Eight ingredients, plus pantry staples. That's all it takes to make an entire meal from scratch. Add in a good bottle of wine for less than $20, and you've got a feast for family or friends.
You tend to notice winter’s tightening grip first in small details—like the first night you need to wear socks to bed to fall asleep—and then in larger ones, like a sudden, strong urge for long-stewed sauces, soups and ragù. Thick red sauces, such as this lamb ragù, are exactly what I want to eat after that first frost—warming and flavorful, well-paired with a bold Italian red, like Chianti Classico.
Ground lamb is an incredibly versatile meat for stew and ragú. With a fat-to-meat ratio similar to that of ground pork, it easily tenderizes and thickens without overwhelming the pot. While many consider lamb to be quite gamey, it complements stewy tomatoes and many vegetables. For this ragù, instead of the celery that would be used in a typical Italian soffritto base, I used slivers of fennel, which practically melt into the ragù to contribute a sweet, caramelized, vegetal tone.
The beauty of swapping in more intensely flavored ingredients, like lamb instead of pork or fennel instead of celery, is that it builds flavor more quickly—making a sauce that is just as good after 30 minutes simmering on the stove as it is stewing for a couple of hours. It’s a recipe that works just as well for a weeknight dinner as it does for a full Sunday sauce. Use this easily adaptable ragù to lacquer long strands of pasta, pour over a bed of polenta or even just dunk slabs of olive oil-fried bread into it.
Is there anything better to pair with ragù than a Sangiovese? Particularly this ragù, where the gamey lamb is accentuated by the earthy, tobacco-esque tones and juicy red fruit. I opted for a Chianti Classico, such as the Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico RS Cultusboni 2023 (88 points, $18), which my dining partner remarked had “licorice-y” notes that complement the sweet fennel. (Find more wine pairings for lamb here!)
Lamb and Fennel Ragù
Pair with a savory and fruity Chianto Classico like Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico RS Cultusboni 2023 (88, $18) from Tuscany.
Read our Tuscany tasting report on the best wines from the latest vintages for more options.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Approximate food costs: $40
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, minced
- 2 medium-sized fennel bulbs, cut into thin slivers
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 16-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 16 ounces dried, long, flat pasta (pappardelle preferably, or tagliatelle, linguine, fettuccine, etc.)
- Flaky sea salt and black pepper, to serve
Preparation
1. On the stove in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add the chopped onion and fennel, plus 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and stir with a wooden spoon to coat. Leave the onion and the fennel in the pot for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have become golden brown and are fork-soft. Add the minced garlic, stirring until fragrant and soft but without any color, around 2 minutes.
2. To the pot containing the aromatics, add black pepper, fennel seeds and nutmeg to bloom (release their flavor and aroma compounds), 1 minute. Add the ground lamb and the other teaspoon of salt to the pot, mixing until fully incorporated. Increase the heat to medium-high and brown the meat, stirring occasionally, around 10 minutes. (If there is a significant amount of browned bits, known as fond, at the bottom of the pan, add 2 tablespoons of water and scrape with the wooden spoon to dissolve and reincorporate them into the sauce.)
3. Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot and stir until well combined. Keep on medium-high heat until the sauce starts to bubble, then bring to low heat and cover. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Like most meat sauces, the longer you leave this ragù to simmer, the better. If you have the time, this ragù can easily simmer on the stove for two hours on very low heat.)
4. After 10 minutes of the sauce simmering (or 20 minutes before serving), bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to al dente according to package instructions. When the pasta is al dente, using tongs, take the pasta directly from the boiling water and place into the pot with the ragù, tossing to combine. (If the sauce is a too thick for your taste, mix in ⅓ cup of the pasta water at a time.) Serve, topping with parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper and flaky salt. Serves 4.
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