Broken lasagne with lamb ragu

Stir this slow-cooked lamb ragu through torn lasagne sheets for a simple, pasta meal.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  4 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
• 3-4 garlic cloves, bashed
• 3-4 lamb forequarter chops (see Note)
• 200 ml red wine
• 2 400 ml cans chopped tomatoes
• ¼ red capsicum
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 400 g lasagne sheets, broken into irregular pieces
• grated pecorino, to serve

Instructions

1. For the lamb ragú, heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the lamb chops and cook until browned all over. Add the red wine and simmer over high heat for 2 minutes to reduce slightly. Add the tinned tomatoes, capsicum and 800 ml water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 3–4 hours or the until meat falls off the bone. Nonna would lift out the meat and reserve it for another meal. You can do that too or simply remove it from the pan to shred and get rid of any tiny bones and then add it back to the sauce. Remove and discard the capsicum, then season to taste.

2. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Drop in the broken lasagne pieces, stir and cook for 5-6 minutes or until al dente. Remove with a slotted spoon straight into the pan with the sauce, dragging along a little pasta cooking water, then toss well. Bring to the table and serve with freshly grated pecorino.

Note

• You can use more lamb chops if you like it very meaty. Sometimes I use up to 6 chops, depending on the size.

Silvia Colloca shares her Italian family secrets in the brand-new second-season of Cook like an Italian.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.