Slow Cooked Lamb Neck And Pasta Food

AMAZING SLOW-COOKED ITALIAN LAMB RAGOUT AND PASTA

Steps:

• Begin by heating the olive oil in a heavy pot over a medium high heat. Once heated (oil should be shimmering), add the meat and brown on all sides. You may have to do this in two batches.
• Once the meat is browned, throw in the onions, carrots, celery and herbs. Stir and continue cooking until the veggies are softened (takes about 7-10 minutes for me). Add garlic and stir for a minute or two until the garlic fragrance is lovely, but don't overcook.
• Next, take a sip of your wine to make sure it still tastes good (optional) and pour in the two glasses of red wine.
• Now, deglaze the bottom of your pan scraping up all those goodies.
• Cook the wine down until it is mostly evaporated. It will take a bit, depending on your stove maybe 20 minutes. It should smell and look terrific by now.
• Carefully add your plum tomatoes and stir slowly and softly so as not to break them up.
• Toss in the pearl barley (if using) and stir.
• Now, cover the pieces of meat with about a 1/2 inch of water.
• Remember that cartouche that you made, wet it and then rub with oil. Place in the pot on the surface, cover and cook on simmer for three hours.
• Next, carefully remove the lid and cartouche (place it on a plate). Give the sauce a stir and check your braised meat. The meat should be "fall apart" tender.
• Also, now is a good time to throw on the pot of pasta water.
• If your meat needs additional cooking time, re-cover with the cartouche and cook another 1/2 hour.
• Now, check your seasonings and adjust with salt and pepper as required.
• Place cooked meat in a bowl and cool slightly. Next, pull the meat apart using two forks until you get it the way you desire.
• While the meat cools, you may need to continue cooking with the ragout with the lid and cartouche off your pot to reduce the sauce to the consistency you wish.
• Stir your pulled meat back into your perfect sauce. Taste! Adjust seasonings if needed.
• Your sauce is ready and the Pasta is cooking, so toss in the butter and stir until the ragout is fully mixed and shiny.
• Then throw in the cheese stir and remove from the heat.
• Drain your pasta* (saving a cup of liquid) and slide it into the ragout, tossing the pasta with the sauce until mixed (add pasta water if needed).
• Finally, garnish with a little finely chopped fresh rosemary and Parmesan. Tuck in!

SLOW COOKED LAMB NECK AND PASTA

Steps:

• Brown lamb neck in olive oil.
• add stock.
• add tomatoes.
• add garlic.
• add chilli powder.
• Bring to boil.
• Simmer on stove top with lid on for 2-3 hours.
• Remove lid, simmer for 1-2 hours until meat falls from bones and sauce is thick and chunky.
• Cook pasta
• Serve sauce over pasta.
• suck meat off bones.
• Wipe sauce off chin.

SLOW-COOKED IRISH STEW

Steps:

• Heat the slow cooker if necessary, then heat the oil in a frying pan. Sizzle the bacon until crisp, tip into the slow-cooker pot, then brown the chunks of lamb in the pan. Transfer to the slow-cooker pot along with the thyme, onions, carrots, potatoes, stock, bay leaves and enough water to cover the lamb. Cover and cook on Low for 7 hrs.
• Stir in the pearl barley and leek, and cook on High for 1 hr more until the pearl barley is tender.
• Stir in the butter, season and serve scooped straight from the dish.