What’s for dinner?

 

Lamb ragu
(Not my picture)

   “Scottish Memories: Recipes, Photos, Shared Memories” is a Facebook page that I feel I sort of snuck on to through the back door. I am fierce about my Scottish heritage, but I almost never cook anything that could be called Scottish, and while I have eaten haggis with neeps and tatties, I probably wouldn’t order it again. The moderator of the site, who I think lives in Central Europe and must do this for nostalgic reasons, asks each day, “What’s for dinner tonight?”

Sometimes it’s something clearly Scottish, but lots of other cuisines show up—fish and chips, mince, scones, chicken with naan wraps, pasta dishes, stews and soups. I like to see what people are cooking—pictures and text—and sometimes when I think whatever I’m cooking is appropriate, I chime in. Today, I’d probably answer that I’d like to fix a stew (not that I really will since I’m eating alone tonight). But stew sounds ordinary to me, no matter how good it is. Much classier to fix a ragu (see where I was headed with this all along?). So on my mind today for some reason is a good lamb ragu—hearty and warming on this bitter cold day.

In Italian cooking ragu is a sauce made with ground meat, onions, tomato puree, and red wine. What’s the difference between a ragu and a ragout? Language. The latter is French and doesn’t necessarily contain meat. You can do a fish ragout or vegetable. Ragu comes from ragout.

Back to Scotland for a moment: the Scots have always eaten more lamb than we Texans, or so I believed until I went to Scotland and never saw lamb on a menu. In Texas, I think we see more lamb offered today than we did twenty years ago, and I for one often cook it. So here’s my favorite quick and easy lamb ragu recipe (if you really do not like lamb, you could undoubtedly do this with ground beef).

Lamb ragu

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, copped

4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 anchovy filets

¼ c. tomato paste

1 lb. ground lamb or beef

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 cup red wine

Pasta, cooked

Grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Be careful not to scorch the garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the anchovies (Do not omit—your ragu will not taste fishy; in fact, you’ll not know they are there, but they add to the richness of the dish). Cook until anchovies fall apart.

Add tomato paste and stir so it doesn’t stick or scorch! Add the ground meat, using a wooden spoon to break it up, and cook until it browns—it will sizzle. Finally add the crushed tomatoes and a cup of red wine. Season again with salt and pepper and stir to mix and scrape up any browned bits.

Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens—30-45 minutes.

Serve in pasta bowls over pasta, sprinkled with grated cheese.