Slow-cooked lamb ragù with pappardelle

SERVES 6 PREP + COOK TIME 3 HOURS

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion (170g), chopped coarsely 1 trimmed celery stalk (100g), chopped coarsely 1 small red capsicum (150g), chopped coarsely 1 small fennel bulb (200g), chopped coarsely 10 cloves garlic, crushed

1 long red chilli, halved lengthways 2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 rosemary sprigs

2 thyme sprigs

2 bay leaves

2 strips orange rind

1 cinnamon stick

10 black peppercorns

½ cup (125ml) red wine

1kg (4 cups) passata

¼ cup (55g) firmly-packed brown sugar 2½ teaspoons sea salt flakes

1kg boneless trimmed lamb shoulder, cut into 5cm pieces

650g fresh pappardelle (see recipe, right)

20g butter grated parmesan and crusty bread, to serve

1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, celery, capsicum, fennel, garlic and chilli, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until vegetables start to soften and caramelise. Stir in tomato paste, herbs, orange rind, cinnamon and peppercorns; cook for 2 minutes or until mixture starts to brown. Add wine and passata; bring to a simmer.

Stir in sugar and salt.

2 Add lamb to sauce; cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 2 hours or until lamb is falling apart. Remove lamb; shred using forks and set aside. Discard cinnamon stick, bay leaves and orange rind from sauce. Cook sauce over medium heat for 30 minutes or until thickened. Return shredded lamb to sauce; stir to combine and season to taste.

3 Cook fresh pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes or until al dente. Using tongs, transfer pasta with a generous splash of pasta water to ragù. Add butter and toss until pasta is well coated. Season to taste.

4 Serve pasta and ragù topped with parmesan, and with bread on the side.

Suitable to freeze.