Lamb Shoulder & Red Wine Ragù with Paccheri Pasta & Parmigiano Reggiano

Story

Distinguished by its exceptional fat marbling throughout, the shoulder cut of lamb was the first-in-line recommendation of renowned butcher Ginger Pig, a friend of Pasta Evangelists, for this week’s very special ragù. Chefs at the butcher recommended we take the meat bone-in, and slow-cook on the bone: this, they promised, would intensify the incredible flavour of the meat and yield a melting, succulent result. And as usual, our amici at the Ginger Pig butchery were exactly, indeed exquisitely, right: when our head chef, Carmelo, prepared this ragù for us to taste, our team bleated with collective delight.

This dish is packed with flavour, in part because of the supreme quality of the meat used, but also because of Carmelo’s ingenuity with aromatics. To accentuate the natural, sweet aroma of the meat, Carmelo infuses the ragù with a bouquet garni (‘’garnished bouquet’’ in French, denoting a bundle of herbs tied together during cooking) of rosmarino (rosemary), timo (thyme) and, in a nod to the British culinary tradition, un po 'di menta (a hint of mint).

The good slug of tannic red wine he adds to the base of the sauce - moments after first searing the shoulder joint - brings depth and added flavour, whilst the pasta he serves with (here, paccheri) is robust enough to hold up to the rich sauce, gathering up pockets of ragù in its cavernous interiors (this, we promise, will delight you). As ever in the Italian tradition, no serving of pasta al’ragù could be completed without a sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano DOP - and this is a tradition we rapturously embrace.

Ingredients

Allergens in bold and underlined: 

Recipe Card

Please find the recipe card contained in our menu brochure which can be found here

Nutrition