Fettuccine with Short Rib Ragu

The sun is shining, the snow is (almost) gone, spring is near... and I'm making slow cooked braised short ribs.  True to my blog title I'm still hanging on to winter, from a food perspective that is.  In fact I made this more than once last summer and another time early fall.  It's not really a winter dish, but is good on a cold night with a glass of red wine and a fire.

This is the epitome of the type of recipe that my mom would make.  Her menus often revolved around beef and she loved to cook things that she could start earlier in the day and cook for hours and meals that didn't require being served immediately out of the oven.  With five kids and a husband on different schedules I think she appreciated the ease of a recipe that would reheat well and serve a crowd.  This does both.  She would have loved it although I'm pretty sure she would serve it over mashed potatoes instead of pasta.  She was a potato lover but I guess more than anything, the people she was always cooking for, (us kids) were the potato lovers and she always had them on hand.  She would do the same for Beef Burgundy as it always called to serve over egg noodles or a garlic rubbed crostini but my mom always just bypassed that part of the recipe and made her usual mashed potatoes.

I think I just got burnt out on mashed potatoes as a kid because I'm definitely now more of a pasta lover.  It's a lot easier too, but serve it however you like.

This does take a rather large time commitment.  However, do not let that deter you because most of it is 'inactive' time meaning it is just simmering away while you are doing your Sunday chores, a few loads of laundry or maybe more realistically (like me) reading food blogs and watching Food Network.  It starts out this kind of soupy mixture and somehow over the coarse of a few hours transfers into a thick, rich, flavorful Ragu.

I made it recently for a friend who had a baby and Johnny was incredibly envious.  In fact this is apparently my "bring to a friend who just had a baby" dish because I made it last summer for another friend.  It's great for that because it would be fine to make even a day in advance, but also good for entertaining, or you know, just you and your husband on a warm spring day...

Trish's Tips:  If you can't find pancetta or prosciutto you could also use bacon.  The original recipe calls for pancetta, but I've used prosciutto and it turned out great.  If you are feeling adventurous... this recipe calls for a sprinkling of shaved bittersweet chocolate.  I KNOW... it sounds weird, but it seriously is good.  If you grate it on a microplane you won't even know it is there, it just adds complexity.  Kind of like a Mexican mole.  But feel free to omit as well.  As always, really take the time to let the meat brown very well over high heat, this will give it incredible flavor.

Fettuccine with Short Rib Ragu
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
4 to 6 servings


Ingredients:
3 TBL olive oil
2 oz pancetta or prosciutto, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 lb beef short ribs
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, quartered
1 carrot, peeled and very roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 (14.5 oz) can tomatoes (whole or diced)
1 TBL tomato paste
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 TBL fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup red wine
1 lb fettuccine
4 to 6 tsp shaved bittersweet chocolate (optional)

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat.  Cook the pancetta until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes.  Meanwhile, season the short ribs with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta from the pan and set it aside.  Shake the excess flour off the short ribs and add them to the pan and cook until browned on all sides about 20 minutes total.  Meanwhile, combine the onion, carrot, parsley, garlic, tomatoes and tomato paste in a food processor and pulse until finely minced.  Once the short ribs are browned, add the minced vegetables to the pot along with the pancetta and stir.  Add the rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, beef broth, wine, 1/2 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp pepper.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove the lid and simmer for another hour and 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Using a slotted spoon, lift out the short ribs and cool briefly on a plate.  Shred the meat with two forks and return it to the pot, discarding the bones.  Discard the bay leaf.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, following package directions.  Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Add the pasta to the pot with the short rib ragu and stir to combine.  If needed, add the reserved pasta liquid a little at a time to moisten the pasta.  Transfer to serving bowls and top each bowl with 1 tsp of chocolate shavings and serve immediately.