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Mexican slow-cooked beef pasta bake

Name: Mexican slow-cooked beef pasta bake
Total time: 4 h
Ingredients: dried ancho chilli 1, (see notes below); vegetable oil 1 tbsp; onions 2, thinly sliced; garlic 2 cloves, crushed; chipotle chilli paste 2 tbsp; ground cinnamon 1 tsp; smoked paprika 1 tsp; ground coriander 1 tsp; ground cumin 1 tsp; beef shin 1kg, diced; chopped tomatoes 2 x 400g tins; beef stock 500ml; dark chocolate 30g; fresh fusilli pasta 500g (from the chiller cabinet); manchego 50g, grated; avocado 1, diced; limes 2, 1 zested and juiced, 1 wedged to serve; coriander a small bunch, leaves picked; red chilli 1, finely sliced

4 hours
serves 6-8
Easy

Slow cook beef shin in Mexican flavours until meltingly tender for the ultimate pasta bake to feed a crowd

August 9, 2019 at 4:01 pm

You can make the slow-cooked beef base up to 48 hours in advance or freeze in a sealed container for up to one month.

Ingredients

dried ancho chilli 1, (see notes below)
vegetable oil 1 tbsp
 onions 2, thinly sliced
garlic 2 cloves, crushed
chipotle chilli paste 2 tbsp
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
smoked paprika 1 tsp
ground coriander 1 tsp
ground cumin 1 tsp
beef shin 1kg, diced
chopped tomatoes 2 x 400g tins
beef stock 500ml
dark chocolate 30g
fresh fusilli pasta 500g (from the chiller cabinet)
manchego 50g, grated

SALSA

avocado 1, diced
limes 2, 1 zested and juiced, 1 wedged to serve
coriander a small bunch, leaves picked
red chilli 1, finely sliced

Method

Step 1

Put the ancho chilli into a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for 15 minutes, then drain well, discard the seeds and stalk, and chop.
Step 2

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, shallow casserole dish over a medium heat and fry the onion for 5-6 minutes or until starting to soften. Add the garlic and chipotle paste, and stir fry for a couple of minutes until aromatic.
Step 3

Stir in the spices and beef, and fry for a minute until fragrant, then add the tomatoes, stock, chopped ancho chilli and seasoning. Gently simmer with the lid on for 3 hours-3 hours 30 minutes or until the beef is very tender. Stir every hour or so to make sure the stew doesn’t stick. If the sauce reduces too much, add a splash of water to loosen.
Step 4

Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. When the beef is tender, stir in the chocolate, pasta and 300ml of water. Sprinkle over the manchego and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden on top and bubbling.
Step 5

Mix the salsa ingredients together and spoon over the baked pasta. Serve with extra lime wedges to squeeze over.