Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Penne with Rapid Ragu


I still had frozen organic local ground lamb from the FM and pancetta in the freezer, and this recipe by Nigella Lawson sounded scrumptious: rapid ragu with ground lamb, crispy pancetta, a good shot of marsala, and tomatoes, simmered for a bit. It is divine!

Rapid Ragu (makes 2 large servings):
1/2 pound ground lamb (organic)
1 oz pancetta, cubed
1/2 small red onion, diced
salt, fresh ground pepper
1 garlic clove, minced or microplaned
1/4 cup sweet marsala
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water

2 oz penne (cooked according to instructions)

Heat a non-stick pan on medium-high, and add the pancetta to the pan. The pancetta will release its fat, and crisp up (so, no additional fat is necessary since ground lamb typically also has a quite high fat content). Once the pancetta had browned, add the ground lamb and break up with a spoon. Once the ground lamb is no longer raw (but not necessarily brown), add the onions, salt and pepper and simmer the mix until the onions are translucent (the original recipe calls for caramelized onions, but I had none in a jar and was too lazy otherwise to make some. This works, too). Once the onions are translucent and the lamb slightly browned, add first the garlic and mix through. Then add the can of tomatoes, the marsala, and the water. Mix well, and simmer on low for 20-25 min. Add more water if the ragu gets too dry. Serve with penne. Enjoy!


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