LAMB RAGU WITH CHERRY TOMATOES, ROSEMARY AND HANDKERCHIEF PASTA

When your melt-in-the-mouth lamb ragu is ready, shred the meat off the bones and toss it all with your homemade pasta. Don’t forget cheese and herbs on top!

Preparation time 35 mins plus 30 mins chilling

Cooking time 2 hours 5 mins Serves 4 2 x 400g canned cherry tomatoes 4 lamb shanks

125ml dry white wine

140g tub tomato paste

4 cloves garlic, finely grated

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked (about 1 heaped Tbsp), plus extra to garnish

1 Tbsp dried oregano Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground

black pepper, to season 300g plain flour, plus extra to dust Pinch fine salt

3 free-range eggs

200g fresh mozzarella, torn

2 Tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf

parsley leaves STEP 1 Preheat oven to 170°C fan-forced (190°C conventional).

STEP 2 To make ragu, pour tomatoes in the base of a 30cm square baking dish. Arrange lamb on top. Pour over wine. Spread tomato paste over lamb, then scatter with garlic, drizzle with oil and scatter with rosemary and oregano, season. Cover with a sheet of baking paper and cover tightly with foil so no steam can escape. Bake for 2 hours. Remove foil and use a couple of forks to shred meat off bones. Discard bones. (You can also serve the Lamb shank ragu as is.)

STEP 3 Meanwhile, make pasta following steps 1-8 of Homemade egg pasta on page 88, rolling out pasta until 2-3mm thick and using a large sharp knife to cut into 25 x 7cm-wide handkerchief-looking sheets. Set aside sprinkled with a dusting of flour so pasta strands don’t stick together.

STEP 4 Just before serving, cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water for 90 seconds or until al dente. Use a pair of tongs to remove pasta from water and add it directly to the lamb ragu, toss gently in sauce to coat. Serve topped with mozzarella and parsley. Garnish with extra rosemary, if you like.