As Summer fades and the evenings turn chilly, fall is a great time to get back to cooking recipes that take time, encouraging us to slow down, and produce rich, indulgent, comforting results. This recipe for Ragù Napoletano from Packer’s Kitchen + Bar is just that: a slow-simmered sauce that’s imbued with a ton of flavor, draped over al dente pasta and oven-baked until the whole thing bubbles and your mouth is watering from the smell. What better way to celebrate the weather cooling down than to pull out a big stock pot, chop up some mirepoix, and get the family together for a delicious autumn meal!
Photograph Courtesy of Packer’s Kitchen & Bar
For the Ragù
1-pound boneless short rib, large chunks
6 ounces capicola or pancetta, dice
2 pounds ground beef, 80/20
3 carrots, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
10 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry white wine
3 Calabrian chilis, sliced
1 bunch fresh thyme, tied
2 bay leaves
56 ounces whole peeled tomatoes (2 large cans)
½ cup olive oil
Chili flakes, salt, and black pepper to taste
- Place a heavy-bottomed stainless-steel pot over medium heat and add half of the olive oil followed by the carrot and begin to sauté. When the carrots start to soften, add the onion, garlic, and Calabrian chili, and continue to cook until the onions are translucent. (Note: seasoning the vegetables with a pinch of salt will decrease the cooking time and add a baseline of seasoning to your sauce.)
- Remove the cooked vegetables from the pan and set aside. Return the pan to the stove and increase your heat to high. Add the remaining half of the olive oil, followed by the short rib. Brown the short ribs on all sides. Add all the remaining meat and continue to cook on high, stirring constantly until the ground beef is fully cooked. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any fond (the caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan) that developed while browning the proteins.
- Combine the vegetables with the browned meat and cook on medium until the alcohol smell of the wine is gone. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer on low, stirring occasionally, until the short ribs are tender (approximately 2.5 hours). Season to taste with red chili flakes, salt, and black pepper.
Photograph courtesy of Packer’s Kitchen & Bar
Ragù Napoletano al Forno
1 pound rigatoni or ziti, cooked one minute less than al dente
½ batch ragù Napoletano
6 ounces mozzarella, diced
8 ounces parmesan, grated
1 cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup parsley, minced
- Heat oven to 400°F. In an oven-safe dish, combine the cooked pasta, the ragù, and the mozzarella and mix until well combined. Cover with foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the breadcrumbs, minced parsley, and grated parmesan together in an appropriately sized mixing bowl. After the 30 minutes are up, remove the foil, top with the breadcrumb mixture, and return the dish to the oven for an additional 15 minutes. Once fully cooked, remove the baked pasta from the oven and allow it to rest for five minutes before serving.
