Slow cooked lamb ragu with unsweetened chocolate
This dish is not hard - you spend maybe 20 mins prepping and another 20 after it is cooked. Most of the time is in the cooking and going to the butcher to get some good lamb! So while it is not difficult (meaning, you should definitely make it for Sunday dinner next weekend!), it does take a little time. Gathering the right ingredients, coaxing out their flavor, and letting the meat and veg gently cook until it is falling off the bone and all of the flavors meld into one; more than the some of their parts. Using this stew as a pasta sauce - ragu, is perfect. There is so much flavor packed into every mouthful and perfectly tender pasta adds just the right bite of texture. You are going to love this…
Ingredients:
Prep time: 40 minutes plus 4 hours 30 minutes braising time
Degree of difficulty: medium
Serves: 6-8 for one sitting, or 2, with leftovers for the week’s dinners.
3-4lb Lamb neck or lamb shanks
2 Tablespoons of olive oil, for browning the lamb
1lb Can of San Marzano tomatoes (I used the Cento brand)
1/4 Bar of Divine Chocolate’s 100% cocoa unsweetened baking bar (approximately 1.5 w oz), broken up
1 Small can of tomato paste (6 w oz)
1 Large bay leaf
3-4 Large rosemary sprigs
2 Tablespoons balsamic reduction (Something like this)
2 Sticks of celery
2 Large carrots
1 Large white onion
4 Cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 Cups decent red wine (merlot/pinot noir has nice chocolatey notes). I judge by price - sooo a $10 - $12 bottle will do!
1/2 Bunch of kale, stalks removed and chopped into rough 1 inch pieces (you won’t even notice this is here, but it adds vitamins, roughage and body to the sauce
For the pasta: 3 oz dried per person. Plus olive oil and salt for cooking
Method
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit with enough space between racks to fit your dutch oven.
Salt your pieces of lamb liberally on all sides, then brown on a medium high heat on the stove top in using your dutch oven casserole dish. Do this on all sides to get nice caramel-ey flavor all over the meat. Remove from casserole for a sec.
Chop your sofrito ingredients (celery, onion and carrots) into rough1/2 inch pieces. Peel the onions obviously but don’t bother with the carrots. Cook this on the same medium high heat in the casserole till you get a little bit of color on everything.
Add the wine to the casserole and mix and scrape any brown bits off the sides. Add all of the rest of the ingredients to the casserole (except the pasta ingredients). Mix to combine a little then add the lamb last, with just enough water to cover, if it isn’t already.
Cook for 4.5 hours, covered, till the meat is falling off the bone, mixing everything over the lamb once in the middle. Remove the lid for the last 30 mins to thicken the sauce.
Your ragu should look like this at this point. And your house will smell delicious…
6. When done, remove the lamb to a cutting board (one with a rim to catch juices is useful here) and remove the bones and extra fat (discard these). Shred the meat and return to the pot. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Pick out the rosemary twigs at this point too.
7. Cook your pasta according to the package instructions (with a big pinch of salt, and healthy glue of olive oil in a large saucepan).
8. When the pasta is cooked, drain and return it to it’s saucepan. Add about 1 cup of ragu mix per person and toss to coat. Plate the finished ragu and serve with crusty bread and butter, and liberal shavings of parm. A nice juicey glass of red on a winters evening - a perfect Sunday if you ask me!
