17/06/2026
It's hard to beat a slow-cooked ragu when you're craving comfort food.
Cut from beneath the rib cage, beef short ribs are packed with marbling and rich flavour, making them perfect for low-and-slow cooking. After a few hours simmering with vegetables, herbs and red wine, the meat becomes fall-apart tender and creates a rich sauce that clings to every piece of pasta.
Full recipe:
Slow-Braised Beef Short Rib Ragu Pasta
Ingredients
1kg beef short ribs, bone-in (or 700g boneless), trimmed of excess fat
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 celery sticks, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
250ml red wine, merlot
800g crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 sprig rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
400g pipe rigate pasta
2 tbsp grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan-forced).
2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based casserole over medium-high heat. Season the short ribs generously with sea salt and pepper, then brown on all sides for 8–10 minutes until deeply caramelised. Remove and set aside.
3. In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook for 6–8 minutes until softened and golden. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1–2 minutes until fragrant and slightly darkened in colour.
4. Pour in the red wine and simmer for 5 minutes, scraping up any caramelised bits from the base, until the liquid has reduced by about half. Add the crushed tomatoes, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Stir to combine, then return the short ribs to the pan, ensuring they’re mostly submerged.
5. Cover the casserole with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Braise gently for 3 to 4 hours, or until the beef is fall-apart tender. Remove the ribs from the sauce and shred the meat, discarding the bones and any sinew. Return the shredded beef to the sauce and stir well. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and pepper.
6. Cook the pipe rigate in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving a little of the pasta water, and toss the pasta through the hot ragu, adding a splash of the pasta water to loosen if needed. Stir through the parmesan and let it emulsify into the sauce.
