i imagined this dish because i was dreaming of moroccan food one day—lamb tagine to be precise. but, as always—i was craving pasta.
how could i combine two such prominent foods into one? truthfully this was just an experiment. an experiment that turned out so incredibly good.
and look, i am truly not one for fusion foods. and this isn’t really that—per se. but more of some flavor profiles that i (personally) think would work well together. or maybe that is the basis of fusion foods. i’ll let you guys decide.
i think that is one of the greatest things about being a chef, or at least knowing how to cook well—is understanding flavors. in theory, a good cook can imagine great recipes up, just because (again, in theory) you should inherently know that for sure, some things just taste damn good together.
enter lamb and harissa.
the richness of the lamb is cut with some of the spicy citrus notes from the harissa and the little pops of sweetness from the golden raisins, really are the crown jewel in this recipe.
i hope that you make this one—it really is so good.
recipe
serves 4-6 people
1 pack of spaghetti or bucatini
1 lb of ground lamb
1/2 white onion, diced finely
1/2 large fennel bulb, diced finely
1 tbsp of fennel seeds
6 cloves of garlic, sliced finely
3 carrots, peeled and diced finely
3 stalks of celery, sliced finely
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 cup of milk
1 tbsp of harissa (or more according to taste)
1/2 cup of golden raisins
1 cup of white wine
4-6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
salt
black pepper
pecorino for serving
lemon zest for serving
begin by heating 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan like a dutch oven. set the heat to medium and then add in the ground lamb. brown the lamb for as long as it takes to get some real color on the meat, this usually takes anywhere between 10 - 15 minutes for me. season with salt and pepper to taste.
once the meat is browned, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside in a dish. we now need to remove some of the fat from the pan as lamb tends to be very fatty. i usually remove at least half of the fat. set that aside also, in case you need to add more back in later.
next add into the pan the onion, fennel, carrots, and celery and cook until slightly softened. the liquid that is released from the vegetables will help scrape up the fond from the bottom of the pan. this is important— because fond is flavor. add in the garlic and let it soften for just a minute or so and be careful not to burn.
next, add in the tomato paste and harissa paste and let them bloom in the hot oil with the vegetables for 1-2 minutes. then add in the fennel seeds to bloom for a minute or so too.
add the meat back in and then add in the cup of white wine and let the alcohol cook off for 2-3 minutes. add in the milk next, and stir everything to combine.
add in the chicken or vegetable stock and then check for seasoning. adjust accordingly.
pop the lid on the pot and bring the heat down to low. let this bubble away for at least 2-3 hours, checking every hour for liquid levels. if the liquid is getting low, add a little more stock. whilst cooking, the liquid should be getting lower but never completely dry.
after 2-3 hrs the liquid should have reduced quite a bit, but the lamb ragu should still be very moist. this is a great time to add in the golden raisins to plump up in the sauce. turn the heat off and set the ragu aside to cook the pasta.
once the pasta is cooked according to the packet, minus 2 minutes—drain, whilst reserving a cup of the pasta water.
add the pasta straight into the lamb ragu pot and turn the heat back to low. stir to combine everything, adding in bits of pasta water accordingly. the sauce should be thick and glossy and coat every strand of the spaghetti.
serve in your favorite bowl with a shower of pecorino, lemon zest, flaky salt, and a few more cracks of fresh black pepper.
xo
Yes and yes - amazing idea!
Making this asap!