Speedy Lamb Ragu Recipe

“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.” ~ Calvin Trillin

Roast dinners are popular on the farm, especially when I have a crowd to feed. And if I’m lucky, we’ll end up with leftovers.

This is a speedy dinner that makes the most of leftover roast lamb. You could also substitute other roast meats, but the flavour combination with the lamb is well worth trying. The capers and olives give a subtle salty complexity, and the stock helps make the sauce satiny smooth.

It takes fifteen minutes from kitchen to table, twenty if you get fancy and make a salad to go alongside. I usually serve this with pasta, but it tastes great over rice. If you’re following a paleo, grain-free or low-carb diet, shred and lightly cook some cabbage or other greens as a base.

Ingredients (Serves 2 hungry adults)

1 tablespoon of olive oil or ghee, 1 x onion, 4 x garlic cloves, 2 x tablespoons capers – drained, 1/2 cup of olives – drained, 1 x tin of diced tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon x dried Italian herbs, 1 cup of good chicken or vegetable stock, 1 cup of cubed left-over roast lamb, or an equivalent amount of lamb steak, pan-fried and sliced into strips.

*Fresh parsley and parmesan cheese to serve.

This is an easy recipe to pad out – just add in a little extra meat, another can of tomatoes, and a spoonful or two more of the capers and olives.

**Note – Vegetarians and Vegans can happily substitute tempeh or some big fat mushroom slices in place of the lamb.

Method:

Get your water on for the pasta or start your rice cooking…

Dice your onion and finely chop the garlic and place with the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Leave to soften over a medium heat for a minute or two while you chop your left-over roast lamb into small cubes.

When your onion and garlic is fragrant and translucent add your capers into the pan and fry briefly. Then add the olives and stir for another minute.

Dump in the tin of tomatoes, stock, herbs and lamb.  Stir well and then leave to simmer over a medium to low heat for ten minutes.

Serve over pasta, rice or vegetables.  Good with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and some fresh shallots or finely diced parsley on top. (I used shallots because a naughty cow broke into my garden and gobbled up my parsley!) This meal goes well with crusty bread or a simple salad too. Enjoy!