BEEF CHEEK RAGU

‘Beef cheeks are great, but they’re from hard-working muscle and must be cooked low and slow to be meltingly tender.’ Tom Kerridge

Hands-on time 30min. Cooking time about 4½hr. Serves 6

• 3 beef cheeks, trimmed

• 2tbsp olive oil

• 150g cubed pancetta

• 2 onions, finely chopped

• 3 carrots, finely chopped

• 4 celery sticks, finely chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 3tbsp tomato purée

• 400ml red wine

• 4 thyme sprigs

• 2 rosemary sprigs

• 2 bay leaves

• 500ml beef stock

• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

• 600-800g fresh pappardelle, or other ribbon pasta

• Parmesan, grated, to serve

1 Cut each beef cheek into 3 pieces and season. Heat 1/2 the oil in a large non-stick casserole dish (that has a lid) over high heat. Cook roughly 1/2 the beef cheek pieces, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides. Remove to a plate. Add the remaining oil, brown remaining meat and remove to the plate.

2 Add the pancetta to the pan and cook for 5min, or until golden and crispy. Toss in the onions and cook over medium-high heat for 5min, until softened. Add the carrots, celery and garlic and cook for a further 8min.

3 Stir in the tomato purée and cook, stirring, for 2min. Pour in the wine, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up the sticky bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and bubble to reduce the liquid by 1/2. Add the herbs, stock and tomatoes and bring back up to a simmer. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4.

4 Return the beef to the pan and cover with the lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 31/2hr, or until the meat is meltingly tender. Remove dish from oven and transfer the beef cheeks to a board. Gently shred the meat using 2 forks and return it back to the sauce.

5 Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water until al dente; drain well. Toss with the ragu and serve sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan.

PER SERVING (without Parmesan) 823cals, 61g protein, 23g fat (7g saturates), 85g carbs (15g total sugars), 9g fibre