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[phatj]

Lamb Ragu with Feta & Pine Nut Gremolata
Serves 10 as Main Dish.

I devised this dish to use up quite a bit (~2 lb) of leftover lamb leg meat that I had on hand. The lamb was roasted with a lemon zest & oregano rub, so I wanted a quasi-Mediterranean seasoning blend to the dish. I was a little concerned about how well the tang of the lemon in the gremolata would work with the tomato sauce, but it was fantastic.

I would absolutely make this again, even without leftover meat to use up.

Ragu

• 1 lb cremini mushrooms, stems removed, quartered
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 medium-large onions, chopped
• salt & freshly-ground black pepper
• 2 lb lamb leg meat, cubed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T fresh oregano leaves, minced
• 1 T fresh thyme leaves, minced
• 6 oz tomato paste (1 small can)
• 1 c whole pitted Kalamata olives
• juice of one lemon
• 1 c chicken stock
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1 c heavy cream
• 1 T honey, or to taste

Feta & Pine Nut Gremolata

• zest of two lemons
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 c fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 4 oz fresh Feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 c toasted pine nuts

RAGU

1. Heat a large heavy skillet or saute pan over high heat until very hot. Add mushrooms and dry-fry, tossing occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and begin to give off their liquid. Remove mushrooms to a bowl and set aside.

2. Add 1 T oil to skillet, then add onions. Saute, sprinkling with salt & pepper, until browned, ~5 minutes. Remove onions to a bowl and set aside.

3. Add remaining 1 T oil to skillet, then add lamb meat and saute until browned. (If using raw lamb, you probably should do this in a couple of batches to help it brown.)

4. Return mushrooms and onions to pan, then stir in herbs & garlic until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until tomato paste begins to brown, ~5 min.

5. Deglaze pan with lemon juice, scraping bottom of pan. Stir in wine/stock and cook until it has reduced a little, then stir in the tomatoes, cream & olives. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer ~15 minutes. Add honey to taste to balance tanginess.


GREMOLATA

In a food processor, pulse zest, parsley & garlic until finely minced. Add Feta and pulse a couple times just until well-combined. Remove to a bowl and stir in pine nuts.

Serve ragu over hot pasta and top with cheese/gremolata mixture.

Keywords: Main Dish, Intermediate, Lamb, Dinner, Mediterranean

( RG2119 )