White lamb and artichoke ragu

The perceived wisdom is to have this ragu with freshly made pappardelle. Well, for the unfussed and time poor, this ragu works well with every pasta shaped that is sent on earth, provided its good pasta! (de Cecco and Rummo being the best on the average supermarket shelf in the UK).

You will need:

1 onion

1 carrot

1 celery stick

400 gr lamb mince

1 glass of white wine

3 or 4 artichokes

half a lemon, juiced in a bowl of water

grated pecorino

Urrah olive oil

Start a soffritto by thinly slicing the onion, carrot and celery, gently frying on low heat for 10 minutes or so, until the ingredients start to soften and colour. Add the lamb mince in small batches, breaking it in the pan. When all the mince has browned over, cook it by adding the white wine little by little. A good 30 minutes of gentle cooking, will ensure the lamb will be tender and delicious. If the sauce goes too dry adding a ladle of beef stock will help keeping the meat moist.

While the meat cooks, prepare the artichokes. Discard the tougher outer leaves and cut the top part to get rid of the thorns. Cut the artichokes in half and take out the fluffy part at the centre (the "chokes"). Slice the halves thinly length-wise and put them in a bowl of water mixed with the juice of half a lemon, which will prevent oxidation and the artichokes turning brown.

In a frying pan, gently fry a clove of garlic in olive oil. Add the artichokes and gently cook for 10 minutes or so, until soft. Discard the garlic and combine with the lamb ragu.

Cook your pasta of choice AL DENTE. You can scoop up a ladle of the pasta water and add it to your sauce. After draining the pasta, combine it with the sauce in the sauce pan and mix them together. Add grated pecorino cheese and finish with a generous drizzle of Urrah! Enjoy!!

#artichoke #lamb #pasta