Lamb Shank And Tomato Ragu Recipes

SLOW-COOKED LAMB SHANKS AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes (if using canned, break them up) and cook until they break down, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Place lamb shanks in pot in a single layer so each shank is covered by sauce. Bring to a boil, cover, then place pot in oven. Cook until meat is very tender and falling off bones, about 3 1/2 hours. Skim fat from cooking liquid and season lamb with salt and pepper. Serve lamb with sauce.

PASTA WITH BRAISED LAMB SHANK RAGù

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in 4-quart ovenproof casserole. Add pancetta, lightly brown and remove. Add lamb shanks, brown on all sides and remove. Lower heat; add onions, garlic and rosemary. Sauté until soft. Add white wine. Scrape pan, return pancetta and lamb to casserole, season with salt and pepper, then cover and bake 90 minutes, turning lamb once.
• Remove lamb from casserole. Cut meat from bones, trimming off fat and gristle. Finely dice meat and add to casserole. Add tomatoes and red pepper. Simmer on top of stove one hour. Check seasoning.
• Boil pasta until al dente, drain, toss with sauce, and serve with pecorino for dusting.

LAMB SHANK AND TOMATO RAGU

Steps:

• Fold each lamb shank in half and tie up with food safe twine.
• Insert a sprig of parsley and rosemary, and a couple of cloves of garlic into each crack.
• Brown in olive oil on both sides.
• Reduce heat, remove shanks and deglaze pan with splash of red wine.
• Add carrot, celery and leek and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Cut flesh from tomatoes, slice and put in with other vegetables. Strain the remaining tomato centres through sieve into pan.
• Put shanks into the sauce, cover tightly and simmer gently for about 5 hours.
• Cook pasta in lots of boiling water.
• Remove meat from shank bones, discard herbs and string.
• Put lamb meat on pasta and smother with rich tomato sauce.
• Leftover potential: Keeps two or three days in the refrigerator.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH LAMB RAGù

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a medium (10- to 11-inch) heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and fennel and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown. Add the lamb, garlic and fennel seeds and cook for 8 minutes, breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, 2 cups of the wine, the oregano, red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Off the heat, stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of red wine.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 2 tablespoons salt and the rigatoni and cook according to the directions on the package, until barely al dente. Drain.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. Add the rigatoni and toss well. Grate half of the mozzarella on a box grater and add it to the rigatoni mixture. Add the lamb mixture, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper and toss well.
• Transfer to a 10-by-14-by-2-inch baking dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Slice the remaining mozzarella and arrange it on top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is hot and bubbling and some of the pasta is crusty on top. Serve hot.

LAMB SHANKS WITH TOMATOES AND FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Mix first 6 ingredients in small bowl; rub all over lamb. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add lamb and sauté until brown, turning with tongs, about 12 minutes; transfer to plate. Reduce heat to medium. Add capocollo and stir 1 minute. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cover and cook until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Mix in garlic; cook 1 minute. Mix in lemon peel strips, bay leaves, and thyme. Add wine and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add tomatoes and broth. Return lamb to pot. Bring to boil; cover and transfer pot to oven.
• Cook lamb until just tender, turning occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove pot from oven. Tilt pot and spoon off fat that rises to top of sauce. Place pot over medium heat and boil uncovered until sauce reduces enough to coat spoon and lamb is very tender, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard lemon peel and bay leaves. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool 30 minutes, chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over low heat before continuing.)
• Mix parsley, grated lemon peel, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in small bowl for gremolata. Transfer lamb to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with gremolata and serve.

LAMB SHANK RAGù WITH ANSON MILLS GRITS

Steps:

• Make ragù:
• Pat lamb shanks dry and season with kosher salt (rounded 1/2 teaspoon) and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 5-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown shanks on all sides, 6 to 7 minutes, then transfer to paper towels to drain. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to pot, then cook onion, garlic, plum tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, and fennel with thyme, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Return lamb shanks to pot with stock, bourbon, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and honey and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until meat is very tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
• Remove meat from bones, discarding bones, and skim fat from cooking liquid, then return meat to pot. Simmer ragù, uncovered, stirring frequently, 15 minutes.
• Just before serving, stir in radicchio and scallion.
• Make grits while ragù finishes cooking:
• Bring stock, water, and milk to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add grits in a stream, whisking, then cook over low heat, uncovered, stirring frequently, until grits are tender and thickened to the consistency of loose oatmeal, about 20 minutes.
• Toward end of cooking, finely grate one fourth of cheese (1 cup) and add to grits along with sour cream, sea salt, and pepper to taste. Stir until cheese has melted. If grits are too thick, stir in some additional milk.
• Serve ragù over grits and top with shavings of cheese.

QUICK LAMB RAGù

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have become translucent and have totally softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Add a pinch of red-pepper flakes and anchovies, if using, and cook for a minute or two, just to toast the spices and melt the anchovies.
• Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring occasionally so it has a chance to stick to the bottom of the pot and caramelize a bit, 2 or 3 minutes.
• Add lamb and season with salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, stir lamb until the fat starts to soften and the meat begins to break down. Continue to cook, stirring rather frequently until the lamb begins to brown and sizzle in its own fat, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pot. Fill the tomato can halfway with water and swirl around to get all the remaining tomato, then add to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until sauce is thickened and insanely flavorful, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Serve sauce mixed into and over pasta with plenty of cheese for grating over the top, scattered with a small handful of marjoram, oregano or thyme leaves if you like.

LAMB RAGU

Steps:

• In a large, lidded saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil over a medium heat and brown the lamb all over. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the pan, reduce the heat to low and tip in the celery, carrot, onion and Italian seasoning. Mix well, then put the lid on and cook for 8-10 mins, stirring occasionally until the veg is soft but not golden. Add the garlic and bay leaves, stir, then cook for 1 min. Mix in the tomato purée and the chopped tomatoes (swill out the cans with a little water and add that as well), then the wine and lamb stock. Season well with salt and black pepper. Put the lid back on, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hr. Remove the lid and simmer gently for the final hour. At this point, you can leave to cool before chilling. Will keep chilled for three days or frozen for up to three months. Defrost fully in the fridge overnight and heat through in a pan until piping hot before serving.
• To make the polenta, pour the milk into a saucepan with 300ml water and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Tip in the polenta or cornmeal with 1 tsp each salt and ground black pepper. Cook for 3-4 mins, whisking or stirring constantly until the polenta has thickened. Stir in the parmesan and butter, and mix again until the butter has melted and the polenta is smooth. Spoon onto plates or bowls, then top with the lamb ragu. Grate over extra parmesan, if you like.