Whoever said good things take time, was right on the money in relation to these unctuous and full-flavoured slow-cooked beef dishes.
Slow-cooked Italian beef cheek ragu with pappardelle
Serves 8
Serve this meltingly tender, slow-cooked beef cheek ragù with just-cooked pappardelle and sprinkle with lashings of parmesan.
Ingredients
4x
550g beef cheeks
2 Tbsp olive oil
80g pancetta, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2½ cups red wine
1 cup passata
2 tsp caster sugar
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
To serve
Hot, cooked pappardelle
Oregano leaves, to garnish
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
Directions
1. Trim any sinew from the beef cheeks and cut them in half. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan and sear the beef cheeks for a few minutes, on all sides, in batches. Transfer to the slow cooker.
3. Add the pancetta to the pan and cook over a medium high heat for 3-4 minutes, then reduce the heat and add the onions, celery, garlic, rosemary and oregano. Cook for 10 minutes until the onion is softened but not coloured. Add the tomato paste, wine, passata and sugar and stir to combine. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring to a boil.
4. Add to the beef in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours until meltingly tender.
5. T serve: Shred the beef and add back to the sauce. Serve over the hot pappardelle and top with parmesan and fresh oregano.
- Recipe by Sarah Tuck
Chipotle and beer-braised beef cheeks
Serves 4
This tasty beef dish is equally delicious served over soft, garlicky polenta, pasta, creamy mashed potatoes or kūmara.
Ingredients
1kg beef cheeks (about 4)
Sea salt and ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 onions, thickly sliced
6 whole cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp each ground cumin and smoked paprika
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp adobo sauce from the peppers
2 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 Tbsp each red wine vinegar and brown sugar
½-1 tspchilli flakes
1 cup barbecue sauce
355ml-can pale ale
2 cups good beef stock
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Season the beef cheeks with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan and brown the beef cheeks on both sides. Place in a large ovenproof baking dish.
3. Add the onions, garlic, oregano, cumin and paprika to the pan with a splash of water. Add a good pinch of salt and cook for
5 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato paste, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, mustard, vinegar, sugar and chilli flakes and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Stir in the barbecue sauce then the ale and stock and bring to the boil.
6. Pour the contents of the pan over the beef cheeks.
7. Cover the dish tightly with tinfoil or a lid and braise for 3 hours or until very tender. Remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes before serving.
- Recipe by Claire Aldous
Braised aromatic beef short rib rendang
Serves 6
This is one of those 'start this recipe the day before' situations – but it is so worth it. Serve it with rice and naan.
Ingredients
Spice paste
3 brown onions, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 large thumb fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
5 red chillies, roughly chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves removed and roughly chopped
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cardamom
2 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1.8kg beef short ribs
2 tsp sea salt
600ml coconut milk
2 Tbsp tamarind paste
2 tsp brown sugar
3 whole kaffir lime leaves
⅓ cup good-quality crunchy peanut or cashew butter
To serve
½ cup coriander leaves
Finely chopped red and green chilli
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Spice paste: Put the spice paste ingredients in a food processor and whizz to form a smoothish paste.
3. Heat the oil in large heavy-bottomed pot and add the spice paste. Cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Transfer the spice paste to an oven dish that will fit the short ribs snugly.
4. Add the short ribs to the paste, bone side up. Add the salt and three-quarters of the coconut milk, cover with tinfoil and cook for 2½ hours, stirring occasionally. Remove the tinfoil and cook for a further 2 hours. At this point leave the ribs to cool and chill in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight.
5. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Remove the solid fat layer from the chilled short ribs. Add the remaining coconut milk, tamarind paste, brown sugar, kaffir lime leaves and peanut or cashew butter. Cook for a further hour.
6. Garnish with chillies and coriander to serve.
- Recipe by Sarah Tuck
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