Leftover Lamb Ragu

After a satisfying Sunday Roast Lamb, I found that I had quite a lot of meat leftover.  I had a little nose online for some inspiration, but couldn't find a ragu for Lamb, so had to wing it a bit.  And so from the far reaches of my foodie mind and the contents of my cupboards, Leftover Lamb Ragu was born.  I cooked this in my trusted and much loved Slow Cooker, this should still work just as well simmering gently in a covered pot on the hob, or covered in a med-low oven. Couldn't have been too bad, as there were clean plates all round.  And with another joint of lamb waiting in the wings of the freezer for a Sunday soon, I'm pretty sure I know how to take care of the leftovers the following day.  I hope you enjoy this easy and very tasty recipe. x

• Olive Oil


• 1 Onion, Chopped


• 2 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped


• Leftover Lamb


• 1 Tin of Tomatoes


• 200ml Stock, whatever is available, I used Chicken


• 5-6 Sun-dried Tomatoes, Sliced


• 2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar


• 1 tbsp Tomato Puree


• 1 tsp (each) Dried Oregano & Basil


• Salt & Pepper

In a pan sweat down the Onion and Garlic, before added in your chopped Leftover Lamb and gently warm through.  Then place all the ingredients into your Slow Cooker or add the remaining ingredients into the pan.  Pop on the lid and allow to slowly simmer away until all the lamb breaks down.  I had my Slow Cooker on low for around 5-6 hours, but adjust your times to your method.  Serve with a pasta of your choice, would also be great with Gnocchi.

What to do with the leftovers?

I'm always up for trying out new things with leftovers, as I hate to waste food, but my greed always forces me to make too much.  Last night I still had quite a large amount of a Beef joint leftover from the meal the night before and really did not fancy just making a roast with it, as of course I wanted to do that on Sunday  like I said it was very large joint).  I only really had pasta or potatoes to work with too.  But the resulting dish was a success and this is always a moment of joy for me when that happens.  It may need a little tweaking as I used ingredents that just happened to be around but a pleasure to eat all the same.  I will take a picture next time that this dish comes my way as I was a little rushed to feed everyone last night, but so excited I just had to share it.  Quanities are not very precise as I was winging it a bit and didn't weight anything, so just adjust to how much you need and to taste.

In a large pan bring water to the boil and add the Pasta of your choice.  Once in, melt some Butter in a seperate pan and then add Flour to make a roux, about 2 tbsp of each.  Then slowly add in Beef Stock until to get a sauce that is just a bit thicker that double cream.  In another pan heat 1 tbsp of Butter and Oil and Gently soften Half an Onion, sliced.  Once softened add 1/2 tsp Mustard Powder, the leftover cooked Beef, cut in to strips, 1 Clove of Garlic, 2 tsp Fresh Tyhme, a good couple of handfuls of sliced Mushrooms and plenty of Black Pepper and heat through.  Just before the pasta is ready add some Cream to the sauce, I used a good dollop of Clotted Cream, as that's all I had in the fridge, but Double Cream would be great also.  Drain the pasta and return to the large pan, add in the Beef and Sauce and mix well.  Serve x