Beef & Silverbeet Ragu w/ Creamy Polenta
An easy meal to prepare that is sure to impress
Today’s recipe is a mouth-watering BEEF & SILVERBEET RAGU bursting with flavour! It only requires a few basic ingredients, including some I harvested from the garden today: a few leaves of rainbow silverbeet, a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary, and three lovely, ripe tomatoes.
Honestly, these tomatoes are just fantastic, grown from two seedlings given to me by a dear friend, sprouted from seeds that had been saved year after year from a 1960’s crop! I’ve been making sure to save some of the seeds too, and fingers crossed they’ll germinate when planted in Spring– sadly for now, I’ve a feeling the ones harvested today may be some of the last few for the season.
Goodies from the garden, including the BEST tomatoes ever! :)
Ok, now back to the RAGU! I’ve used beef shin, which most supermarkets in NZ sell as gravy beef – this cut comes from a muscle full of connective tissues, which means the meat is very tough, but when left to slowly simmer for some time, it transforms into the most gorgeous, melt in the mouth texture, producing a naturally glossy, full-bodied gravy.
As you’ll see mentioned in step 1 of the recipe, make sure to take your time browning and sealing the meat, cooking in batches, and also, when softening the veggies prior to adding the stock (steps 2 and 4), as this will add so much flavour to the base of your RAGU, and consequently, to the final dish.
Go on! You know you want it!
I chose to make a soft and yummy CREAMY POLENTA to accompany my BEEF & SILVERBEET RAGU -as I just love the combination of the polenta’s coarse and rustic texture soaking up all the lovely juices.
If you haven’t had a go at making polenta yet, please don’t be discouraged – the instant-cooking version can be found these days in most supermarkets and it only takes minutes to put together.
Instant Polenta is also a handy and versatile staple to have in the pantry, taking a lot less time to prepare than mash, for example.
Saying that, if you don’t have any polenta at hand, any potato or other root veg mash, such as parsnip or kumara, would be great, as some fettuccine or tagliatelle topped with shavings of parmesan would too.
BEEF, ROSEMARY & SILVERBEET RAGU w/ CREAMY POLENTA
Serves 4
700g beef shin (gravy beef), diced and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
2 rashers streaky bacon, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped (or 1 x can chopped tomatoes)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
5 leaves green or rainbow silverbeet, washed, leaves thinly sliced and stems finely chopped
3 cups beef stock (OR ½ cup white wine and 2 ½ cups beef stock)
Salt and black pepper
Olive oil
Knob of butter (optional)
For the Creamy Polenta:
1 cup instant polenta
4 cups milk
2 Tbsp butter
1 heaped Tbsp cream cheese or mascarpone (optional)
1 tsp salt
Method:
1. Heat the olive oil and butter (if using) in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the beef pieces in batches until nicely browned, taking care not to overcrowd the pan (see picture). Remove pieces to a plate and repeat until all beef has been sealed. (Taking your time doing this will add lots of flavour and colour to the ragu).
2. Return beef to the pan along with the onion, bacon, garlic and chopped silverbeet stems. Cook for several minutes until veggies soften, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. If it starts to dry too much, add a little water.
3. If using the white wine, add it now and let it bubble for a couple of minutes or until its reduced by half. If not, skip to step 4.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and rosemary, stir, and again cook for a few minutes until tomatoes break down and are incorporated well with the other ingredients.
5. Add the beef stock, stir and bring it to a simmer. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 1 ¾ hours, checking the ragu every 30 minutes or so, to give it a stir, check if there’s enough water and the readiness of the meat.
6. Once beef pieces are tender, but not falling apart, check the sauce. If still too liquid, drain it into a saucepan (use a colander to do this) – place sauce back on high heat and reduce it until desired consistency. Return beef and sauce to casserole pan and place it back on medium-low heat.
7. Add the sliced silverbeet, close the lid and simmer for 3-4 minutes until cooked. Check seasoning adjust (if needed) and turn off the heat. Reserve.
Quick- cooking polenta will only take a few minutes to be ready
Meanwhile, make the Creamy Polenta:
1. Place milk, butter and salt in a saucepan.
2.Bring milk to a simmer and add the polenta to the pan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it thickens. This will only take a couple of minutes.
3. Remove polenta from the heat, add the cream cheese or mascarpone and beat well to incorporate. Check seasoning.
