isithalal.food · Recipes

Beef ragout without wine

Tom Kerridge's slow-cooked beef ragout with Halal beef shin, soffritto, tomatoes, rosemary and bay, braised in Halal stock with no red wine and tossed with pappardelle.

Italian · Main · Moderate · 6–8 portions · 235 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

This ragout braises the beef in 400 ml of red wine and bought beef stock, the beef needs Halal slaughter, and it is served with parmesan, which is made with animal rennet.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Red wine: The published recipe braises the beef in 400 ml of red wine. Wine is the khamr the Qur'an forbids, and on this site that includes wine cooked into food. Use the same amount of extra stock, as here. See Wine.
• Beef shin and stock: Beef is Halal only from an animal slaughtered the Halal way, and bought beef stock is a meat product; UK stock cubes such as OXO and Knorr contain meat fat that is not certified Halal. Buy the shin from a Halal butcher and use a Halal-certified or vegan vegetable stock. See Beef and Stock cubes.
• Parmesan: Parmigiano Reggiano must be made with calf rennet, and other hard cheeses may use animal rennet. Scholars differ on rennet from animals not slaughtered the Halal way. Use a hard cheese that names microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet, or one your school accepts. See Parmesan.
• Pappardelle: Dried wheat pasta is fine; egg pasta and any filled pasta need their labels read. Read the pasta label. See Pasta.

Ingredients

Ragout

• 1.2 kg Halal beef shin, cut into chunks
• 4–5 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, finely chopped
• 4 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 400 ml Halal beef stock or vegetable stock (our swap for 400 ml red wine)
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes, 400 g each
• 500 ml Halal beef stock or vegetable stock

To serve

• to serve pappardelle (the source gives no amount)
• to serve parmesan or another hard cheese, grated (see the rennet check below)

Method

1. Brown the beef. Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan, gas 3) and season the beef. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a flameproof casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the beef until dark, about 15 minutes, in batches if needed, using 1 tbsp oil per batch. Drain the beef in a colander to remove the fat while you cook the rest.
2. Cook the soffritto. Wipe out the pan, then add about 2 tbsp oil with the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for 8 to 10 minutes over a low-medium heat. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 3 minutes more.
3. Braise. Add all the stock, the herbs and the tomatoes, season and bring to the boil. Stir the beef back in and reduce to a simmer. Cover and put in the oven for 2 hours 30 minutes, then remove the lid, stir and return to the oven uncovered for 30 minutes.
4. Shred. Stir, or use a fork, to roughly shred the beef, and season. Serve now, or chill and reheat gently over a medium heat when ready.
5. Toss with pasta. Cook the pappardelle in a large pan of salted water for 3 minutes, drain, then tip into the ragout and toss with some of the cheese. Leave for 1 minute, then ladle into bowls and scatter over the rest of the cheese.

Allergens

celery, gluten (pappardelle), milk (parmesan)

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Beef ragout' by Tom Kerridge (serves 6 to 8: 1.2 kg beef shin in chunks, seasoned and browned until dark, about 15 minutes, in batches with 1 tbsp of the 4 to 5 tbsp olive oil per batch, then drained; 2 onions, 3 carrots and 4 celery sticks finely chopped and 4 sliced garlic cloves cooked 8 to 10 minutes in about 2 tbsp oil with a pinch of salt; 3 tbsp tomato purée for 3 minutes; 400 ml red wine, 2 rosemary sprigs, 2 bay leaves, 2 x 400 g cans of chopped tomatoes and 500 ml beef stock brought to the boil; the beef returned, covered and cooked 2 hours 30 minutes at 160°C (140°C fan, gas 3), then 30 minutes uncovered; shredded; pappardelle cooked 3 minutes and tossed through with parmesan). The source gives no pappardelle or parmesan quantity. We specified Halal beef shin and a Halal or vegetable stock, and replaced the red wine with 400 ml more stock; that swap is ours. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph of farfalle with beef ragu by Jeremy Keith (CC BY 2.0), not the finished dish from this recipe.