A Gentle Lamb Ragu.
A fair ragu is not difficult to make. An exceptionally tasty ragu, however, is no simple feat.
Lamb ragu with saffron-infused pasta.
Deriving from the French verb ragoûter, meaning to ‘excite the appetite’, the bar is high from the get-go.
Singular and flavourful, lamb is a sure shortcut to a rewarding ragu, making do without the customary complexity of balancing sweet, salt and acid, requisite for reaching that rich, round-bondied ragu al Bolognese; the type of ragu Marcella Hazan describes as ‘one of the most satisfying experiences accessible to the sense of taste’.
The conclusive combination of saffron and ginger in this recipe ensure results are not rudimentary. Based on an Italian recipe, it can be made with a variation of Spring vegetables – all delicious and distinctive in their own right.
Perfectly fitting to those unexpectedly cold Spring days, this is as elegant as it is hearty. And a wonderfully gentle way to enjoy lamb.
MENU SUGGESTIONS.
Especially delicious preceded by a spring vegetable not included in the ragu, a light soup or a warm salad, there is no lack of appetizing options: almond and garlic soup, lettuce and mint soup, pea and basil timbale/pudding, cold tomato salad with capers and anchovies, cooked artichokes, warm goat’s cheese salad, ricotta and zucchini flan, raw vegetables with an anchoide dip, onion tart, scallop carpaccio, crab salad
And similarly for palatable puddings: apricot and almond tart, lemon mousse, cherry sorbet, apricot crumble with a hint of cinnamon, rhubarb fool with rosemary and thyme, mint granita, lemon meringue tart, white chocolate mousse with raspberries, passion fruit posset
RECIPE.
This is a fool-proof ragu recipe which requires relatively little cooking; both in terms of time and “skill”. The choice of pasta shape is important – it should allow the ragu to cling to it whilst also acting as a suitable vessel for your chosen vegetable. The original recipe requires making saffron and turmeric flavoured pasta from scratch – by using fresh pasta something very close to the original can be achieved by flavouring the cooking water with these spices. The lamb fat in this cut is indispensable for producing the rich, layered flavours of this comparably straightforward dish.
As with any ragu it significantly improves over its subsequent days and is worth making extra to freeze; this is also delicious on toast, more classily known as crositini, with extra parmesan and a generous grinding of black pepper. And would also hold its own as a preparation for a rather chic shepherd’s pie.
A few options are offered for substituting Monk’s beard, which is not often easy to find in Britain. Most sumptuous variation is with artichokes and more than worth the effort of cleaning one, which will be enough to serve four. The asparagus gives the dish a lovely springtime flavour, and the peas, being quite sweet are a lovely option to serve to any children at the table.
Serves 4
“Short” Egg Pasta: ideally fresh and with a hole such as casarecce, garganelli, sedanini; farfalle will also work
Lamb saddle, 400g
Monk’s geard/garba di frate (or substitute for cavolo nero), 120g
Dry white wine, 1 or 2 glasses
Shallot, 1
Celery, 2 sticks
Fresh ginger, 1 piece
Thyme, a bunch
Saffron,
Tumeric
Parmesan
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Finely dice the lamb, shallots and celery.
Warm 2 spoonfulls of olive oil in a pan and lightly cook the shallots and celery, adding the lamb and thyme and colour for 1- 2 minutes, stirring on medium heat.
As soon as the lamb has lost its pink rawness add the white wine and cook until evaporated.
Cover with boiling water from a kettle, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook for an hour with the lid on.
Blanch the monk’s beard in salted water for 1 minute.
Using a spoon, peel the ginger. Finely grate it and squeeze its juices and set aside.
Add two spoonfulls of olive oil, the fresh ginger juice and the monk’s beard to a new pan. Combine with this the ragu and cook together over a medium heat for 2 minutes.
Boil a pan of water for the pasta, salt generously and add turmeric and saffron to the water. Cook for the time prescribed. Reserve some cooking water from the top of the pot.
Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the ragu, mixing thoroughly. If the juices are thin, add some cooking water.
Take off the heat and add 2 heaped spoonfulls of freshly grated Parmesan, amalgamating everything together to create a creamy coating.
Serve immediately, with extra Parmesan.
Substitutions for Monk’s Beard.
Artichokes.
must be the most delicious option
use finely chopped parsley instead of thyme at the beginning
prepare the artichoke and slice in thinly; add to pan with olive oil, ginger juice and some finely chopped parsley and cook for 2-3 minutes; cover and leave for another 5 minutes. Then add the lamb ragu and proceed as above
complete with finely chopped mint and/or parsley at the end
Asparagus
most recalling of the English spring
use finely chopped parsley instead of thyme at the beginning
blanch only the stems of asparagus for 2-3 minutes
add the raw tips directly to the pan with olive oil and and ginger, together with the cooked stems, and proceed with adding the ragu
complete with finely chopped parsley at the end
Peas
perfect for any children at the table, large or small
use finely chopped parsley instead of thyme at the beginning
omit the ginger
cook peas in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes and add to the pan with olive oil and ragu, following recipe above; add generous amount of parmesan
complete with finely chopped mint at the end
