Lamb Ragu

I like to think about what is available to most home cooks, so I try my best to adapt my recipes to be widely accessible. Always feel free to contact me with any questions!

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1 pound lamb leg steak OR 1 pound of ground lamb

4 oz of a cured meat, cut into lardon (cubes) about a quarter/half inch thick; for my tests I used guanciale and smoked coppa, but pancetta or slab bacon would work as well

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt and pepper

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 poblano pepper, seeded and small/medium diced (about 1/2 in x 1/2 in)

2 medium sized carrots, small/medium diced

A 4 inch segment from the white of a leek, small/medium diced *(remember to clean your leeks! Soak them in enough cold water so that they float to the top and then skim them off the top, leaving the dirt behind at the bottom of the bowl)

2 T tomato paste, double concentrated if possible

3/4 cup Red wine

1 1/2 cups of passata/ tomato puree

Just enough water or stock (any stock, but lamb or beef is best) to help it come together; I used just over a half cup

Bouquet of fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf (tie it all together with some butcher’s twine)

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 T cold butter

1. Add the cubes of cured pork into a pot with a small amount of water. Turn the heat to medium-low and render the fat out of it.

2. Once the water has boiled out of the pot and what is left is browned meat and a pool of flavorful fat, remove the meat and reserve to a metal pan (no paper towels or fat draining necessary).

3. Turn the burner to medium high and add your lamb of choice. It should be liberally seasoned with salt. Sear the lamb until dark brown on one side and carefully flip it. If you’re using ground meat, break the meat up into small chunks with a wooden spoon.

4. Lower the heat as low as it can go once the meat is sufficiently browned and then remove it from the pot. It can wait with the lardon in its metal pan.

5. Adjust the heat to medium and add enough olive oil to easily cover the bottom of the pan. Add all of the vegetables once the oil shimmers

6. Sweat the vegetables and garlic until mostly cooked through, be careful to avoid browning if possible (turn the heat down as needed)

7. Clear out a space in the middle of your pan with your wooden spoon, add a little more oil and fry your tomato paste in it. Stir everything together, making sure to coat all the vegetables in the tomato paste.

8. Add the red wine and cook that until it has reduced by half. Then add the tomato puree and the stock/ water

9. Add the, herbs and red pepper flakes and meat as well as about 10 cranks of fresh black pepper

10. Cook on low with the lid of the pot cracked for a few hours, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. If you used a leg steak, the meat should break up and easily mix into the sauce.

11. To use in pasta, cook the pasta to package instructions in water that is just saltier than tears. When the it’s just a couple minutes away from being cooked through, heat a pan with enough oil to barely cover the bottom of it. Add a half cup or so of ragu per serving of pasta (just enough to coat the amount of pasta you’re using, not too much) and reheat over medium-low just until the pasta is done (careful not to over burn the bottom)

12. Once al dente (or however you like it), add the pasta to the sauce and toss vigorously until coated. Add about a quarter/ half cup of pasta water and toss again. Season to taste with salt with more than yiu think you might need. The cold butter added at the end will balance the flavors perfectly.

13. Right before serving, turn the heat off and add the cold butter to the pasta and toss vigorously. Plate as desired and grate part on top to serve