This slowly simmered thick lamb ragù is a comforting hearty sauce to be served ideally on top of tagliatelle. This will make you lick your lips clean.
Apart from making your house smell amazing, one of the main things why I love making ragù is that all you have to do is to prepare the ingredients and then let them do their own magic on low heat. For me, ragù is a perfect Sunday meal to prepare, especially if I predict a busy Sunday. It’s truly such a treat! Leaving it to simmer on low heat and then getting the most flavourful dish. The ragù can also be prepared a day ahead, I actually recommend this as the flavours get to know each other better and make it so much more tastier. In addition, this ragù can also be frozen for later! Ragù is made to make your life easier.
Preparing the ragù!
For this lamb ragù I like to use the boneless shoulder cut. You can either get it immediately diced or else get a whole shoulder and do it yourself. One important thing is that the lamb is cut into small pieces of about 3cm. This will help to cook even and it’s the perfect size to enjoy with your pasta. Before starting the sauce you need to sear the meat so that you give it a nice colour, and this will also help to make the sauce richer.
After searing the lamb, you can start building the sauce. I like to do this gently step by step, so to give each ingredient enough time to cook. Then let everything simmer for about 2 hours on low heat. The more you leave the ragù the more fork tender the lamb gets. It literally can be shredded with a fork. However, be careful not to dry out the ragù.
Serving it up!
Tagliatelle are my favourite kind of pasta to serve this ragù with. In fact, tagliatelle are most commonly used with such ragù. The ragù lathers each single piece of pasta and whilst twirling the pasta around your fork you can pick up the tender lamb easily. It’s really important that you don’t overcook the pasta and leave it al dente, so that you can finish its cooking in the ragù.
Lamb Ragù Tagliatelle
Ingredients
- 500 g boneless lamb shoulder diced into 3 cm pieces
- 700 ml jar tomato passata
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 anchovy fillets
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 400 g tagliatelle pasta
- parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Start by patting dry the lamb using paper towels. Season the meat on all sides with salt and pepper and lightly dust the lamb with flour, shaking off any excess.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and sear the lamb on medium-high heat. Sear the lamb until it has a nice brown colour on the outside. This might take about 6 minutes. Once cooked put the lamb aside and drain from any excess fat.
- In the remaining fat, cook the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and the anchovy fillets, and let cook until the latter melt. Add the tomato paste and let it cook for about 3 minutes. Once the base is ready, add the seared lamb back to the pot.
- Add the tomato passata, cumin, nutmeg, oregano, rosemary, chili flakes and bay leaves. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for about 2 hours, stirring it occasionally so that the meat doesn't get stuck to the bottom. * Season again to taste with salt and pepper.
- In the meantime, bring to boil a pot filled with water. Once it starts to boil, season with plenty of salt. Add the pasta and cook as instructed on the package or until al dente.
- Once the pasta cooks add it to the ragù and serve with some grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
If you have any questions, feedback or comments on this recipe, please leave a comment below. Please also rate this recipe by double clicking on the stars below. If you did make this recipe, tag @apronandwhisk and hashtag #apronandwhisk, as I’m curious to see what you create!
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