Somehow I expected lockdown cooking would be wall to wall mince. But I think the lack of tomatoes and pasta has slightly reduced our default mince level. Plus all that veg box goodness is encouraging more inventive cooking. But it's meat week at mine, and I had lamb mince. I also have New Kitchen Basics, a cookbook I've referenced before as a stalwart for these times. It has a full chapter of mince recipes, so expect more of these.
This is a nice vegetably alternative pasta sauce, greener and sharper than a ragu bolognese. The recipe includes nduja if you happen to have any around, and I'm sure you could replace it with chili or even harissa with good results. I didn't do any of that, and it was still delicious.
Lamb ragu with olives and peas
Lamb mince (a pack) - brown this first and set aside
Diced carrot, celery, onion, finely chopped garlic - sweat this off next until fairly soft (10 mins or so)
Chopped sage or rosemary or thyme, plus a bay leaf - add these to the veg and cook a bit
Fennel seeds - plenty, add these, ideally ground (I did not grind them)
If you're using chili, add it now.
50ml white wine for this amount of meat - oh no I had to open a bottle for this splash oh no - cook off briefly
Tin of tomatoes - add, stir well, return the mince to the pan, season, cover and cook for an hour. Maybe it would be good to cook it for longer, which is usually the rule, but this worked very well and meant I didn't need extra
When you're getting ready to serve and to cook the pasta, take:
Stoneless green olives, chopped
Frozen peas
Some nduja if you have it
Add these to the mix, stir well, and cook for another 8-10 mins.
Serve with pasta and cheese. I'd say this is quite veg-heavy so you don't want just a dab of sauce with loads of pasta - it's not as rich as traditional ragu, so think more like a shepherd's pie type ratio of carbs and mince.
Eat. Feel warmed and well-nourished.
This is a nice vegetably alternative pasta sauce, greener and sharper than a ragu bolognese. The recipe includes nduja if you happen to have any around, and I'm sure you could replace it with chili or even harissa with good results. I didn't do any of that, and it was still delicious.
Lamb ragu with olives and peas
Lamb mince (a pack) - brown this first and set aside
Diced carrot, celery, onion, finely chopped garlic - sweat this off next until fairly soft (10 mins or so)
Chopped sage or rosemary or thyme, plus a bay leaf - add these to the veg and cook a bit
Fennel seeds - plenty, add these, ideally ground (I did not grind them)
If you're using chili, add it now.
50ml white wine for this amount of meat - oh no I had to open a bottle for this splash oh no - cook off briefly
Tin of tomatoes - add, stir well, return the mince to the pan, season, cover and cook for an hour. Maybe it would be good to cook it for longer, which is usually the rule, but this worked very well and meant I didn't need extra
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| Green peas are so cheering |
When you're getting ready to serve and to cook the pasta, take:
Stoneless green olives, chopped
Frozen peas
Some nduja if you have it
Add these to the mix, stir well, and cook for another 8-10 mins.
Serve with pasta and cheese. I'd say this is quite veg-heavy so you don't want just a dab of sauce with loads of pasta - it's not as rich as traditional ragu, so think more like a shepherd's pie type ratio of carbs and mince.
 |
| Yum. |
Eat. Feel warmed and well-nourished.
Looks delicious - I love lamb mince but don't think I've ever made pasta sauce with it.
ReplyDeleteIn a Confined Kitchen-sync thing, dinner chez me was turkey mince - made into kofta-ish things with roasted veg and leftover flat bread from the world grocery place round the corner (they sell massive sheets of it for £1, warm from the oven. Lunch yesterday, hooray some left today).
I honestly don't think I have either - bless this recipe book for inspiration.
DeleteYour world grocery place looked brilliant in the photos. I'm tantalisingly close to good groceries in Tooting but it's not quite close enough. Love a good turkey meatballish thing, and the flatbread makes me envious.
I read an interesting article about how the move to eating entirely at home is affecting meat sales - big demand for mince now, and less for the fancy cuts like steak people tend to get when they're eating out.
ReplyDeleteIn my meat-eating days, this would have looked very tasty!!