Slow-Cooked Beef Ragu Pasta

Name: Slow-Cooked Beef Ragu Pasta
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 480 min
Total time: 510 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 kg beef brisket, cut into 4 pieces; All-purpose flour, for dusting; ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil; 1 brown onion, thickly sliced; 3 cloves garlic, peeled; 1 cup (250 ml) dry red wine; 2 cups (500 ml) beef stock; 1 cup (250 ml) water; 1 (400 g) can cherry tomatoes; 4 bay leaves; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 tablespoon caster sugar; 400 g caserecci pasta; Sea salt, to taste; Cracked black pepper, to taste; ½ cup fresh basil leaves; Finely grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Recipe GLPRb460ee463af263

Italian

Main Course

510 min

310 cal

Servings: 12

Slow Cooker

Stovetop

A rich and deeply flavored Italian beef ragu made with tender braised brisket, aromatic vegetables, and tomatoes, simmered low and slow until the meat falls apart. Tossed with caserecci pasta and finished with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. This comforting dish serves 12 and rewards patience with layers of savory, complex taste.

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Ingredients

1 kg beef brisket, cut into 4 pieces

All-purpose flour, for dusting

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

1 brown onion, thickly sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 cup (250 ml) dry red wine

2 cups (500 ml) beef stock

1 cup (250 ml) water

1 (400 g) can cherry tomatoes

4 bay leaves

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon caster sugar

400 g caserecci pasta

Sea salt, to taste

Cracked black pepper, to taste

½ cup fresh basil leaves

Finely grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

Pat the beef brisket pieces dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper. Dust lightly with flour, shaking off any excess.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, brown the beef pieces on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side, until deeply caramelized. Transfer browned beef to a plate.
In the same pot, add the sliced onion and cook until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the peeled garlic cloves and cook for another minute until fragrant.
Pour the dry red wine into the pot, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to release any browned bits. Allow the wine to reduce by half, about 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and sugar, mixing until well combined. Add the beef stock, water, canned cherry tomatoes with their juice, and bay leaves. Return the browned beef to the pot and stir to combine.
Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot partially and reduce heat to low. Cook the ragu slowly for 6-8 hours (or overnight), stirring occasionally. The beef should become very tender and begin to shred apart. If using a slow cooker, cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Remove the bay leaves from the ragu. If the sauce is too thin, increase heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes to reduce and thicken. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
Cook the caserecci pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions until al dente. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of pasta water.
Divide the drained pasta among serving bowls. Generously ladle the beef ragu over each portion. If needed, add a splash of reserved pasta water to the ragu to achieve the desired consistency.
Tear fresh basil leaves and scatter over each serving. Finish with finely grated parmesan cheese and a crack of black pepper. Serve immediately.

Comments

Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff4

This is an honest, well-planned weeknight-to-weekend dish that delivers real value for a Charlotte family. Every ingredient is stocked at Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Kroger, or Walmart—nothing demands a second stop—and at 12 servings the per-serving cost lands around $1.80 to $2.20, with beef brisket and red wine as the main drivers; buying these on sale makes it genuinely cheap. The stated 510 minutes (8.5 hours) is accurate for a proper braise, though you'll spend only 20 minutes on active prep, making it ideal for a slow cooker or low oven while you're away; the real constraint is planning ahead, not attention. Leftovers reheat beautifully and actually improve the next day as flavors meld, a genuine advantage for meal prep. The main friction is that this demands advance planning and a full evening of slow cooking rather than a quick weeknight solution, and casereccia (if you mean casereccio or similar shaped pasta) may be harder to spot than penne at a standard grocery chain, though any short ribbed pasta works fine.