You can start cooking this the day before, the flavours will improve and your home will smell delicious. Serve with fresh tagliatelle and grated Parmesan.
Wine Suggestion: find a rich red with some stuffing to stand up to the richer flavours. A touch of acidity and a good grip of tannin will also help. Ideally you’ll finish the bottle used to cook with, as we did tonight; Cline’s Old Vine Zinfandel from Lodi in California. Heady, brambly and with juicy tannins.
Italian slow-cooked lamb ragu – serves 8
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.2kg boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 3.5cm cubes
- 2 onions, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 celery sticks, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
- 400ml red wine
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 500ml lamb stock
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
Put on the oven to 170C/Fan 160C/Gas 3.
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large casserole over a high heat. Season the lamb and brown in batches, then remove to a plate and set aside.
Add another tbsp of oil to the pan, then add the onions and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery and garlic and cook for a further 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and anchovies.
Add the wine and scrape up any bits that are stuck to the base of the pan. Bring to the boil and reduce by half, then add the herbs, lamb stock, tomatoes and browned lamb. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours.
Transfer the casserole from the oven to the hob, remove the lid and stir, then simmer gently for 1 hour to reduce and thicken. Remove the large herb sprigs, then shred the lamb with two forks and season.
Serve with pasta and Parmesan.
(Original recipe from Tom Kerridge’s Fresh Start, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2018.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
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