pasta and beef

A week ago yesterday, our neighbors, Allison and Ian, had a new baby girl. She joins two sisters, ages 2 and 3.  Since Allison obviously has her hands full (to say the least!) another neighbor, Kim, organized a sign-up for us to pitch in and bring dinners to the family for the next couple weeks.

Kim used a great online tool called Signup Genius. I’d never heard of it before, but I guess it’s all the rage with mom’s of school age kids. I am so out of the loop! It really is genius though!

Anyhow, I made a double batch of this dish yesterday afternoon. My three guys really enjoyed it for dinner last night. Hopefully Ian, Allison and their girls will enjoy it just as much tonight.

Braised Tri-Tip and Spaghetti

2 tablespoons of butter
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
5 pounds beef tri-tip strips
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup red wine
1/3 cup fresh minced Italian parsley
1 pound spaghetti
3 tablespoons butter
Shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving
Italian parsley, minced for garnish

Salt and pepper the meat generously.

Coat the meat lightly with seasoned flour and shake off the excess.

Melt the butter and the 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Sear the meat on all sides until golden brown. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot and then add the onions.

Cook onions while scraping up the brown bits (which is called the fond) and cook until onions until soft and translucent.

Add the garlic and sauté 2 minutes more.

Add the tomatoes, red wine and parsley, bring to a boil. Transfer the meat back to the pot.

Simmer, covered, on the lowest heat for 3 ½ to 4 hours or until the meat is falling apart.

Remove from the heat, use tongs to remove the meat from the sauce and break up into bite-size pieces, it should pretty much fall apart, so it’ll be easy to break up. Let the sauce sit about 15 minutes, then skim off the fat that has risen to the surface of the sauce and discard. Taste and season sauce and then return the meat to the sauce.

Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water before you drain.

Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter to a golden brown in a large skillet. Add the spaghetti and the reserved pasta water. Stir to coat the pasta. Season well with salt and pepper.

Serve the braised beef and sauce over the spaghetti. Garnish with shredded Parmesan and the parsley.

Serves 8