Lamb Ragu
Daniel’s special lamb ragu. Here’s the full recipe made from scratch – marinated, slow cooked lamb, wine and lots of tomatoes that bring great depth of flavour. Comfort food with style that brings the whole family together.
Lamb Ragu
Daniel’s famous lamb ragu
Ingredients
Marinade
- 5 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 80 mls olive oil
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
Lamb
- 1.25 kilograms lamb shoulder (boneless – if already rolled do not unroll)
Ragu
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 onion (large)
- 5 tomatoes
- 125 mls red wine (cabernet sauvignon)
- 1.2 kilograms canned diced tomato (+ 400 grams if required)
- 2 teaspoons chicken stock powder
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 3 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons cooking salt
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pasta
- 1 kilogram rigatoni
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 200 grams grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Marinate Lamb
- Crush garlic and add all marinade ingredients into a small dish. Mix well.5 cloves garlic, 80 mls olive oil, 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, 3 teaspoons dried oregano, ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- Rub marinade all over lamb, cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate overnight or at least 6 hours.1.25 kilograms lamb shoulder
Cook Lamb
- Remove lamb from fridge and allow to return to room temperature – about 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 160°C or 140°C fan forced.
- Line baking tray with aluminium foil, place lamb skin side up and cover with aluminium foil. Bake for 3 hours. Remove foil, baste lamb with juices and bake for a further 30 minutes.
Prepare Ragu
- Prepare garlic, onion and tomatoes before you start. Crush garlic, dice the onion finely and dice the tomatoes into small cubes.8 cloves garlic, 1 onion, 5 tomatoes
- Put the olive oil in a wide based pot on high heat.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Add garlic and ensure it is all coated with olive oil then add onions. Allow to cook, stirring continuously, until onions are translucent.
- Add fresh tomatoes and allow to cook for five minutes, continue stirring regularly.
- Add half of the wine, stir and allow to cook off. Add remaining wine and again cook off.125 mls red wine
- Add the diced tomatoes and, if you need more volume, one additional can (~400 grams) diced tomatoes. Continue to stir and cook.1.2 kilograms canned diced tomato
- Reduce heat to simmer. Add chicken stock, chilli flakes, oregano, salt, rosemary and pepper. Stir then leave to cook on low heat for around 1 hour. Keep an eye on the ragu. When it has reduced by around a quarter, take off heat and blend using a stick blender. Set aside.2 teaspoons chicken stock powder, ½ teaspoon chilli flakes, 3 teaspoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons cooking salt, 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Prepare Lamb and Finalise Sauce
- Take lamb out of oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. Transfer lamb to another dish and retain cooking liquid.
- Shred the lamb using two large forks. Add the retained liquid to the shredded lamb so that it completely covers and soaks into the lamb.
- Combine the lamb with the ragu sauce and bring to heat ready to serve.
Pasta
- Cook pasta in plenty of well salted water until al dente.1 kilogram rigatoni
- Drain and drizzle with olive oil. Mix with a large serving spoon to coat the pasta evenly.¼ cup olive oil
To Serve
- Keep the pasta and lamb ragu in separate serving platters at the table.
- Allow diners to serve themselves with the cooked rigatoni and lamb ragu, with a generous handful of grated parmesan cheese over the top.200 grams grated parmesan cheese
Nutrition
Calories: 945kcalCarbohydrates: 107gProtein: 47gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 1412mgPotassium: 1125mgFibre: 7gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 1116IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 424mgIron: 6mg
