26/05/2026
One of my absolute favourites - Slow cooked beef and pork shoulder ragù with pappardelle is one of those dishes that feels proper comforting without needing to shout about it. Rich tomato sauce, red wine, garlic, herbs and meat cooked low and slow until it falls apart into the sauce. Finished with wide ribbons of pappardelle, a splash of pasta cooking water to gloss everything up, grated parmesan and cracked black pepper.
This is the sort of food made for evenings when the sun has calmed down a little so perfect to start around 3pm ready for around 7pm ish
Beef & Pork Shoulder Ragù with Pappardelle
Ingredients:
Serves 6–8
600g beef chuck or braising steak, diced
600g pork shoulder, diced
2 onions, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 celery sticks, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tins chopped tomatoes
300ml red wine
500ml beef stock
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
Small bunch fresh thyme or rosemary
Olive oil
Salt and cracked black pepper
500g pappardelle
Parmesan to finish
Method:
Heat a large heavy pan with a little olive oil and brown the beef and pork in batches until deeply coloured. Don’t rush this stage — colour equals flavour. Remove and set aside.
In the same pan cook the onions, carrot and celery slowly for 10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes before pouring in the red wine. Let it reduce slightly.
Add the tomatoes, stock, herbs and browned meat. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover loosely and cook on a very low heat for around 3 hours until the meat breaks down into the sauce.
Pull the meat apart with a spoon or fork and season to taste.
Cook the pappardelle in salted boiling water until just al dente. Toss through the ragù with a splash of pasta water.
Finish with plenty of parmesan and black pepper.
Proper slow food. No rush. No shortcuts. Just time doing the work for you.
I took the photo with Leica App on iPhone and added the falling parmesan with Chat GPT
😍
