Topped with warm creamy burrata
Similar to a bolognese but instead of using ground meat we use bone-in short ribs that are roasted until the meat is so tender that it falls off the bone. This sauce starts on the stove and finishes roasting in the oven. Low and slow is the key here. The result is a rich savory meat sauce that goes perfectly with a flat long pasta like fettuccini or pappardelle. You need to use a flat noodle so the sauce has something to cling to. The sauce combines flavors of sweet and savory with a touch of spicy. I like to top the pasta with an individual sized ball of burrata weighing 2 ounces.
Tip on serving the best mozzarella:
Put the mozzarella in the microwave for one minute to warm it up before you place it on the pasta. When I owned my restaurant I was told by our mozzarella company to always serve fresh mozzarella slightly warm. When fresh mozzarella is made it comes out of the water warm and is shaped into a ball. There is nothing like truly fresh mozzarella that has never been refrigerated. The flavor is so smooth and mild. When fresh mozzarella is cold it does not have the same flavor, it is masked by the cold temperature. When you serve any fresh mozzarella or burrata you should place it in a pot of warm water or in the microwave for 30 seconds to take the chill away. You will see how much creamier and tasty the mozzarella is.
Making Short Rib Ragu:
A good ragu should have layers of flavor that can only be accomplished with a slow cooking process. In this recipe I combine red wine, brown sugar, mustard, tomatoes and red chili flakes with other herbs, carrots, onions and beef broth. All the flavors marry together and create a wonderful spicy- sweet short rib ragu. The short ribs are seared in a touch of olive oil on the stove top before being added to the sauce and placed in the oven for two hours. The sauce is done when the short rib meat is falling off the bone and ready to be shredded. The sauce will not take more than 15 minutes to prepare before going into the oven and once in the oven there is nothing you have to do for the next two hours. Just let the sauce stew together and work its magic.
What should I do if the Sauce is dry after roasting?
After two hours take the short rib ragu out of the oven. Remove the short ribs from the sauce and shred the meat from the bone. You should try to cut the fat off and discard it with the bones. Return the shredded meat to the sauce. If the sauce seems too dry add additional beef broth to the short rib ragu. One cup of beef broth should be sufficient. This is a ragu so it is a thicker meat sauce that should cling to the pasta.
This sauce can be made up to two days in advance and reheated when ready to serve. Add more beef broth if you need more liquid.
Short Rib Ragu with Fettuccini and Warm Burrata
Ingredients
- 2 lb bone in short ribs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ cup chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 garlic clove peeled and minced
- ¾ cup red wine
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups beef broth plus extra cup if sauce gets too dry
- 1 tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves no stems
- 2 bay leaves dry
- ¼ tsp red chili flakes more if you like spicy
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 5 leaves basil chiffonade
- grated parmesan for serving
- 8 oz burrata (4) 2oz balls
Instructions
- preheat oven to 325
- heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or deep oven proof pan
- brown short ribs on all sides and then remove from pan and place on side
- add onions and carrots to pan and saute until onions are translucent
- add garlic and saute for 2 minutes until garlic is sizzling
- pour in red wine and simmer for 5 minutes until wine is reduced by half
- stir in tomato paste and brown sugar
- add crushed tomatoes and beef broth and stir well
- add mustard, thyme, chili flakes, salt, pepper and bay leaves
- put short ribs back in pan, meaty side down, so they are submerged in the liquid
- cover pan with lid or aluminum foil and place in oven for 2 hours
- remove pan from oven
- remove short ribs from sauce, remove meat from bones and trim fat
- discard fat and bones
- shred meat and place back into sauce
- let sauce sit for 15 minutes so you can skim fat off the top
- prepare pasta according to directions
- gently warm sauce and add more beef broth if necessary
- mix pasta into sauce
- warm burrata for one minute in microwave or warm water for 2 minutes and place on top of pasta
- grate parmesan on pasta and sprinkle basil