Lamb Ragu and pasta

I hosted a dinner party serving a roasted leg of lamb with preserved lemons. I panicked with the quantities of food I served and had quite a bit of lamb left over. Rather than eat lamb sammiches for the next 3 days, I made a ragu for pasta. 'EASY' is one word to describe this recipe. DELICIOUS is another word to describe the end result. This recipe can also work for most kind of meat leftovers actually.

1-lb of Roma tomatoes (I prefer organic)
olive oil
1 large yellow or white onion-chopped medium to finely
5-6 cloves of garlic-chopped
1-2 Bay Leaves
8oz-1 lb of cooked (leftover) lamb-can be any cut, but for this I had leg of lamb
1/2 to 1 cup red wine, any kind really, though I used a Rioja (because that is what I was drinking)
salt & pepper to taste


Set large pan of water to come to a boil. Plop the Roma tomatoes until their skins crack or pucker (about 1-2 minutes). Drain and let cool a bit before handling. When cool enough to handle, peel the skins off-they should just slide off easily. Place in bowl and set aside.

With the leftover lamb, cut roughly into cubes so that they can fit in a food processor. Roughly chop/grind the lamb until it is either coursely chopped or even reaches a thickish/lumpy paste consistency (I prefer the latter)

In a large (cast iron) saute pan(or sauce pan) heat up olive oil, enough to coat the pan over medium heat. Saute the onions until they glisten and are soft. Add the Roma tomatoes and with a potato masher, gently press and 'mash' the tomatoes to break them up. Careful as they can splatter if you mash them too hard. Let the tomatoes and onions cook down together, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and the Bay Leaves, continuing to stir and break down the tomatoes.

When the base sauce looks 'together' and starts to thicken, add the lamb stirring to blend well. Add the wine, enough to loosen the mix a bit, but not render it soupy. Lower the heat to a low flame and let the ragu simmer down to a sauce consistency. Taste for any needed salt & pepper.

When ready to serve, prepare the pasta (I like farfalle or wide egg noodles, but any will do really), drain then add into the ragu to coat the pasta. Serve! The ragi will also keep in the freezer, so good to make in a large batch.