touch of a fork. Remove the casserole from the oven and shred the meat to desired consistency.

15. 15

    Serve on a bed of buttered pappardelle and a glass of red wine.