Can you make an Italian beef ragu and homemade pasta… in a BREADMAKER? Sure can! I’ve surprised even myself with this one, and love the result of everything. In fact, using a breadmaker for this recipe instead of a slow cooker has blown me away. Since the ragu sauce has been continuously stirred as it cooked, all the ingredients have been incorporated together beautifully. What a result!
500g (1 lb) beef chuck steak, cut into 2cm (just under 1”) dice
1 small brown onion, peeled, diced
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled, finely diced
1 small eggplant, cut into 2cm (just under 1”) dice
4-5 thyme sprigs
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 x 400ml (13.5 fl oz) tin of whole canned tomatoes
1 cup tomato passata
1 cup red wine (optional)
½ cup water (add an extra 1 cup of not using wine)
3 beef stock cubes
⅓ cup whole milk
1½ tsp sea salt flakes
grated parmesan cheese, to serve
Pasta dough
2 cups “00” flour, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tsp cooking salt
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
semolina, for dusting
For the ragu, add the beef, onion, garlic, carrot, eggplant, thyme, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, passata, red wine, water and stock cubes into the basket of the breadmaker. Select the Jam Setting function and cook for 90 minutes. Add the milk, close the lid and cook on the same setting for a further 1 hour until the beef is tender and cooked through and everything is tasting delicious. Transfer the ragu to a large bowl and set aside.
For the pasta, place flour, eggs, olive oil and salt into the clean basket of the breadmaker and select the manual Bread Kneading function for 20 minutes. Remove the dough from the bread maker onto a lightly floured surface and, using your hands, shape into a smooth ball. Cover in cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.
After 30 minutes, dust a clean surface with some semolina. Cut the dough into 4 pieces then, one piece at a time, sprinkle the top of the dough with extra flour and roll out to 1–2mm (1/16”) thickness, moving the dough around and flipping sides often. Cut into 2–3cm-wide strips (1”), then carefully transfer pasta strips to a cooling rack or floured tray for about 5 minutes to dry out slightly.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 4 minutes, or until just al dente. Strain and transfer to a serving plate.
Top the pasta with reheated ragu. Drizzle with extra olive oil and sprinkle with grated parmesan, then serve immediately.
Notes:
– This recipe was made using the Panasonic SD-YR2550 Bread Maker.
Question
Hi marion,
Would you recommend following same instructions to use slow cooker if I don’t have a breadmaker?
Response from Marion's Kitchen
Thanks so much for your question. For the beef ragu, you could absolutely use the stovetop to get the same sort of result. You could also use a slow cooker on med-high heat. Hope this helps!