Happy Halloween and my sincerest apologies if you were hoping for a “sweet” post!
No, we are making Lamb Ragu today, a dish for your ghosts and goblins if they manage to sneak in dinner before, during or after their sugar fest!
Here’s the backstory…
I have always enjoyed learning, my teachers being some of the most influential people in my life. I can still picture Mrs. Reilly in her turtlenecks and navy heels, teaching fourth grade math and inspiring my love for the subject. I studied piano with Mr. Willis who patiently tolerated my stubborn nature as I fingered the music as I, rather than the composer, saw fit. Mr. Gagel opened my eyes to the stage and cast me in my first musical, and Ms. Hession brought theater to our 11th grade English class as she used her flair for the dramatic and challenged us to ponder “appearance versus reality” in literature.
Later in college, Professors Whiteside and Vanderwolk instructed my history and french classes, Mr. Whiteside also serving as my advisor and surrogate father on campus (I knit him a sweater!), and Mr. Vanderwolk motivating me to study abroad.
But Mrs. Russell may have taught me the biggest lesson of all. She gave me a big, fat D, my first ever, during my senior year of high school. I had been admitted to college and decided (knowingly? unknowingly?) to loosen up my standards on a paper. She certainly got my attention and made her point! I remember that day like it was yesterday.
All so different and yet each of these teachers was similarly impactful because they loved what they taught and wanted to inspire others to love it too.
The good news is that we are constantly learning, swapping roles as student and teacher throughout our lives. I believe there is a teacher in every one of us. We all have something special to share, be it a positive attitude, an approach to living or a trained skill such as finance, yoga or dare I say, cooking!
I enjoy teaching when given the opportunity and have done a little bit of it over the years with small groups of women and last year working with a local company, Arts2You, owned by my friend Alicia that pairs professional artists with students for home based instruction. Check them out if you have a budding painter, fashion designer or chef!
I have also taught some kids in my home, including the big kid in the picture below…
Sharp as a tack, hysterically funny and a great friend, Sue is also a professional spinning instructor and mom to two teenagers. When she mentioned awhile back that she wanted to learn some new dishes to share with her family, I invited her over to test out some recipes for Lamb Ragu that had been waiting to be rescued from my “to-try” folder, both of which would be perfect for a family meal. There was some instruction involved, but mostly we had a ball testing the recipes. It’s hard not to have fun with Sue around.
I invited Sue back to the kitchen to see if she retained some of the skills from our first class, and to have some fun for the blog. She was awesome to work with, prepared the recipe herself and helped me style and photograph along the way.
Sue actually sells herself short in the kitchen which I think a lot of people do. She has been cooking since she was young, mostly pancakes and french toast on the weekends (when she wasn’t sneaking downstairs to eat a pre-breakfast bowl of chocolate sauce in front of Leave it to Beaver). And despite referring to one of my idols as “that Ina Garten lady”, she did remember her knife skills from our previous class quite well…
Although I did have to remind her which end of the onion to cut…
And to lay her palm flat on top of the onion while making her horizontal cuts to protect her digits (and the still healing wound from a slip of the knife when she was trying to remove the pit from an avocado…ouch)
And we refreshed her memory about pulling the rosemary leaves off the stem by dragging her fingers from top to bottom…
The Lamb Ragu recipe we made was from Food & Wine, contributed by Chef Andrew Carmellini (The Dutch, Locanda Verde, Bar Primi, Lafayette and the soon to open Little Park in New York City). I have since discovered Carmellini’s book, Urban Italian which has a slightly different version of the ragu and other recipes which I am now eager to try.
Mis en place – ingredients ready to go. If you haven’t discovered tomato paste in a tube, it’s the best…
The aromatics are sauteed in olive oil until soft. Ground lamb, herbs and warm spices such as coriander, cumin and fennel are added. Italy meets North Africa? The lamb is cooked until browned…
Deglaze the pan with red wine, add tomato paste, tomatoes and some chicken stock and simmer for about 30 minutes. If serving immediately, boil your pasta and add directly to the pot with the sauce after draining well. As with all sauces, this is even better when it’s prepared a day in advance so the flavors have time to develop. Carmellini serves his with Pappardelle, but we made ours with Fettuccine.
Carmellini finishes the dish with a dollop of ricotta cheese and some chopped mint to brighten up the flavors…
I think my student deserves an A!
This Fettuccine with Lamb Ragu will definitely make for a Happy Halloween!
Original recipe appeared in Food & Wine and was contributed by Chef Andrew Carmellini
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 celery rib, diced
- 1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound fettucine, linguine or spaghetti
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- Fresh Ricotta
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Instructions
- In a large cast-iron casserole, heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil. Add the carrot, onion and celery and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, 5 minutes.
- Add the lamb, coriander, fennel, cumin, rosemary and thyme; season with salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring, until the liquid evaporates, 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the wine and cook until evaporated, 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the stock and bring to a boil.
- Cover partially and cook over moderately low heat until the liquid is slightly reduced, 25 to 30 minutes.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain completely and add the pasta to the sauce. Add the butter and the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil and toss over low heat.
- Serve the pasta in bowls, topped with the ricotta and mint.
Tips from The Kitchen Scout
This is a quick Ragu that can be made in about an hour. I think it tastes even better after sitting for a day for the flavors to develop.
This one is a keeper, Val! Absolutely delicious. Big hit at my little Super Bowl party. Will definitely make again.
So happy to hear this, Julia!
With lots of whole coriander and whole fennel in the house, I finally had an excuse to go over to Sur la Table and pick out a spice grinder!
Made this early in the morning so that the flavors could develop all day. After two bites, Paul announced, “this is my new favorite thing to serve over pasta!” An hour later, He’s still talking about how good it was. Definitely a keeper!
And I love my new little spice grinder!
Thanks, Gail! Happy to hear this! Don’t you love Sur la Table? It’s like a candy store for us cooks!
Just brought home the ground lamb!
Fabulous! Let me know how it goes!
I plan to make this over the weekend — it looks that delicious! John and I are recently gluten-free — can you recommend a brand of gluten-free pasta?
Hi Susan, I thought my reply had gone to you but perhaps not! I don’t have a particular GF pasta that I know about from first hand knowledge, but have used gluten free products made by Ancient Grains that I thought were good. I think there are probably lots of options at Whole Foods. I will ask around too – have a couple of friends who are GF as well.
I made this on Saturday and let the flavors marry overnight as you suggested. It made for a perfect Football Sunday (don’t-you-just-love-those-Pats) meal. We both loved it and we’re having leftovers tonight (at john’s request!). Thanks for another great recipe.
This is wonderful! File this one under “keeper”!!!
I plan to make this over the weekend — it looks that delicious! John and I are recently gluten-free — can you recommend a brand of gluten-free pasta?