Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu

If you like Italian pasta dishes with rich, flavorful meat sauce, this dish is for you! The ground lamb is cooked with red wine, tomatoes, and spices until reduced and bursting with rich flavors, and then is tossed with tender pappardelle noodles. The finished dish is topped with a scoop of creamy ricotta cheese that melts into the sauce, and brings the whole dish to another level. My husband said this is one of the best meals I've ever made, and I loved it just as much as he did. You'll impress anyone with this dish!

Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu
A mouth-watering sauce with plenty of red wine and garlic and flavorful ground lamb, served with tender pappardelle noodles to soak up the sauce!.
Serves 6

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 carrot, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 celery rib, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground lamb
2 teaspoons ground coriander
3 teaspoons herbes de provence (a blend featuring thyme, rosemary, fennel, lavender)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
3/4 pound pappardelle
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped mint
In a large cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the carrot, onion and celery and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, 5 minutes. Add the garlic, lamb, coriander, fennel, cumin, rosemary and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the liquid evaporates, 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the wine and cook until evaporated, 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the stock and bring to a boil. Cover partially and cook over moderately low heat until the liquid is slightly reduced, 25 to 30 minutes.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, shaking well. Add the pasta to the sauce. Add the butter and the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and toss over low heat. Serve the pasta in bowls, topped with the ricotta and mint.

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine