This Might Be The Most Underrated Pasta Sauce In Italy

This is the ragu that everybody asks me the recipe for and almost everyone is blown away when they find out the secret of what's in it. And once you try it, you will too. And I think I've perfected it using a few classical cooking techniques to make it ridiculously delicious. We're gonna start by searing up some pancetta. Sound good? Let's cook. Okay, now I'm ready. I'm gonna be cooking this sauce in a large rondeau pot. Tons of surface area and awesome for dishes like this. Over low to medium heat, I'm adding in four ounces of diced pancetta. If you're unfamiliar with what this is, just think of it as Italian bacon. The goal is to render as much fat from the pancetta as possible while getting the lardons crisp up. And this will take roughly seven to eight minutes while occasionally stirring. So while I've got some time, let's knock out some prep and show you my secret to this ragu. I've got a roughly two and a half to three pound boneless leg of lamb and two small lamb shanks that weigh a total of one pound. Now if you're a little heavier or a little lighter, no worries, this recipe will still work. Dr. Chef Parisi time. So to make sure all this lamb finishes at the same time, I simply want to remove the net off the boneless leg and then cut them down into smaller eight ounce or so pieces. And it's totally good to eyeball it here. And I've always said lamb and duck are my two favorite proteins. And if you're new to cooking, lamb is where it's at. Don't be scared of it. Jump right in. Now to ensure we get a beautiful brown maillard crust on these, I'm just going to pat them down on all sides with a paper towel. As I always say, moisture is the enemy of a good sear. And at this stage, let's give a generous season of salt and pepper to all sides of the lamb. And when I season, I was always taught to be about a foot away to cover as much surface area as possible so that every bite is perfectly seasoned. Just going to set it to the side and then I'm going to give my cutting board and knife a quick bath because, well, we're all lamb. Okay, let's take the lamb back over and have a look at the pancetta. This is exactly what I'm looking for. Crispy brown and a good amount of fat left over in that pan. Set the browned up pancetta to the side. And as you can see, we've got some goodness in that rondo for searing. Now what I'm going to do is boost the heat up to medium and bring that fat to a gentle smoke. And once it hits that, now is when I add in the lamb. And this is why I love the rondo. There's so much more room to sear things without worrying I'm steaming it. The goal is to get them as brown as possible on every single side. And this is probably going to take about three to four minutes per side, but remember, we're not looking for an internal temp on these, so take all the time you need. And maybe you're wondering, why am I using two different cuts? Because you could absolutely just use the lamb shoulder here and be totally perfect. But that bone in that lamb shank, you've got marrow, extra collagen. It's just going to make the sauce so much richer, and when it concentrates, it will deepen and become so, so good. So for me, it's a very easy, no-brainer, quick tip to just add it in there. Let's just have a little peek after a few minutes, and yes, yes, my friends, this right here, that's flavor. Now do the same exact thing on all the other sides. And so much of being a good cook is being a good steward of your time, so how about a little more mise? Slice in half one large yellow onion, remove that outside peel, and then medium dice. And of course, you could absolutely substitute with a sweet red or white onion if that's all you have. Let's go have a look at that lamb. Absolutely stunning, beautifully browned up. Just set it to the side on a plate. And in the pan, let's add the onions, along with the gentle seasoning of salt. Now this is actually going to do two things. One, it'll draw out some of the onion moisture so that it browns quicker, and maybe more importantly, that moisture will help you scrape up all that lamb fond goodness on the bottom of the pan. So much flavor there, you guys. Give the onions a saute for about five minutes, and then turn the heat down to low, and I'll occasionally stir it for another 10 minutes until they're really browned up. You've got this, my friends. And while we wait, you guessed it, some more prep, but I promise it's quick. Peel and medium dice three carrots. Next, the same medium dice cut on three ribs of celery. Then I'm going to smash six whole garlic cloves. Just add them to the same bowl with the carrots and celery. The prep is done. But first, one crucial technique that I love. I've got about a two foot piece of butcher's twine, and right to center I'm adding three to four sprigs of fresh parsley, one sprig of fresh rosemary, three to four sprigs of fresh thyme, and finally two bay leaves. I'll show you why I do it like this towards the end. For now, give it a quick knot just like you're tying your shoe. Then snip off any excess twine. Perfect. Okay, let's go peep the onions. Oh yeah, these look incredible. And hey, why not try some? I'm always down for eating caramelized onions, you don't have to tell me twice. Alrighty, at this stage, add in the carrots, celery, and garlic, a gentle season of salt, and give it a quick mix to start to marry up those flavors. What I'm going to do is add on a lid and sweat these veggies together for about 12 to 13 minutes. I'm not looking for a caramelization to change the flavors of the carrots and celery. Instead, I want to infuse their natural flavors into everything else. And if you've been following me for any sort of time, you know that I'm all about concentrating individual ingredients. It's like I can get as much flavor as I can from that one, and then I move on to the next one. This way, when all those things come together, oh my gosh, it just makes the best food. I don't know what else to say. If you take the little extra time to do these things, and these little techniques, it always, always, always makes food worth remembering. Let's check out our veg, and perfect. Gosh, does this smell good already. How could it not? Caramelized onions and lamb and pancetta fat with garlic, celery, and carrots. Yeah, it's good. It's now time to do another deglaze with some red wine, and any dry red will work. Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz, Sangiovese, all are good. Now, my only rule of thumb, the wine you cook with, you should also want to drink. Now, if you don't drink wine, swap it out with some beef stock and a hint of lemon juice. And I'm pouring in about a half to three-quarter cup, and then I'm going to boost the heat up to medium and reduce the wine down until only a few tablespoons remain. This technique is known as au sec, or almost dry. The flavors will be pushed right into the veg. So good. At this point, I'm going to push it a bit further and add in two tablespoons of tomato paste. And I'm going to cook this for three to four minutes to deepen the umami flavor more of not only the tomato paste, but also the veg that's being cooked in it. And this is called pincang, and it's going to get it to a nice, rust-like color, just like this. Gorgeous. It's time to start braising the lamb. But first, pour in 24 ounces of passata, or tomato puree, or even crushed samosas. You're going to love this sauce. And I usually just give a little half cup swoosh of water in the jar to get all that tomatoey goodness out of there. Next, pour in four cups of good beef stock, and I've got a great homemade recipe if you'd like to check that one out. All right, hit the sauce with our herb bundle. And for a little more umami, and this is optional, a Parmigiano cheese rind. Let's also not forget about our crispy pancetta lardons. Then give it a good season of salt and pepper. Mix all that goodness together, and of course, let's give it a try. It's good already. It's good already. It's braising time. Add the seared lamb back into the pot, and of course, any of the juices go in there as well. That's flavor right there. Now you have two options. Pop on a lid, cook it over low heat for two and a half to three hours, or on a middle rack in the oven at 325 degrees F, no fan, for two and a half to three hours. Totally up to you here, and I can't say it enough. I absolutely believe you can pull this recipe off. So while you're waiting, you can start thinking about a few things. First, is there a simple side dish you'd like to serve this up with? Maybe a simple insalata mista, which is just an Italian mixed salad. Kind of use what you have. You can grab this simple recipe on my website at BillyParisi.com if you'd like. And the next important thing to decide is what do you want to serve this ragu over? Believe it or not, it would go extremely well with fresh pasta, or perhaps some creamy polenta, or even risotto. For me, I love it with pasta, and so does everyone I serve it to. And you have options on what kind of pasta you want to serve it with. Pappardelle, tagliatelle, you be the judge. With about eight to ten minutes or so before the ragu is done, is when I start hooking up that pasta. Okay, it smells insane in my house, so let's check out our ragu. Gosh, does this look so good. Let's take the pot out of the oven, and the first thing I like to do is grab a ladle and remove a bit of the fat that is collected towards the top. And you could leave it in there, but removing it will just give you a cleaner sauce finish. And this right here is why I bundle up those herbs. Easy retrieval my comies. And at this point, grab two forks and simply pull the lamb meat as well as the lamb meat off the lamb shanks. It should easily shred and pull apart, and if you're a bit more calculated, the lamb will have an internal temperature of 205 to 208 F when it's ready to shred like this. Now the important part, give it a taste. For me, it needs a hint of clean acid, so the juice of a half lemon, which is about a tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half of juice, will really brighten up this sauce. It's time to eat, but first let me show you how to put this together. Add some of the sauce to a large bowl, along with a good amount of the cooked pasta. Then I sprinkle in some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Fold it all together to get everything mixed up and combined. And for plating, serve it up in whatever way you'd like. Just be sure to add a bit more Parmigiano because, well, why not? And for a little punch of green, how about some parsley? This right here, oh my gosh, delicious. And now to finish this off perfectly, my olive oil cake is where it's at. So good. I'll see you over there. That is ridiculous.