For tonight's dinner I wanted to make something simple, comforting, and totally delicious... and something a little out of the ordinary. I pulled out a recipe that I had forgotten about from *Giada de Laurentiis, Lamb Ragu with Mint, and slightly tweaked the quantities. OH MY GOODNESS, I am SO loving this lamb ragu I had to share the recipe with you! This dish is super deeelish and it's actually quite elegant as well. With few simple ingredients and lots of love you'll wow your dinner guests, for sure!
Giada suggests serving this hearty lamb ragu over rice or with some yummy bread. I chose to serve it over a thin layer of rice with a steamed vegetable medley on the side. Scroll down for pictures and check out our Facebook page for a video!
Here's the recipe, I tweaked the quantity a bit because I always like to have extra to eat, share, and freeze!
*from "Giada's Kitchen New Italian Favorites" copyright 2008, although I increased quanities a bit.* :)
2 T olive oil
4 shallots chopped
2 large garlic cloves minced
2.5 lbs. ground lamb
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 1/3 C red wine
2 Cups plus a bit extra of *Marinara Sauce (I love Rao's Marinara.. it is my absolute favorite!)
1/2 C torn fresh mint leaves
1/2 Ricotta cheese
Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the ground lamb, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the lamb has browned and the juices have evaporated a bit.
Add the wine, scraping any brown bits from the pan. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half. Add the marinara sauce and simmer over low heat until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes.
In a separate bowl, mix the torn mint with the ricotta. Use this for a dollop topper!
Serve in shallow bowls. Enjoy!!
*You can use your own homemade marinara sauce, but I love taking the short cut of Rao's in a jar... it's fabulous and easy!