Slow Cooked Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle
A rich and slow-cooked lamb ragu served with homemade pappardelle. The meat is first seared and then slowly braised with onion, carrots, celery and chopped tomatoes in lamb stock and red wine. This yields an extra flavorful sauce and fall-apart tender meat. This ragù can be made in a slow cooker or in a Dutch oven.
Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1
Prepare the meat and vegetables: Pat the meat dry with paper towels and cut it into small 1 cm cubes. If necessary, trim away excess fat. Finely dice the onion, celery stalks and carrots. Mince the garlic and chop the fresh rosemary. Dust the meat with flour until it’s evenly and thinly coated.
Step 2
Brown the meat and sauté the vegetables: Pre-heat a heavy-bottomed pot. Add one tablespoon of olive oil and sear the meat over high heat until browned, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Then transfer the meat to a bowl and set it aside. Reduce the heat to medium-high, add the remaining olive oil and sauté the onion, celery, carrots and tomato paste, about 7-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add the minced garlic and chopped rosemary and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with red wine and let it reduce slightly. Follow one of the cooking methods below to proceed.
Step 3
Slow cooker method: After deglazing the pan, transfer everything to a slow cooker. Add the lamb stock, the canned tomatoes, the browned meat and the bay leaves. Cook the ragù on the low setting for around six hours, until the meat is very tender and falls apart easily. Remove the bay leaves and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
Dutch oven method: Pre-heat the oven to 160 °C. After deglazing, add the lamb stock, the canned tomatoes, the bay leaves and the browned meat to the Dutch oven. Cover with a lid and bring everything to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, transfer the dutch oven to the oven and braise for around 2 – 3 hours until the meat is very tender. Remove the bay leaves and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
Step 4
Cook the pasta: Bring a pot with generously salted water to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, bring the ragù to a gentle simmer in a large pan. Cook the pappardelle according to package instructions or for around two minutes for fresh pasta, until al dente. Using a pasta spider or tongs, remove the pasta from the water and transfer it directly to the pan with the simmering ragù. Toss and stir until the pasta is evenly coated with sauce. Serve with grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
More Pasta Recipes You May Like:
Slow-cooked Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle
Equipment
- Dutch oven – for braising the ragu in the oven
- Slow cooker – for slowly braising the ragù over the course of six hours
- Pasta spider or tongs – to drain the pasta
- Large pan – to toss the pasta and coat it with the ragù
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 500 g Lamb – shoulder or leg of lamb
- 1 Onion – yellow or white
- 3 Carrots
- 2 Celery stalks
- 1 tbsp Tomato purée
- 4 Garlic cloves
- 1 Twig fresh Rosemary
- 250 ml Red wine
- 350 ml Lamb stock – alternatively, use beef or chicken stock instead
- 400 g Canned tomatoes – diced
- 3 Bay leaves
- Salt
- Pepper
- 500 g Pappardelle or about 600 g homemade Pappardelle – for fresh Pappardelle you will need about 400 g of flour and 4 eggs
- Parmesan cheese – freshly grated for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the meat and vegetables: Pat the meat dry with paper towels and cut it into small 1 cm cubes. If necessary, trim away excess fat. Finely dice the onion, celery stalks and carrots. Mince the garlic and chop the fresh rosemary. Dust the meat with flour until it’s evenly and thinly coated.
- Brown the meat and sauté the veggies: Pre-heat a heavy-bottomed pot. Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and sear the meat over high heat until browned, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Then remove it from the pot and transfer it to a bowl. Reduce the heat to medium-high, add the remaining olive oil and sauté the onion, celery, carrots and tomato paste, about 7-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add the minced garlic and chopped rosemary and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with red wine and let it reduce slightly. Follow one of the cooking methods below to proceed.
- Slow cooker method: After deglazing the pan, transfer everything to a slow cooker. Then add the lamb stock, canned tomatoes, the browned meat and the bay leaves. Cook the ragù on the low setting for around six hours, until the meat is very tender and falls apart easily. Remove the bay leaves and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Dutch oven method: Pre-heat the oven to 160 °C. After deglazing the pan, add the lamb stock, canned tomatoes, bay leaves and the browned meat to the pot. Cover with a lid and bring everything to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, transfer the pot to the oven and braise for around 2 – 3 hours until the meat is very tender. Remove the bay leaves and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Cook the pasta: Bring a pot with generously salted water to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, bring the ragù to a gentle simmer in a large pan. Cook the pappardelle according to package instructions, or for around 2 minutes for fresh pasta, until al dente. Using a pasta spider or tongs, remove the pasta from the water and transfer it directly to the pan with the simmering ragù. Toss and stir until the pasta is evenly coated with sauce. Serve with grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!
