Thursday 22 December 2016

Beef Ragu with Spaghetti


I love pasta. Spaghetti, fettuccini, macaroni, whatever. My first ever spaghetti experience was my mum's spaghetti with meat sauce which I attempted here.

Since then, I have had many styles of pasta and one of my favorites is spaghetti with some sort of meat sauce. 


I love beef and I attempted this recipe which was featured on Hemsley & Hemsley : Healthy & Delicious. What the Hemsley girls prepared was Beef Ragu and Courgetti, courgetti being zucchini disguised as spaghetti which doesn't cut it for me.


I want real spaghetti and that's what I had. I quite like this beef ragu, it's delicious and robust. It made for a very satisfying lunch.

By the way, this is the crushed tomatoes I used.


Beef Ragu
Recipe source : Adapted from Hemsley & Hemsley

Ingredients :
- 500g minced beef
- 2 big onions, finely diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp Italian mixed herbs
- 250ml red wine (can omit and substitute with beef stock or water)
- 100ml water
- 680ml crushed tomatoes (I used the bottled one)
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil

Method :
1. Heat olive oil and saute onions until softened.
2. Add garlic, bay leaves and mixed herbs and continue to saute until aromatic.
3. Add beef and stir until meat changes color.
4. Add red wine (or water/stock) and stir.
5. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato puree and water.
6. Bring to a boil and simmer covered with lid slightly off, to reduce and thicken. Stir every now and then.
7. Once thickened, season with salt and pepper.

38 comments:

  1. WOW! This bowl of spaghetti looks sooo good! Hope I can come over and join you :)

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  2. I love pasta too though I'd usually do it with pork mince since we hardly get to eat that outside....must try your delicious-looking beef ragu one day. I've never cooked a sauce with red wine since I don't drink, so there is never a bottle in my pantry. Will the sauce taste a lot different with red wine? And oh, what kind (brand) of crushed tomatoes can you get from a bottle? Coz I've only seen canned tomatoes, not bottled ones.

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    1. I love to eat beef and also pasta too so this is another of PH's dish that is perfect for me. Since I know the answer I shall help PH with answering part of this not that PH need my help. I have cooked a meal using red wine before when I was living in UK and since I use the whole bottle I dare say red wine adds a lot to the taste of the sauce as compared to without red wine. It also depends on the type of red wine - Full bodied ones like Merlot or light bodied ones like pinot noir. This is a harmless and relevant comment. We are all here to share info. My apologies if you still feel something over this. Christmas season is here, please let bygones be bygones. May the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ fill everyone with nothing but joy. Peace.

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    2. Kris : Let me check and let you know tomorrow. I bought it from Cold Storage and I prefer it to the canned ones. The red wine imparts a depth of flavor to the sauce. But you won't miss it if you aren't into red wine. When I first tasted the sauce, I did not like the wine flavor but the subsequent batches (I froze them in individual portions) tasted better. Maybe I got used to it.

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    3. Mun : I am no expert on wines and I used it just because I had a few bottles leftover from CNY. LOL!

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    4. Kris : I have updated this post with a photo of the bottle of crushed tomatoes.

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    5. Thanks so much dearie for the update :) I will look out for this if I happen to be in Cold Storage. The sound of the name I like already...so Italian, so classy....wahahahaha! ;D Of course I just had to google what passata di pomodoro meant in English...and it said tomato puree ^.^

      And thanks for letting me know what the addition of red wine does to the taste of the sauce...and that I wouldn't miss it if I'm not into red wine. Being a non-drinker myself, I'll probably have the same reaction as you (at least initially) of not liking the wine flavour in the sauce! ;)

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  3. When i retire, i want to be your neighbour, hehe...

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    Replies
    1. Come, come, we can go zumba together :)

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  4. Wow! I love this beef ragu spaghetti of yours. It looks so Italian and I am sure your Mario partner was very happy.

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  5. Your beef ragu looked thick. Must be good and burst with flavours.

    I love pasta especially spaghetti, fettucini and angel hair. My alternative meal at home when I am bored with rice or run out of what to cook.

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    1. Yes, it is thick and I like the taste. Me too like pasta as alternative to rice.

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  6. I like to eat zucchini but not when the zucchini is disguised as pasta. LOL! Thank goodness you did not cook beef ragu with zucchini because I don't think it will taste as good as beef ragu with pasta.

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    1. Yes, how could it substitute pasta, no fight lah. I did try some zucchini with it and it released a lot of water making the whole dish watery.

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  7. Oh dear! My comment disappeared. Sobssss!!!!

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  8. i guess for most of us of the 'older' generation, our first pasta would have been spaghetti bolognese, since that was the only thing available at the early stage, followed by carbonara after that. these days, i prefer pastas in lighter preparations though - could be a consequence of my taste buds aging also! :D

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    1. You are right! Perhaps that is why I still gravitate towards bolognese style pastas though I do love aglio olio.

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  9. PH, I am still learning how to enjoy pasta, spaghetti and carbonara.. but these are definitely my kids' all time favourite!

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    1. Old school, eh? I ate when I was a kid, so got used to it.

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  10. Yum yum
    Perfect for my carboloading session ni :)

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    Replies
    1. Yes, enjoy while you are carbo loading!

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  11. Looks so delicious! I love spaghetti!

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  12. This is a stable in a lot of kitchens. A crowd pleaser.

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  13. Hari ini saya bawa spaghetti dan pasta spiral goreng PH..
    Sebab satu keluarga suka..
    Tengok PH masak tu sedaplah boleh cuba nanti..

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    1. Wah, goreng pun sedap, Yati. Biar pedas2 gitu. Biasanya budak2 suka lah masakan ala western.

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  14. Myanaks loves pasta, especially when i cook it my way, ofkos malay taste, ada pedas, manis, masam..no need bay leaf semua tu. But i prefer isi ayam than beef. One day i 'll share my recipe ok.
    Your spaghetti look so yummy.😋

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    1. OK, PH tunggu resipi ticer Azimah. Malay style pun sedap juga, ada kelainan.

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  15. Tapi seriouslahlah PH tetiba i terus nak makan spaghetti bila tengok u punya gambo ni. Aduhhhh meleleh ayor liur. I pun lebih suka beef dpd ayam kalau buat spaghetti ni. Tapi biasanya guna sos Prego aje....

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    1. Hainom, pakai sos Prego pun OK. PH ni terlebih rajin lah hari tu...

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