Serves 4
For the ragu:
250g lamb shoulder, diced
1 small red onion
½ stalk of celery, chopped
1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
250g tinned peeled plum tomatoes
100ml red wine
Salt, pepper, olive oil
For lamb pappardelle:
8 tbsp lamb ragu
400g dried pappardelle
Fresh mint, chopped
100g unsalted butter
A good extra virgin olive oil
A good handful of grated parmesan
Preheat the oven to 160C. Heat a large pan and sear the lamb until well-coloured all over. Remove from the pan and quickly fry off the onion, celery and rosemary. Add the red wine and reduce by a third before adding the seared lamb back to the pan together with the tomatoes. Add some salt and pepper.
Cover the pan with double layer of aluminium foil and cook in the oven for 3½ to 4 hours at 160C. When the ragu is cooked and the meat is falling apart, gently break down the lamb with a whisk until all the ingredients are well combined. If you're not going to eat it straight away, quickly cool the ragu by plunging its pan into a large bowl of iced water, and then store it in the fridge.
To make the lamb pappardelle, heavily salt a large pan of boiling water. Drop in the pasta and cook for the time recommended on the packet minus 3 minutes. Meanwhile, if you need to, put the ragu and a little of the pasta water in a pan and gently heat it through while the pasta is cooking.
When the pasta is ready drain and add it to the ragu with the butter. Toss or stir together for a minute. If the sauce looks dry add a little pasta water. Add the parmesan and mint and season to taste. Toss or stir a little more with a drizzle of olive oil. Plate and generously sprinkle with more parmesan. Serve immediately.
• Nick Crispini is the owner of Antico restaurant and bar, London
