Slow cooked beef shin tagliatelle

Ingredients

• 500g boneless beef shin
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 chipotle in adobo sauce, finely chopped
• 1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes
• 250ml beef stock
• 200ml red wine
• 20g unsalted butter, diced
• 400-600g dried tagliatelle (or 500g fresh tagliatelle)
• Freshly grated pecorino, to serve

Method

Heat the oven to 160C and season the beef all over with sea salt. Warm 1 tbsp light olive oil in a heavy bottomed casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, brown the meat very well on all sides before removing from the pot and setting aside.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, carrot, fresh thyme, cinnamon and a little more salt. Cook gently for 10-15 mins until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute more.

Stir in the tomato puree until everything is well coated and continue to cook for another few minutes until the tomato puree has darkened a little and started to caramelise. Stir in the chipotle.

Using your hands, crush the plum tomatoes over the pan and pour in any remaining juices. Use a little of the beef stock to wash any residual juices out of the tin and add them along with the rest of the stock, the red wine and a good seasoning of black pepper.

Return the beef and raise the heat to bring the sauce to the boil, then clap on the lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 2 hours. Remove the lid and cook for a further 45 mins.

Cook the pasta in a pan of well-salted, boiling water as per the packet’s instructions. When draining, reserve a cup of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, remove the thyme sprigs and cinnamon stick from the sauce and discard. Remove the beef and shred with two forks. Return the shredded meat to the pot and throw away any residual pieces of tough fat or gristle.

Stir the butter into the sauce and once it has melted check the seasoning.

Add the pasta to the pot along with a generous splash of cooking water. Set it over a medium heat and stir for a few more minutes until the sauce is rich, thick and glossy, adding more starchy cooking water as needed.

Serve in warm bowls topped with plenty of freshly grated pecorino.

Image: Rachel Phipps