Pappardelle with Beef Short Rib Ragù

6 servings

Prep time: 30 Minutes, plus resting
Cook time: 3 Hours

Special Equipment

dutch oven
hand-cranked pasta machine
kitchen scale

Ingredients

For the ragù:
2 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
Kosher salt
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1.5 cups)
2 carrots, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 celery stalk, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup dry red wine
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup beef stock
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 bay leaves
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

For the pappardelle:
540 grams 00 flour, plus extra for sprinkling
6 eggs
About ½ cup semolina flour, to prevent the pasta from sticking

Method

To prepare the ragù:

Preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃).

Pat short ribs dry with a paper towel. Season all sides with kosher salt.

In a large dutch oven or pot, add the short ribs and cook on medium heat. Brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Once browned, remove short ribs and set aside, reserving the beef fat in the pot.

Add finely chopped onion, carrots, and celery and sauté until soft and translucent. Add garlic, bay leaves, and thyme and cook for another minute, until fragrant. Add tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables.

Pour in red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom.

Finally, add the crushed tomatoes and beef stock.

Return the short ribs to the pot. Cover and simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours.

To prepare the pappardelle:

Prepare a batch of fresh egg pasta dough and let rest, covered, for at least 30 minutes.

Divide the dough ball into four equally sized pieces. Take out one piece of dough and wrap up the rest in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Roll your piece of dough through the widest setting on your pasta machine. Then roll it through the next setting and the following one.

Next, fold the dough onto itself like a trifold brochure, so that it is just wide enough to feed through your machine. Roll the folded dough through the widest setting once more. Continue feeding it through each setting on your machine, all the way until you feed it through the thinnest setting. You may need a helping hand, as the sheet will get quite long. You can also cut it in half halfway through, and feed each half through each setting.

Sprinkle a bit of semolina flour over the sheet of dough, using your hands to smooth the flour over the sheet. Next, fold it in half, 3 or 4 times until you have a folded blanket of dough about 2-4 inches long. Take a large chef’s knife and cut the dough into ¾-inch wide strips. Note: when cooked they will become around 1-inch wide.

Sprinkle more semolina flour on top of the strips and gently unfurl the pasta with your fingers. Set aside on a floured baking sheet.

Continue the same process for the remaining dough, working in batches.

To assemble the dish:

Cook the pappardelle in a large pot of boiling, salted water just until al dente (about 3-4 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and add directly to the ragù sauce. Gently mix to coat the pappardelle, cooking on low heat for another minute or two.

Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan cheese.