Bobby Flays Beef Ragù With Fettuccine Is Italian Comfort Food At Its Best Recipes

RED WINE BRAISED BEEF AND PASTA GRATIN

Steps:

• For the Beef: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Heat oil and butter in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the ribs with salt and pepper and cook on both sides for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Add all of the wine to the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom, add all of the remaining ingredients, except the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. Cover with the lid, braise on the stove top or place in the oven and let braise for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender. Remove the meat to a plate and strain the cooking liquids into a bowl. Clean out the pan and add the strained liquid into the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook over high heat until reduced by 1/3. Return the meat to the pan and cook for 5 minutes to heat through.
• For the Pasta Gratin: Place milk and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes, then remove the garlic. Melt butter in a small saucepan, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes over low heat. Gradually whisk in the milk and cream and cook over medium-high heat until thickened, season with salt and pepper and nutmeg, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place cooked pasta in a buttered medium flameproof baking dish, add the sauce and stir to combine. Sprinkle the Gruyere over the top of the pasta then sprinkle the Parmesan over the Gruyere. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil, rotating the dish, until the cheese is golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Garnish with chives.

SHORT RIB RAGU WITH PAPPARDELLE AND PECORINO ROMANO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place a 5-quart casserole or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil, and heat until it is almost smoking. Season short ribs generously with salt and pepper. Working in batches if necessary, add short ribs to the hot oil. Cook ribs until browned on both sides. Remove ribs from casserole, and transfer to a large bowl. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, prepare bouquet garni: Place bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, and parsley in the center of a square of cheesecloth. Bring edges together, and tie with kitchen string. Set bouquet garni aside.
• Add carrots, celery, onion, and shallots to oil in the casserole, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and golden, about 10 minutes.
• Add flour and tomato paste to the casserole, and stir to combine. Add ruby port; stir with wooden spoon until all browned bits have been scraped from the pan and the bottom of the casserole is clean. Add red wine, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Add garlic, beef stock, and the reserved bouquet garni.
• Return browned ribs to the casserole. Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover the casserole, and place it in the oven. Cook until ribs are very tender, about 3 hours.
• Remove the cooked ribs from the casserole. Set the casserole on the stove top over medium heat, and simmer to thicken sauce just slightly. As soon as the short ribs are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, and shred into small pieces. Degrease the sauce and discard the bouquet garni. Return shredded meat to casserole, and simmer to reduce sauce by about half.
• Fill a large pot with water and add a few tablespoons of salt. Set over high heat, and bring to a boil. Salt well, and stir in pasta. Cook until pasta is al dente. Drain pasta, and serve with short-rib ragu, sprinkle with the parsley. Serve with freshly grated Percorino Romano.

PASTA BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• For the pasta dough: Combine the flour, eggs and yolk in a food processor and pulse until a dough comes together. Transfer to a counter dusted lightly with flour and knead gently until the dough comes together and is smooth, about 1 minute. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
• Divide the dough into 4 pieces. With your hands, flatten and shape one piece of dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Dust it lightly with flour and pass it through the widest setting on the pasta machine. If the dough comes out oddly shaped, reform into a rectangle. Fold it in thirds, like a letter, and if necessary, flatten it to a 1/2-inch thickness. Pass it through the widest setting again with the seam of the letter perpendicular to the rollers. Repeat this folding and rolling step 10 to 12 times, dusting the dough with flour if it becomes sticky.
• Without folding the dough, pass it through the next setting on the pasta machine. Keep reducing the space between the rollers after each pass, lightly dusting the pasta with flour on both sides each time, until the pasta is about 1/16-inch thick and 3 inches wide.
• Lay the rolled-out dough on a counter. Roll out the remaining dough in the same manner. Cut each strip of dough into 11-inch lengths. Cut the dough into fettuccine. (Alternatively, use store-bought dried or fresh fettuccine.)
• For the meat: Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook slowly until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Increase the heat to high, add the chuck and pork to the pan and season with the fennel, chile flakes, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the excess fat from the pan.
• For the quick bolognese sauce: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the celery, fennel, onion and carrot and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and ground fennel and cook for 1 minute more.
• Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Coarsely mash the tomatoes using a potato masher or wooden spoon, season with salt and pepper and cook until the sauce comes to a boil and begins to thicken slightly, about 15 minutes. Add the cooked bacon, chuck and pork to the pan and continue cooking until the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes more. Fold in the parsley and oregano and season with salt and pepper.
• For the garlic bread: Preheat the broiler.
• Place the ciabatta on a baking sheet cut-side up. Heat it under the broiler until lightly golden brown. Combine the butter, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slather the garlic butter over the bread and broil until bubbly and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove, let cool for a few minutes and cut into slices.
• To serve: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, about 4 minutes (if using dried noodles, follow package directions). Reserve a cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Put about 2 cups of the sauce in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the pasta, creme fraiche, some of the pasta water and a few handfuls of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Toss, top with the parsley and serve. Reserve remaining sauce for another use.