slow-cooked lamb shank ragu
with potato gnocchi
I don’t think there’s anything more comforting that a plate of meat ragu with some pasta or gnocchi. In fact, I think I’ve made Georgio Locatelli’s Beef ragu recipe more times than I can remember. He also has excellent pork, venison and wild boar versions, in his book Made in Sicily.
Ragus make a great dinner party dish because once everything is in the pot you can generally leave them to cook slowly on the hob – or in this case in a low oven – without much more intervention. They are very light on effort and great if you are having people over on a weeknight, when you might not have time to do lots of food prep during the day.
You can use shop bought gnocchi if time is an issue. However, I much prefer to make it. I’ve suggested Felicity Cloake’s recipe here, as its pretty foolproof. One thing to note with gnocchi is that once made, you need to cook it fairly quickly (within the hour ideally) as it tends to go an unappetizing grey colour if left out too long. With that in mind, the gnocchi should be one of the last things you prepare. You can have the little potato dumplings all laid out on a floured tray ready to cook when your guests arrive. Then, when you are ready to eat, you can pop back in the kitchen to cook them and add into the ragu.
Ingredients
Serves 8
4 lamb shanks
60ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic
375ml red wine
400g tinned plum tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
4-6 anchovy fillets
2 or 3 sprigs each rosemary and thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
To serve
2kg potato gnocchi (I used Felicity Cloake’s recipe – quantities doubled)
Pecorino, to serve
1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
2. Heat half the oil, in a large cast iron pot, suitable for use in the oven. Brown the lamb shanks on all sides and set aside.
3. Add the remaining oil and then gently sweat the onion, carrot and celery over a low heat, until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
4. Add the lamb shanks back into the pan – it doesn’t matter if they are quite snug – then pour over the wine. Bring this to the boil and then let it simmer until the wine has reduced by half.
5. Add the tinned tomatoes (plus one can’s worth of water), tomato puree, anchovy fillets, the herbs and a little salt and pepper (go easy on the salt as the anchovies will do a lot of seasoning by themselves. Bring it all to the boil and then pop in the oven.
6. After 2½ hours, check the lamb. If it isn’t falling off the bone then pop it back in the oven for another 30 minutes or so. When you can pull it apart with just a spoon its ready.
7. Take the lamb out of the pot and place on a chopping board. Put the pot with the sauce back on the hob, and let it simmer for 5 minutes or so. While the sauce thickens, gently pull the meat apart with a couple of forks. Add the lamb back into the sauce, and give it a taste to check for seasoning.
8. Serve on a large serving plate, mixed in with the gnocchi, and allow everyone to help themselves. A crisp side salad or some kale, massaged with olive oil and lemon juice makes a good accompaniment.
