Slow Cooker Beef With Gnocchi With Cinnamon

Comforting, perfectly cooked beef ragu served with delicate Parmesan gnocchi makes for the perfect meal on chilly days.

Ingredients

Full recipe + ingredients can be found in the recipe card below.

• Beef. I used chuck but beef shin, short ribs or stewing beef can all be used.
• Red onion.
• Garlic cloves.
• Red wine. You could use extra beef stock instead of wine if you would prefer to keep this alcohol-free.
• Fresh rosemary.
• Fresh thyme.
• Bay leaves.
• Tomato puree / Tomato Passata.
• Beef stock.
• Sugar.
• Salt and pepper.
• Potatoes.
• Flour.
• Egg.
• Parmesan cheese.

How to make Beef Ragu

1. Sear the beef: In a large, oven-proof pot (with a lid) add a splash of oil. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season generously with salt. Sear the beef on all sides until golden brown and a sticky fond forms on the bottom of the pot. While the beef sears, finely chop the onion and garlic.
2. Make the ragu:Once the beef as browned, remove from the pot and set aside. In the same pot, add the onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent. Add the red wine and scrape the sticky bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the tomato puree, herbs and stock. Place the beef and any resting juices back into the pot.
3. Cook the ragu: Cover the pot with a lid and place in a preheated oven. Allow to braise for 3-4 hours or until the beef is soft and tender. Once the beef is tender, remove the beef from the pot. Shred the meat and discard any bones excess fat or cartilage. Place the meat back into the sauce and set over medium heat. Bring t
   o a simmer and cook for a few minutes and season to taste.
4. Serve:Serve the ragu with gnocchi (mashed potatoes, polenta and pasta are also good choices) and a generous grating of Parmesan cheese.

Instant Pot instructions:

1. Set the IP to Saute. Follow the first two steps as above and sear the beef then saute the onions and make the sauce.
2. Once the beef is added back to the Instant Pot, cover with the lid and make sure the vent is in "Sealing" position. Set the IP to the meat function and cook for 30 minutes. After cooking, quick-release the pressure. Check that the beef is tender, if not, cook for another 10 minutes.
3. Shred the beef and transfer back to the sauce. Set to the Saute function again and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced slightly. Serve with side dishes of your choice.

Ragu recipes

1. Mushroom ragu on polenta
2. Lamb ragu with cauliflower gnocchi
3. Slow-braised Pork Ragu

for the ragu

• 1 kg/2lbs Beef chuck
• 2 red onions peeled and chopped
• 6 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 cup red wine
• 3 cups tomato puree (approximately 750ml)
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

for the Parmesan gnocchi

• 1 kg (2lbs) baking/fluffy potatoes
• ½ cup Parmesan finely grated
• 2 egg yolks
• 1-1½ cups flour
• salt to taste

• To make the ragu, preheat your oven to 160°c.

• In a large, oven-proof pot (with a lid) add a splash of oil. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season generously with salt. Sear the beef on all sides until golden brown and a sticky fond forms on the bottom of the pot.

• Once the beef as browned, remove from the pot and set aside. In the same pot, add the onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent.

• Add the red wine and scrape the sticky bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the tomato puree, herbs and stock. Place the beef and any resting juices back into the pot.

• Cover the pot with a lid and place in a preheated oven. Allow to braise for 3-4 hours or until the beef is soft and tender.

• In the meantime, make the gnocchi.

• Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour until a skewer is easily inserted.

• Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Halve the potatoes and scoop the flesh into a bowl.

• Place the Parmesan into the bowl with the potatoes. Using a potato masher/fork, mash until there are no lumps. Add the egg yolks and mix well.

• Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time and mix in gently, you don't want to over-work the dough. I only needed 1.5 cups of flour for my gnocchi but some mixtures might need a bit more. It's best to make sure your potatoes are quite dry before adding the flour though as the more flour you add, the tougher your gnocchi will be.

• When you've added enough flour to result in a soft dough, break tennis ball sized pieces off of the dough and roll into long strips on a floured surface. cut the strip into 1cm gnocchis and place on a tray covered with semolina until you are ready to cook them. If you like, you can also use a fork to make indents in the gnocchi which create little spaces to suck up more of the ragu sauce.

• Once the beef is tender, remove the beef from the pot. Shred the meat and discard any bones excess fat or cartilage. Place the meat back into the sauce and set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes and season to taste.

• To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and drop the gnocchi in carefully. When they float to the surface they are ready. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place straight into the ragu.

• Serve with Parmesan and parsley.

Calories: 567 kcal | Carbohydrates: 49 g | Protein: 41 g | Fat: 21 g | Saturated Fat: 9 g | Cholesterol: 180 mg | Sodium: 347 mg | Potassium: 2101 mg | Fiber: 7 g | Sugar: 11 g | Vitamin A: 816 IU | Vitamin C: 52 mg | Calcium: 106 mg | Iron: 8 mg

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Source: https://simply-delicious-food.com/beef-ragu-parmesan-gnocchi/

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