Beef Tips in Mushroom Gravy

1.5 – 2# of cut of beef. (I used a nice looking London Broil)
Salt, Pepper, spring of rosemary
Mirepoix (onion, carrots, celery)
Beef Stock (homemade is best but a good organic stock works as well)
3-4 large button mushrooms, sliced
1 recipe of Pasta or 1# of dried egg noodles

Season the beef liberally with salt and cracked black pepper on both sides. Add to a heated pan to sear on both sides. Once seared, remove the meat from the pan and deglaze with a little bit of the stock. Add the mirepoix (chop an onion, 3-4 good size carrots and 4 ribs of celery – mirepoix adds a depth of flavor to stocks, sauces, etc.) to the pan. Place the meat on top of the mirepoix and add enough stock to come up about halfway to the meat. Strip the rosemary from the sprig and add. Cover and braise in a 275-300 degree oven until the meat is fork tender. (About 2 hours or so)

Once braised, remove from the oven. Take the meat out, cover and set aside so it can rest. Strain the braising liquid. In a large sauce pan, make a roux (equal parts of melted butter and flour. I used a 1/3 cup of each). Slowly whisk the braising liquid to the roux until there are no lumps. Add the mushrooms (you can use any type of mushroom. The hubby just prefers button mushrooms.) and cut the beef into small chunks. Add beef to the gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer for about 15 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta. You can either serve it over the pasta or just mix it together like I did. Serves at least 4.

Enjoy! I know we did!

Basic Pasta

Pasta…it can be a very daunting concept but it doesn’t need to be. In my opinion, there is nothing better than the taste of fresh pasta. And really it is not that hard.

The recipe is really easy.

1 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1-2 Tablespoon water, as needed.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Form a well in the middle and add the beaten egg. Mix with a fork, bringing in sides of the well little by little. The dough may be dry. If it is, you can start to add the water a tablespoon at a time. Knead for 3-4 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. The resting is essential for a tender pasta as this allows the gluten to relax.

Using either a rolling pin or a pasta machine, roll out and cut to your desired thickness. Bring salted water to a boil and add pasta. Don’t walk away as fresh pasta does not take nearly as long as the dry variety to cook. Once al dente, drain and serve. Makes about 3-4 servings