Pappardelle With Lamb Ragu, Mint Pesto and Lemony Ricotta
This is probably my favorite recipe I’ve developed to-date so I’m glad a lot of you were interested in it after I posted a photo on Instagram. It’s rich, luxurious, herby, bright/acidic and creamy…allll the things. Although there are definitely a few components to this dish, they’re all relatively low-maintenance and can be made in advance!
Last weekend, I made this for my family for dinner and every single one of them raved about how insanely delicious it was. Seriously, you are in for a treat if you make this at home!
We ended up making a whole Italian night out of it – started with Aperol Spritzes, some prosciutto, cheese, olives, and sourdough focaccia and then had this pasta with a Barolo. The only thing that would’ve made it better is maybe a tiramisu to really bring home the theme (next time!).
I hope you give this a try at home – maybe even cook it for your mom on Mother’s Day! Would love to hear from you if you make it. Happy cooking!
Serves 5-6
INGREDIENTS
For the lamb ragu:
2.5 lbs lamb shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
Kosher Salt
Black pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, cut into small dice
3 stalks celery, cut into small dice
1/2 yellow onion, cut into small dice
1/2 leek, cut into small dice (if you can’t find leeks, use one whole yellow onion instead of half)
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
1 cup dry white wine
1.5 cups stock (I used chicken but you can use any type you have)
1/4 cup whole milk
For the mint pesto:
1 bunch mint
1/2 bunch parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest from two lemons
Juice from 1/2 lemon
3/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil (see notes below)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
For the lemony ricotta:
Zest from one lemon
1 cup ricotta cheese (I love Bellwether farms)
To finish:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1.5 lbs pappardelle pasta (but you can use whatever shape you have!)
Good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Flaky Sea Salt
Fresh mint leaves for garnish
METHOD
Make the lamb ragu:
Season the pieces of lamb generously with kosher salt and pepper at least an hour before cooking, preferably a day in advance if possible.
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
Pat the pieces of lamb dry with a paper towel and heat the olive oil in a dutch oven (or any oven-safe, heavy-bottom pot) over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, and add the pieces of lamb in batches (making sure not to crowd the pan) and cook until brown on all sides. Set the browned lamb aside on a plate.
Turn down the heat to medium-low and add all of the diced vegetables + a pinch of kosher salt to the same pot. Saute, stirring occasionally, until translucent and soft, but not brown – about 5 minutes.
Once the vegetables are soft, add in the fennel seeds, bay leaves and white wine and stir, scraping up those delicious brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the mixture up to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.
Add back the browned lamb (including any juices on the plate) and add the stock + milk. The liquid should come up to about 3/4 of the way up the lamb (but shouldn’t fully cover it). Depending on how large or small your pot is, you may have to add more or less than 1.5 cups of stock to cover the lamb halfway.
Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2.5 hours with the lid on. Then, remove the lid and cook for an additional 30 minutes until the lamb is fall-apart tender and the sauce is nice and reduced.
Remove the pot from the oven and use two forks to shred the meat. Stir everything together.
At this point, you can cool the ragu and refrigerate for up to a few days (I actually prefer to keep this in the fridge for a day so that the flavors can deepen!). If you don’t have a day to wait (or if you just want to eat it with pasta ASAP!) set the ragu aside while you make the rest of the components.
Make the mint pesto:
Pick off the mint and parsley leaves and transfer to a food processor along with the minced garlic and lemon zest + juice.
Turn on the food processor and mince the ingredients. Then, with the food processor running, slowly stream in the extra virgin olive oil until you’ve reached your desired consistency. I used about 3/4 cup total olive oil but you may opt for more or less depending on how thick you like your pesto.
Remove the mixture from the food processor and transfer to a bowl. Fold in the grated Parmesan cheese and add kosher salt, to taste.
Make the lemony ricotta:
In a bowl combine the lemon zest and ricotta (easiest process ever – lol).
Cook the pasta + assemble:
In a large saute pan, add about three quarters of the lamb ragu (save the rest for a stuffed pasta or for the next day!) and the 3 Tbsp butter. Stir until the butter is melted.
Meanwhile, add the pasta to a large pot of rapidly boiling water that you’ve seasoned generously with kosher salt.
Add a ladle-full (about a cup) of pasta water to the ragu + butter mixture.
Cook the pasta a little less than you would for al dente – we will finish cooking the pasta in the ragu.
Add the pasta to the ragu with the heat on medium and using tongs, toss the pasta to coat with the sauce. Simmer and stir the pasta for about a minute until the mixture is nice and silky and the pasta is cooked to al dente.
Serve in warm bowls and top with dollops of mint pesto, lemony ricotta, flaky sea salt, finishing EVOO and fresh torn mint leaves.
NOTES
You can definitely pick and choose which of the components you want to incorporate in your pasta. You can easily skip the ricotta and/or the mint pesto and it would still be delicious (although definitely recommend trying everything together if you have the time and ingredients!). Another pro tip is that the pesto is literally spring in a sauce and it tastes amazing tossed into pasta on its own.
I’m still working on writing out my fresh pasta recipe. In the mean-time, I’ve heard great things about Samin’s recipe. This one on BA has gotten great reviews too. That said – feel free to use any pasta you’d like!