Saturday, November 5, 2016

Saturday Recipe

Our Liquor Board sends out wine recommendations together with recipes to be enjoyed with such wine. Today the recommendation was Rioja Bordón which is a Spanish wine. This is the recipe.

Beef Ragu with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Fresh tomatoes are abundant at this time of year and when cooked make a superb, savoury tomato sauce. When you're buying ground beef, remember that the more coarsely the meat is ground, the more flavour the ragu will have. You can also make your own by grinding stewing beef in a food
processor. Toss ragu with penne pasta or serve over polenta.

TOMATO SAUCE
½ cup (125 mL) dried porcini mushrooms
½ cup (125 mL) hot water
6 beefsteak tomatoes
¼ cup (60 mL) olive oil, divided
10 anchovy fillets, drained
2 Tbs (30 mL) slivered basil
1 Tbs (15 mL) chopped garlic
1 tsp (5 mL) chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper
BEEF RAGU
2 Tbs (30 mL) olive oil
1 lb (500 g) coarsely ground lean beef
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 oz (60 g) diced pancetta (optional)
1 cup (250 mL) Baco Noir
3 Tbs (45 mL) chopped Italian parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. Soak mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Strain, separately reserving mushroom soaking liquid and mushrooms.

3. For tomato sauce, thickly slice tomatoes. Oil a baking sheet with 1 tbsp (15 mL) oil. Place tomatoes on baking sheet. Top with anchovy fillets, basil, garlic and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over remaining 3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly and purée in a food processor, leaving sauce slightly chunky. Measure 2 cups (500 mL) sauce, reserving remainder for another use.

5. While tomatoes are baking, for ragu, heat oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over high heat. Add half of ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Place pancetta in skillet and sauté for 2 minutes. Fry until pancetta is browned, about 2 minutes. Remove meat mixture and repeat with remaining ground beef. Drain any fat.

6. Pour in wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of the skillet. Return meat mixture to skillet. Stir in mushrooms, mushroom soaking liquid and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes longer or until sauce is rich and thickened slightly. Season well with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley

Servings: 4

Source: LCBO

Have a great weekend. Don't forget the clocks go back.
 

4 comments:

  1. Hi Jo - I went out to our farm shop the other day ... it was half-term and full of pumpkins or kids! or both!! So we'll be going back ... as I'd like to make some up to freeze ... A good ragu or mince dish tells us autumn or winter is here ... cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was a nuisance Hilary. Hope they have what you want when you do go back.

      We have had gorgeous weather here but it is getting quite a bit colder.

      Delete
  2. That looks great. I bet my hubby would love it!

    ReplyDelete