Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle
A beautiful, rich and heart lamb ragu with thick pasta ribbons. This is a show stopping main meal, and dare I say it - better than any ragu I've tasted at a restaurant!
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 644kcal
Equipment
- 1 Large Crockpot / Dutch Oven (5.5L)
- 1 Knife
- 1 Chopping Board
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lbs ground lamb
- 1 yellow / brown onion finely diced
- 1 stalk celery finely diced
- 1 medium sized carrot finely diced
- 1 teaspoon salt plus extra for seasoning
- 2 teaspoon black pepper plus extra for seasoning
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1.5 cups red wine
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 piece of rosemary (approximately 3"long)
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 12 oz fresh or dried pappardelle pasta
Instructions
- Head the oil in a large Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion and celery and sautéed for 5-8 minutes until they're soft.
- Add the lamb mince and break it up into small pieces. Cook for 8-10 minutes until most of the mince has browned.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for a further 2-3 minutes to fry off the flavour.
- Add the red wine. Use your spoon to gently scrape the bottom of your pot to release all the flavour from the bottom of the pan.
- Simmer, stirring for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Add the bay leaves, thyme and rosemary and half the chicken stock.
- Add the tomatoes and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer the sauce for 15 minutes.
- Add the remaining chicken stock, and gently simmer, uncovered, for 2 - 2 ½ hours until the sauce is really thick and most of the liquid has more than halved. Stir occasionally.
- Remove the bay leaves and rosemary and thyme.
- Meanwhile cook your papardelle according to packet instructions.
- Plate your pasta and add a good spoonful of the ragu onto the pasta. Sprinkle over some parmesan cheese and a sprig of thyme.
Video
Notes
Cooking Pot - I use my 5.5L (approx 5.8 quart) Le Crueset Dutch Oven to make this ragu. If you don't have one, you'll need a large heavy-based saucepan. The liquid takes up most of this pot before it all simmers down, so you will need a large pot.
Sautéing Vegetables - this involves cooking the veggies on a medium to low heat until they are soft. If you find they are sticking, add some more olive oil to the pan.
Red Wine - this process is called deglazing. Don't skip this step because the alcohol in the wine helps collect all the flavour from the pan. Use a wooden spoon to gently scrape the crusty bits off the bottom of the pan to release that flavour.
Liquids - after adding the second half of the chicken stock, your saucepan will be quite full. Don't be concerned, as it will reduce significantly to almost half in the 2 hours of cooking.
Serving Suggestion - serve with fresh parmesan cheese, a garnish of thyme or parsley, and fresh crusty bread. Nutritional information doesn't include additional garnish.
Nutrition
Calories: 644kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 739mg | Potassium: 854mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1567IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 4mg
