For Easter dinner I wanted to enjoy a nice bottle of Barolo from the 2006 vintage, that I had acquired at the winery in 2010 and had been aging in my wine fridge ever since. It was easy to select a secondo piatto to have with it: Brasato al Barolo. Since it was just the three of us, I thought it would be best to prepare a primo that would pair well with the Barolo, so we could enjoy the bottle over two courses. To stay within the region of the wine, agnolotti or tajarin were the obvious choices. I decided to make a ragù with stracotto di manzo (beef stewed so long that it can easily be shredded) and dried porcini mushrooms. The beef to mellow the tannins in the Barolo, and the porcini to pair with the earthiness of the aged wine. I did not use tomatoes, as I thought a ragù in bianco would work better with the wine. I had some beef that had already been cooked sous vide for 48 hours at 68C/155F in my freezer, so I could prepare this relatively quickly. This is not a classic Italian dish, but it is certainly Italian. The ragù had a great balance between the beef and the mushrooms, and was a great pairing for the wine. Kees and my father raved about it. This was certainly an experience to be repeated! Here is what I did.

Ingredients

For 3-4 servings

• 150 grams (.33 lb) stewing beef (in my case already cooked sous vide 48 hours at 68C/155F)
• 50 grams (2 oz) pancetta, diced
• 30 grams (1 oz) dried porcini mushrooms
• 250 ml (1 cup) red wine
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) beef stock
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 small carrot, minced
• 1/2 stick celery, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

For the tajarin

• 3 eggs
• 150 grams (1 cup) semola di grano duro rimacinato
• 150 grams (1 cup) Italian 00 flour

Instructions

Make fresh pasta dough using my instructions. Wrap the dough in cling film, and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

If you had already cooked the beef sous vide like I had, take it out of the bag, reserve the juices, pat the meat dry with paper towels, and brown it on all sides in olive oil over medium-high heat.

If you are starting from raw beef: season it with salt, brown it on all sides in olive oil over medium-high heat in a pot in which it fits snugly, then add the beef stock, bring to a boil, cover, and allow to simmer until the beef is so tender it falls apart, about 4 hours, turning the beef regularly. This will take less time, but is more work than doing it sous vide.

Slice the beef thickly against the grain, then shred it with two forks, and reserve.

Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in 250 ml (1 cup) boiling water for about 15 minutes. Then drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid. Rinse the mushrooms again to remove any sand. Then pat them dry with paper towels and mince them. Filter the soaking liquid using a sieve lined with kitchen paper.

Make the ragù in the same pan in which you browned the sous vide beef without cleaning it, or start with a clean frying pan if you cooked the beef from raw. Heat some olive oil and add the minced onion, carrot, celery, and pancetta.

Stir over medium heat until the vegetables are starting to get some color.

Add the minced reconstituted porcini mushrooms, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Add some more olive oil if it looks too dry.

Stir for another minute.

Deglaze with 250 ml red wine.

Bring to a boil, scrape with a wooden spatula to release any flavor stuck to the pan, and simmer over medium heat until the wine has been reduced by half.

Add the porcini soaking liquid…

…and the beef stock, or the gravy from braising the beef.

Season with freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered…

…until the ragù has the right thickness. It should still be bit soupy, as the thin pasta will absorb a lot of liquid.

Roll out the pasta dough using the pasta attachment for a stand mixer or a pasta maker (or a rolling pin), and cut it into narrow ribbons to make tajarin. Make sure the sheets of pasta are dusted well with flour before you cut them, to prevent them from sticking together.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Add the reserved shredded beef to the ragù…

…and stir to incorporate, then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

When the water boils, add salt and the tajarin. Cook for 1 minute only, then drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water…

…then add the pasta to the ragù, together with 30 grams of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

Stir to mix. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking water if it looks too dry.

Serve at once on preheated plates, sprinkled with some more freshly grated parmigiano, and drizzled with some high quality extra virgin olive oil.

Wine pairing

This is great with Barolo or other Nebbiolo from Piemonte, such as Langhe Nebbiolo, Barbaresco, Roero, or Ghemme.