Lamb Ragu

Filed under Lamb + Veal, Soups, Stocks + Sauces · Print This Post

I was ready to spend the entire day indoors until my phone rang. It was the Dr. asking me if I was interested in having some lamb ragù for dinner. When he invites you over for a home-cooked meal, you just go. He’s one of the best cooks I know who can move in the kitchen like no one’s business. If you watch me cook, I’m all over the place, stressing out and trying to make sure I’m getting every step right. He makes cooking less of a chore and the end product is always top-notch.

This lamb ragu from The New York Times Sunday Magazine is one of those recipes you keep and do over and over until you can cook it with your eyes closed. It was hearty and deliciously gamey in flavor, so after a big dump of snow here in the east coast, I wanted to make my own.

They say patience is a virtue and you’re going to need a lot of it for this dish. The key is for everything to be a deep brown color. It’s a sign that all the flavors have been concentrated.

While you do this recipe on your own, here’s a video of my version simmering.

Ingredients:
3 pounds ground lamb leg or shoulder
1 small can of tomato paste
3 cups red wine
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs of rosemary, removed from stem
half a bunch of thyme, tied in a bundle
grated Parmesan
farfalle, cooked al dente
garlic bread, toasted
salt, oil

1. Using a large Dutch oven, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Sauté garlic until light brown. Add the onions until translucent. Add the vegetables, season with salt and cook until all the water has evaporated and the vegetables begin to brown, about 18 minutes. Stir frequently.
2. Add ground lamb, season generously with salt and cook until it is browned, about 25 to 30 minutes. Everything should be a deep brown towards the end.
3. Add the tomato paste and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the red wine, rosemary and bay leaves. Cook at a lively simmer until the wine has reduced by half. Add the thyme bundle and enough water to cover the lamb by about 1 inch. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring and tasting frequently and adding more water as it evaporates. Remove the bay leaves and thyme when cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. To serve, pour over farfalle that’s been cooked al dente. Grate Parmesan all over. Add toasted bread on the side.

Related post/s:
You can also watch my lamb ragu simmering on Vimeo
Country chicken stew is also good for the winter blues
Your Dutch oven would love you if you braise oxtails

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Tossed Tofu and Brussels Sprouts Salad

Filed under Vegetables + Salads · Print This Post

After a family friend had a small heart attack this past week, my mother didn’t necessarily start running on the treadmill. The family friend is, thankfully, okay, but now he has to change his diet. That at least made sense to my mom who bought a few packages of tofu to change hers. Well, at least, begin to change. She asked me for a recipe that’s easy and quick to do.

I want my parents to know that altering their traditional diet to a healthier one requires not much more work than what they’re used to. If they start their meal with a light salad like this, then maybe they would be apt to eating less during the main course. At the least, there’s a variety on their table when I eat with them.

I always have Brussels sprouts on hand so I used a tub of them here. I sliced them in ribbons so that they would cook in less time and they could match the shape of the sliced tofu. This would be excellent with fried pancetta chunks, but I left that off just to teach my mom a lesson. At the end, the leaves were bright and the almonds added some crunchy texture for no more than 20 minutes of prep.

Ingredients:
1 package of extra firm tofu, drained, cut into small and thin chunks
1 small tub of Brussels sprouts, tips cut off, then sliced so they are like ribbons
2 cloves of garlic, minced
half a bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
a handful of sliced almonds
salt, peanut oil

1. In a large skillet, heat some peanut oil and sauté garlic until golden brown. Add Brussels sprouts and season with salt. Toss in the almonds. Cook for about 5 minutes, setting them aside in the skillet after 3.
2. Add a little bit more oil and fry the tofu. Gently turn them over to cook the other side. It’s okay that some of the tofu get crushed. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle in cilantro and toss everything together. Transfer to a salad bowl.

Related post/s:
Make soup with tofu and green tea noodles
Korean Jjorim fish stew also uses tofu

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