Slow cooked Lamb Pappardelle
Serves: 2 people
Takes: Over 1 hr
This is a recipe for the weekend. Give your lamb time to slow cook and you’ll be so happy you did.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, roughly crushed
1 onion, chopped
300g lamb mince
4 fat cloves of garlic, finely chopped
30 ml red wine
400g chopped tomatoes
200ml hot stock
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 large sprig rosemary, or any herb works well
1/2 tablespoon capers (optional)
250g pappardelle pasta, fresh or dried
salt, to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, to serve
Method
Gently heat the oil in a large pan and add the bay leaf and crushed fennel seeds.
After 1 minute, add the onions and stir well. Allow to soften, stirring every now and again until they start to caramelise on the edges.
Push them to one side and add the lamb mince. Once the lamb has coloured, stir well and allow to cook through and char a little. Do the same on all sides before folding the onions back through.
Toss in the garlic and cook for a few minutes.
Deglaze the pan by adding the red wine, scraping down the base as it evaporates.
Pour in the tomatoes, stock and tomato puree and mix well.
Add the rosemary, capers (if using) and a good pinch of salt. Stir and bring to a simmer before covering and allowing to slow cook for around an hour. Low and slow is the secret to this recipe.
When the ragu is ready, it’s time to cook the pasta. Cook the pappardelle in boiling salted water as per the pack instructions until al dente. In the meantime, remove the bay leaf and rosemary sprig from the ragu. Taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to.
Once the pappardelle is cooked, transfer it to the slow cooked ragu. Add a ladle of pasta water to the pan and toss everything together.
Serve with lashings of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.
