Ultimate Pasta Ragu

This is one of my favourite recipes I have tested lately and one I will return to again and again. I wanted to come up with an ultimate pasta ragu recipe using lamb shoulder which falls apart, slow cooked in a rich sauce flavoured with anchovies, olives, capers, white wine, parmesan and plenty of herbs. Although decadent, by using white wine and chicken stock, this ragu is surprisingly light and not too heavy at all - meaning you can happily eat bowl after bowl (in fact I’d encourage this).

Serves 8
1. Brown 1kg diced lamb shoulder in a little oil until nice and brown (don’t be afraid to really brown the meat - it helps with the colour and flavour of the sauce). Remove to a plate.
2. In the same pan fry 1 large chopped onion, 3 chopped carrots and 2 chopped celery sticks until caramelised and soft. Next add 3 crushed garlic cloves, fry for a couple of mins and add a few sprigs of finely chopped rosemary.
3. Add 2 tsp oregano, 2 tsp of Italian herb seasoning, 2 tsp fennel seeds and 1 tsp chilli flakes. Give it a good stir before adding 3 anchovy fillets, a handful of capers and roughly chopped kalamata olives before adding 1 heaped tbsp of tomato purée. Give everything a good stir.
4. Add the browned meat back to the pan along with 250 dry white wine and a good splash of balsamic vinegar. Reduce the liquid until almost none remains. Add 2 bay leaves and a sprig of rosemary, 500ml of good quality chicken stock, a can of chopped tomatoes, the zest of a lemon and the rind of a chunk of parmesan (I read that Italian Nonnas always add this to their ragus and it really does make a difference).
5. Season well and put in a low oven at 150C for at least three hours (the longer the better I usually aim for 5) until the meat is falling apart.
6. Stir through some cooked pappardelle when you are ready to serve and top with plenty of grated parmesan and some finely chopped parsley. Heaven in a bowl.