On the heat. Mild

Ingredients

• 1 kg lamb diced steak, or mince
• 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 celery sticks, diced very small
• 4 tbsp olive oil · 30 g butter
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 250 ml red wine
• 400 g tinned tomato
• 500 ml stock · 200 ml milk
• 2 bay · rosemary · 1 strip lemon peel
• Pappardelle · pecorino · salt, pepper

Method

1. Brown the lamb hard in batches. Every batch, properly — this is the single largest contributor to a good ragù.
2. Soffritto in the same pan on low for 20 minutes. Tomato paste in, cooked 2 minutes until it darkens.
3. Wine in, reduced right down. Meat back in with tomato, stock, herbs and lemon peel.
4. Barest simmer, lid ajar, 3 hours. Add the milk in the last hour — it tenderises and rounds the acidity.
5. If you used diced steak, crush the pieces against the side of the pot with a spoon at the end. Do not shred it in a machine.
6. Toss with pappardelle and a ladle of pasta water off the heat, plus a knob of butter and a handful of pecorino. Finish the emulsion in the pan, never on the plate.

Cook's note. Diced beats minced. Cubes hold their shape for three hours then collapse into strands. Mince turns to grain within an hour and stays there.

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