Strozzapreti mutton ragu with basil and parmigiano

Strozzapreti is a hand-rolled pasta shape similar to cavatelli that originates from Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and surrounding regions. With an elongated, twisted shape, strozzapreti holds onto sauces more effectively than smoother pasta shapes, perfect for thicker sauces such as this mutton ragu.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  6

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  3 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

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Budget Braises

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

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episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

Ingredients

• 500 g strozzapreti, cooked, to serve
• Basil leaves and parmesan cheese, to serve

For the sauce

• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• ½ tbsp thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 40 g tomato paste
• ½ cup (125 ml) white wine
• 1 litre passata
• Salt and black pepper
• 25 ml extra virgin olive oil

For the braised mutton 

• 2 kg mutton shanks or meat
• 2.5 litres chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. To make the sauce, heat the onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaves in a large saucepan and gently cook, until softened, not browned. Stir through the tomato paste and cook for a further 3 minutes. Stir through the white wine and reduce by two thirds over medium heat. Add the passata, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat. Cook for 30 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then stir through the olive oil. Allow to cool completely, then refrigerate until required.
   
2. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Heat a large, heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Season the mutton generously with salt and pepper, then sear in the pan, turning occasionally until browned evenly on all sides. Add the remaining ingredients for the braise to the saucepan, then cover tightly with two layers of foil. Bake for 3 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove the meat and strain the cooking liquid through a fine mesh sieve. Flake the cooked mutton meat and discard any bones.
   
3. Return the strained cooking liquid to the saucepan with the prepared passata base and bring to a simmer. Thicken to your desired consistency, then return the flaked mutton meat back to the pan. Stir through the cooked pasta, then divide between bowls.
   
4. Sprinkle the strozzapreti mutton ragu with basil leaves and parmesan cheese and serve.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Budget Braises

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G