Slow Cooker Short Rib & Carrot Ragu
My weeks are pretty busy. Between the boys being back in school and trucking them back and forth to sports and robotics, my week days have gone from empty to overflowing. While I’m thrilled things are finally getting back to normal, trying to find time to make a nice dinner has disappeared. Most nights it’s pretty easy to throw something together so we can all sit down by 6-ish. But Wednesdays that’s impossible. Neither boy is home at the same time and Hubs has a weekly class. So, Wednesdays are the day where we all eat separately. Well, not exactly separately. Hubs and A eat together at 6, then T and I sit down around 7-ish. Since I don’t want to make something that gets cold while waiting for T, I’ve started designating Wednesdays as slow cooker night.
I love my slow cooker. Sure, it means crafting dinner at about eight o’clock in the morning, but once everything is in the pot, I’m done! For the day! No rushing home by five to start chopping and stirring to get dinner on the table by six. While using the slow cooker does require a bit of prep so I have everything I need, the final result is soooooo worth it. Not to mention my house smells amazing all day long. There’s really nothing better than entering a house full of spices.
You can pretty much throw anything you want in the slow cooker, from breakfast to dinner. I usually opt for dinner, and it’s almost always beef. While you can absolutely make a delicious chicken or chili in the slow cooker, I haven’t had the best experience with those options, so I stick with beef or pork. (If you’ve had luck with chicken in the crock pot, please let me know your secret, as mine always ends up dry.) My favorite thing to make is short ribs. I love grabbing a package from the grocery store, throwing them in the slow cooker and then pouring a savory marinade on top. At the end of the day, after hours of cooking, I get a rich dinner where the meat falls off the bone and is literally dripping in flavor.
While I usually do an Asian short rib swimming in soy sauce and mirin, this time around I was inspired by Better Homes and Gardens. I love a nice, thick meat sauce over pasta, but I usually use ground beef. This time I used short ribs, and combined them with carrots and tomato paste. The end result was a rich bolognese that was amazing over fat pappardelle noodles. I served it with a nice crusty French bread and we had an amazing dinner. A hearty dinner that’s perfect for chilly weather and the upcoming winter season.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs
- Salt and pepper
- 10 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 8 ounce package of baby carrots, chopped
- 1 pound heirloom tomatoes, chopped
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- ½ cup red wine
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped, divided
- 1 pound pappardelle pasta
Instructions
- Cut beef into 2-inch chunks, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place a slow cooker. Add garlic, carrots, tomatoes and 1 tablespoon of chopped basil.
- Whisk together tomato paste and wine in a medium bowl. Pour over meat and vegetables. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
- About 20 minutes before the meat's done cooking, cook the pappardelle according to package directions, drain and divide among 4 bowls.
- Stir the short rib sauce well, spoon it over the pasta. Top with remaining basil leaves and serve.
