Lamb Ragu with Home-made Pappardelle

Ingredients

Cooks in:3.5 hours (mostly unattended)        Serves:6

• 1.5kg stewing lamb, cut into pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
• 1 Tbsp Willow Creek Olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 level tsp dried
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, or 1 level tsp dried
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 tin chopped, peeled tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp tomato purée
• 1 Tbsp Willow Creek Balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar, or more to taste just before serving
• 1 cup Durbanville Hills Red wine
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, to serve
• Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese, to serve

For the Home-Made Pappardelle

• 400g plain flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 Tbsp Willow Creek Olive oil
• Generous pinch of salt
• Few sprigs of rosemary and thyme

What to do

1. Pre-heat your oven to 140C

2. To a large pot on the stovetop over medium heat add the olive oil and butter. When the butter starts to foam add in half the lamb meat, brown for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden, and then remove and set aside. Add a little extra oil if necessary and repeat with the remaining meat, also removing to set aside.

3. Add in the onion and herbs and fry for 10 minutes, or until onions have softened. Add in the garlic and fry for another minute.

4. Add in the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée and balsamic vinegar sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. Add in the red wine and stock as well as the lamb meat, add 1/2 tsp each of salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring the liquid to a slow boil. Remove the pot from the stovetop and place in the oven to cook for a further 3-4 hours, or until the meat falls away from the bones with no resistance. Add extra stock as you go along if at any point it becomes too dry. However, be careful not to add too much stock as you do want a luxuriously thick and rich sauce.

5. Check for seasoning, adjust accordingly and serve over your home made pasta.

Home-Made Pappardelle

1. Mix the ingredients together until you have a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

2. Remove the dough from the fridge, roll through your pasta machine as per the instructions, and then slice into 1cm ribbons.

3. Just before serving, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water along with 1 Tbsp olive oil until just al dente, this will take 1-2 minutes. Drain, drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve immediately.

Photo from 'Sarah Graham's Food Safari Season 2' by Ricardo de Leça.

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