Valhalla Summertime Ragu – Hearty Tomato Sauce with Lamb, Herbs and Seasonal Vegetables
The arrival of the back to school supplies reminded me that summer was ready to sing its swan song for the year. Possibly, right alongside all the tomatoes and the bell peppers that have finally been shaping out, I am bracing for the daughter to enter a world of new experiences that will be called middle school.
If you know how much I love tomatoes, I think you will forgive me for posting two tomato recipes back to back, make that two tomato based pasta sauce recipes. This one however is for a ragu-styled chunky sauce, that I call my Valhalla summertime ragu, after all only in a garden in Valhalla, will you find all this odd assortment of produce all at once. The styles of a ragu vary based on the region of Italy often influenced by the local flavors and availability of things. Most commonly, it consists of meat and tomatoes and chunky vegetables like carrots.
Starting with some tomatoes, ok, lots and lots of tomatoes, this sauce puts together onions, garlic, ground lamb and 2 cups of chopped vegetables all of which get simmered down into a very delicious and robust tasting sauce. I used eggplants, carrots, mushrooms and green beans for this mix, making this a truly one-dish meal. Interestingly enough, mushrooms are the only thing that I have been unable to procure in the markets. Even though, I have pictured this over angel hair because this is what my daughter likes, I would personally suggest that you enjoy this over something like fettuccine. The sauce has too much personality for the delicate angel hair pasta.
This weekend I have the last of the summer market demonstrations. I have only gotten half as far as I would like would the blog transfer project and I am increasingly realizing what a dumb idea, it has been to try to manually go through and index four years of blogging. Ok, maybe not dumb, because I think I am finding some very interesting recipes that had somehow gotten lost in the forgotten annals of food blogging, but, it is far more labor intensive than I thought.
A hearty summertime ragu, that makes a great one dish meal, perfect for crowds and company.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced (about ¾ cup)
- 3 pods garlic, minced
- 1 large stick cinnamon
- 4-6 cloves
- 2 medium sized carrots, diced
- 6 medium sized tomatoes, diced
- ¾ of ground lamb
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon powdered cumin
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup chopped herbs (I used thyme, parsley, rosemary and sage) plus extra to finish
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups of diced vegetables (1 used green beans, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and eggplants)
Instructions
- Heat the oil and add in the onion and sauté well. Add in the garlic, cinnamon, cloves, carrots and stir well and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes and the lamb with the cumin, red pepper and let the sauce simmer on low heat for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- At this point the sauce should cook down and be soft and well mixed
- Add in a cup or water and the sugar and the vegetables and cook for about 45 minutes.
- Garnish with more herbs and serve over polenta or pasta