Lamb and Mushroom Ragu with Penne Pasta

Lamb ragu with black trumpet mushrooms and penne

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5 from 1 vote

Lamb and Mushroom Ragu with Penne Pasta

A rich ragu of ground lamb or goat with black trumpet mushrooms tossed with your favorite pasta.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Black trumpet mushrooms, Ground lamb

Servings:

Calories: 536kcal

Equipment

1 Dutch oven
1 large skillet

Ingredients

For the ragu

1 lb ground lamb
1 lb lamb stew meat diced ½ inch
1 Small carrot
1 Celery stalk
1 Medium-sized onion
2 large cloves garlic
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
All purpose flour or equivalent as needed
20 grams Roughly one heaping cup dried black trumpet mushrooms or another dried mushroom you like porcini
1 cup meat stock such as lamb or beef stock
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup milk
4 oz lamb pancetta prosciutto, or bacon, diced ¼ inch
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme optional
light olive oil or lamb tallow as needed about 1/4 cup

For serving

Fresh chopped Italian parsley to taste
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Grated parmesan to taste
Generous amount of fresh ground black pepper
12 oz dry penne rigatoni, fusilli, or another short pasta

Instructions

Mushrooms

Soak the dried mushrooms in the milk and stock for 15 minutes, then agitate to remove any grit, squeeze out the liquid and remove to a cutting board. Pick the mushrooms over and remove any pieces of stem that could still include grit. Leave the mushrooms as whole as possible. Strain the soaking liquid, leaving the last tablespoon in the dish and discarding, along with any dirt.

Ragu

If possible, season the stew meat aggressively with salt and pepper and allow to rest, uncovered in the fridge overnight on a tray or plate to dry out for the best sear, which will make the best brown bits to flavor the sauce.
Rough chop the vegetables and garlic, then puree in a blender with the stock and milk. In a wide pan, preferably a dutch oven, heat the oil.
Toss the diced, seasoned meat in the flour and brown deeply, then add the tomato paste and cook for a few minutes more, stirring occasionally to loosen bits from the pan and trying to get as much color on everything as possible.
Add the ground meat slowly in small handfuls, mashing it up with a spoon and cooking off it’s water so it browns in the bottom of the pan. Add a splash of wine, scrape up the brown bits, and reduce again until the pan is dry, then repeat 2-3 times to build up a good, dark foundation.
Finally add the remaining wine, thyme and pureed vegetable slurry, bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, or until tender. Adjust the seasoning, cool, cover and refrigerate.

Serving

To serve the ragu, heat a heaping half-cup of ragu per person in a wide pan. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until aldente, then toss with the ragu, along with a few tablespoons of cooking water, and the butter. Simmer for a minute to coat the pasta with the sauce, taste and adjust the seasoning, then toss in some parsley and grated parmesan off the heat, and serve.

Notes

If you want a ragu with more tomato flavor and a saucy consistency, 1 12 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes can be pureed and added to the meat as it cooks after you add the wine.

Nutrition