Yield: Yields about 1-1/2 quarts
Servings: 6 to 8
Lamb ragù is a specialty of Abruzzo where farmers have raised sheep for centuries, letting them graze in mountain pastures during the spring and summer, and herding them south to the milder climate of Puglia for the winter. The Abruzzesi love adding chile pepper—fresh, dried, or preserved in oil—to their ragùs, and some is always set out for passing at the table. This ragù is traditionally served with maccheroni alla chitarra, a squarecut noodle similar to thick spaghetti.
Make Ahead Tips
The ragù can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat gently before tossing with pasta.
You can make this sauce with either red or white wine; consdier using red during the colder months for a heartier flavor.
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Excellent! We’ll definitely be doing this again. We did this with homemade fusilli on night #1 and store-bought rigatoni on night #2. Both shapes paired nicely with this robust sauce, and we topped with a dollop of full-fat ricotta (thank you nihmm for the suggestion.) We used EVOO instead of vegetable oil and Tuttorosso brand diced tomatoes, which contained fatter chunks than expected and it worked out perfectly in the end. Some moderate changes that I didn't really plan: My butcher went overboard on the lamb (2.7 lbs) but I figured some of that was the bones anyway, and I ended up using two 28 oz. cans of tomatoes (7 cups) along with a little water to rinse out the can. On our second meal, we found that some pasta water, salt and chili flakes gave it some extra oomph. Highly recommended recipe.
This is so tasty. I got a nice bottle of Abruzzese wine to make it with. I could not find the suggested tomatoes but used nice canned organic tomatoes. Be sure to use the Parmesan shavings.I put the leftovers in the freezer and used them a couple of weeks later. Beautiful, hearty dish.
I made this with the Montepulciano dAbruzzo with very nice results. I served it over pappardelle with a dollop of ricotta on top - a restaurant near us does something similar with a lamb ragu which I've always wanted to try at home. A really great recipe!
Used the Orvieto w/outstanding results. Will try w/the Montepulciano in a few weeks when it gets colder outside. I also sought out San Marzano tomatoes but could only come up w/whole tomatoes which I mashed w/a potato masher. I think there is a higher liquid to flesh ratio in this form but the end result was just fine. Be sure to look for a DOP serial number on each can/pkg to ensure they are not just the San Marzano breed/style, but from the San Marzano region. Pricier but worth it.
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