Pappardelle with Beef Ragu

By the end of this week, husBen was feeling overwhelmed (for some legitimate reasons) and I was at a loss as to how to comfort him. My love language towards others is food (oh, is that not one of the five?*) and Ben unfortunately does not seem so famished when he is down. Standing on the outside of anxiety, one can usually see the validity behind the idea that worrying is truly futile…but under the mind-warping pressure of worry’s real powers, this truth is hard to grasp. I recently came across the phrase “Que sera, sera” (okay, Kanye used it in a lyric on his new album with Jay Z, Watch the Throne) and I must admit, I plan to fully adopt this mantra. We can only try as hard as we can in life, then the rest (illness, unfairness, pure madness) is out of our control. What will be, will be (translation of “que sera, sera”) and sometimes we need to acknowledge with humility that our worries are not going to be any significant agent of change on their own. Prayer seems to work in these moments, as an effective action when no other path seems possible, especially when we cannot single-handedly fix all the problems that burden us (or a spouse). This phrase does not mean to suggest a fatalist mindset, but rather a position of comfort in the larger Hands I believe we are all in.

* The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (good book to read before you get married)

Homemade Pappardelle and Braised Beef Ragu

I had some boys over for beef ragu. There is just something wholesome about a roast that starts its journey in your oven 7 hours before it hits the table, paired with homemade pasta (and with so few ingredients!). Wouldn’t it be nice if we could always recognize (heck, even pronounce) all of the ingredients in a meal?

Braised Beef Ragu:

1 pound of homemade Pappardelle (recipe below)

1 ½ pounds of beef roast (I used eye of round)

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes

8 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of red wine

1 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

6 fresh basil leaves, julienned

parmesan cheese for serving

Sauce: Place the beef in a large Dutch oven (Le Creuset worked great) and pour over the crushed tomatoes, San Marzanos (hand crush them), garlic, wine, salt and sugar. Place in your oven at 250 degrees for 7 hours. This really perfumes your whole house. In the best way.

Remove from the oven and let it slightly cool. Shred the beef with two forks (keep it in the juice, it should be super tender and shred-able).

Place the pot on the stove and simmer the sauce until the desired thickness is desired. Keep it covered and on low until you are ready to serve.

Cook the fresh pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water for just 1-2 minutes... the pasta will float when it is ready. Remove it from the water with tongs and place it immediately into the beef ragu. Toss to coat and add parmesan cheese and fresh basil just before serving.

(feeds 4 with leftover ragu)

Homemade Pappardelle Pasta:

1 ½ cups flour

2 eggs + 1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon olive oil

Start with a KitchenAid mixer fitted with the dough hook. Dump in the flour, then top with the eggs. Put the mixer on medium and add in the olive oil. Allow a ball to form and “knead” in your mixer on low power for 7 minutes. Wrap dough baby in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.

When it is finished kneading, turn the dough out onto a floured board and kneed it by hand a couple of times.

Next roll dough out with a rolling pin (takes some muscle) or put it through a pasta rolling machine (if you own that?) to 1/8^th an inch thickness. Cut it into 1 inch wide pieces with a sharp knife.

Bring about 4-5 quarts of salted water (throw in about 2 teaspoons of salt) to boil. Cook pasta for 2-5 minutes. This is quick! It should float to the surface when ready.

Transfer from water directly to beef ragu sauce (use tongs). Serve up into deep plates and top with grated Parmesan and basil.