Pappardelle with slow-cooked beef and mushrooms

This comes from my good friend dragon's recipe blog. Between cleaning drills, talking about cooking, stitching, and everything under the sun, Dragon is one of those dear darling friends that I would not trade for all the tea in china! Through thick and thin (no Dragon dear, Im not commenting about our weight.....)


Pappardelle with slow-cooked beef and mushrooms



Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
400g/14oz stewing beef, cubed
700ml/1¼ pints hot water or beef stock
300g/10½oz mixed mushrooms (such as oyster, button or shiitake), washed thoroughly, roughly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper


For the tomato salsa
400g/14oz vine-ripened tomatoes, each cut into eight wedges
handful chopped fresh basil leaves
handful chopped fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
1½ tsp red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
250g/9oz dried egg pappardelle, cooked according to packet instructions, drained, to serve
1 heaped tbsp butter, softened
40g/1½oz freshly grated Parmesan



Method

1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan. Add the beef and brown all over, stirring regularly.
2. Add the mushrooms and pour over the water or beef stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Half-cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook the mixture over a high heat, stirring regularly, for 30-45 minutes, or until the volume of liquid has reduced, the sauce has thickened and the meat is tender enough to break down using a wooden spoon.
3. For the tomato salsa, in a bowl, mix together all of the tomato salsa ingredients until well combined.
4. Add the cooked, drained pasta, softened butter and half of the grated Parmesan to the slow-cooked beef and mushrooms, stirring well until the pasta is coated in the sauce and the butter has melted.
5. Divide the pappardelle with slow-cooked beef and mushrooms equally among four serving bowls. Spoon over the tomato salsa and sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan.



Serves 4

Taken from Economy Gastronomy