Lamb Ragu

I needed to find something to do with the lamb I had leftover from grinding meat for my lamb burgers last week. I had about 3/4 of a pound left and decided to turn it into a ragu to go with some ravioli I was making. I'm a fan of the traditional Bolognese Ragu, which is a meat sauce that has very little tomato to it. Here's how mine ended up:

Lamb Ragu

3/4 Pound Ground Lamb

1 Bay Leaf

2 T Olive Oil

4 Cloves Garlic

2 Cups Mirepoix (1 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped carrot, 1/2 cup chopped celery)
3 Cups Lamb Stock

2 T Tomato Paste

Parmesan Rind (optional)

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan (enameled cast iron works great for this). Add smashed garlic (a la Julia) and bay leaf to the pan and stir just until the garlic begins to develop some color. Add the lamb and saute until well browned.

Add mirepoix to the pan and continue to cook until the mirepoix begins to soften (about five minutes). Add one cup of stock to the pan and scrape up any brown bits, then add the additional two cups along with the tomato paste and bring to a very gentle simmer.

Cover and let her go for 3- 4 hours. I happened to have a parmesan rind in the fridge so I threw that in there to help develop flavor, but it's not necessary. When the meat reaches that magical fork-tender place, uncover and allow the stock to reduce down to desired consistency. Enjoy!