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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Rack of Lamb with Apricot-Lime Chutney

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

We went crazy in Central Market when we were in Austin. Every produce aisle should look like theirs. After Cameron pushed the cart to pick up the ingredients she needed for her salads, we bought a $50 rack of lamb. I knew I wanted something savory for our New Year’s Eve dinner, so I went to the spice aisle and happily weighed some loose curry powder and bought it for 45 cents. With iPhone on hand, I Googled a chutney to match the Indian flavor. Because we were expecting a couple to join us for dinner to make us five, I wanted to do something low key as well. In fact, I was able to prepare the lamb in between courses; only the chutney was done before our guests came in. Cameron’s spinach salad peppered with blueberries, cranberries and almonds and roasted fingerling Peruvian potatoes were nice sides with this.

Ingredients:
rack of lamb
garlic cloves, minced
a small knob of ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
curry powder
salt, pepper, oil

For the apricot-lime chutney:
6 fresh apricots, pitted, chopped
juice from a lime
lime zest
honey
a small knob of ginger, peeled, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Make small slits all over the lamb using a sharp knife. Insert garlic and ginger. Cover the rack of lamb with the spices and let sit for half an hour or until ready to cook.
2. Place all chutney ingredients in a saucepan, add water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add a little water if it begins to dry when simmering. Allow to cool before serving.
3. Using an oven-safe frying pan, brown one side of the rack in hot oil. Transfer in the oven and cook for 25 minutes or until medium-rare. Let rest on a wooden block to finish cooking before slicing and serving.

Related post/s:
Another Indian-inspired dish using fruit chutney
Salsa verde recipe good with either beef or lamb

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