Slow Cooked Autumn Lamb Ragu with Olives

A rich and absolutely delicious slow cooked lamb ragu with olives. Perfect with your favourite pasta or serve with polenta or mashed potato.

Prep Time: 15 minutes / Cook time: 3 hrs / Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg butterflied lamb leg cut into chunks

• 3 tablespoons olive oil divided

• 1 onion finely diced

• 1 carrot finely diced

• 2 stalks celery finely diced

• 5 garlic cloves minced

• 1 packed tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves roughly chopped

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 250 ml red wine

• 500 ml lamb or beef stock

• 2 x 400 gram tin tomatoes

• Salt and pepper

• 300 gram jar kalamata olives pitted

• Pasta of your choice

• Parmesan to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160C

2. Dry the lamb pieces with a paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper.

3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium - high heat (or I do it in two pans at once to save time). Brown the chunks on all sides and set aside. Keep any fat that has rendered to pour into the onion mixture.

4. On a medium - high heat, heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy bottomed oven proof saucepan or Dutch Oven, (something that has a lid).

5. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook for 12 - 15 minutes until nice and soft. Lower the heat to medium if you need. Season with a couple of big pinches of sea salt and a good few cracks of black pepper.

6. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for a further 2 minutes.

7. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

8. Add the wine and let reduce slightly for 2 minutes.

9. Add the stock and tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer.

10. Add the lamb and any juices on the plate back in, cover and place in the middle of the oven.

11. Cook for 2.5 hours. Check after 2 hours but it will probably need the extra 30 mins and it might need more depending on your oven. Pull a chunk of lamb out to test, it should pull apart really easily.

12. Pull all the lamb out, pull apart with forks and add back in to the sauce along with the olives.

13. I like to reduce it down on the stove top for 15 - 20 mins, if you feel like it is too thin you can always add a little cornflour slurry (mix 1 tsp cornflour with a few teaspoons of water and add in).

14. Cook your pasta, potatoes or polenta while it is reducing down.

15. I like to add the pasta straight into the ragu so it can bubble away gently in the sauce. You can always divide it into a couple of different pots to do this.

16. Add a splash of pasta water if it needs it.

17. Serve with lots of freshly grated parmesan.