Pappardelle with braised lamb ragu

For the Ragu

1. To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients and add lamb to the bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning 3 or 4 times so that all the meat has time to marinade. Remove lamb from the fridge 1-2 hours before cooking and set aside in a cool place to come to room temperature.
2. Remove lamb from marinade and pat dry. Dust meat in flour and shake off any excess. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan, add half the lamb and cook for about 4 minutes, turning as needed to brown each side as much as possible. Transfer meat to a baking dish, skin-side down. Fry remaining lamb, adding a little more oil if necessary. Wipe out pan with paper towel. 
3. Preheat oven to 180°C.
4. Add remaining oil to the pan. When hot, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until soft and starting to colour, about 5-7 minutes. Add marinade, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add stock and return to the boil.
5. Sprinkle lamb with salt and carefully pour vegetables and liquid over it. Cover tightly with a double layer of foil and place in oven for about 2 hours, until meat is tender enough that you can break it apart with a spoon. Remove dish from oven, take the meat out of the dish and, when cool enough to handle, break the flesh off the bones in large chunks and set aside. Discard the bones.
6. Place baking dish on the stove over a high heat and bring to the boil. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface, remove bay leaves, rosemary and thyme stalks and boil until reduced to the thickness of pouring cream. Add salt flakes and pepper. Remove from the heat, return meat to the sauce and stir to combine well. Cover and keep warm.

For the Pappardelle

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add fine sea salt then pasta and boil for about 3 minutes, until tender. Strain well, retaining some of the cooking water.
2. Add pasta to most of the sauce and toss for a minute to coat well. Add butter, lemon zest, a drizzle of olive oil and toss well to combine. If it’s a bit dry add a couple of tablespoons of reserved cooking water and stir it through.
3. Serve in large pasta bowls and sprinkle with Pecorino. Serve with remaining sauce in a separate bowl for those who like their pasta extra saucy.

Recipe by Giovanni Pilu

1. You can prepare the lamb ragu in advance if you are strapped for time, and then simply add to freshly cooked pasta.