Recipe: Strozzapreti with Spiced Lamb Ragu, Lemon & Ricotta Salata

I love this recipe because it's hearty, tangy, and embraces flavors that I don't ordinarily think of for pasta, but love! It's going to be cooler this weekend, so I thought I'd share before the weather got too hot!

--Leah

Strozzapreti with Spiced Lamb Ragu, Lemon & Ricotta Salata

2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot, chopped fine
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 celery stalk, chopped fine
3 cloves sliced garlic
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger 2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground Aleppo pepper
1 tbsp harissa
1 lb lamb stew meat
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water or chicken stock
1 pound Semolina Artisanal Pasta Strozzapreti
1 cup crumbled ricotta salata
1/2 a lemon, halved and sliced thin (prefarably on a mandoline)
Salt and pepper
Fennel pollen (optional)

Heat oven to 300 degrees. 

In a large, heavy bottom pot, heat the olive oil. Add carrot, onion and celery. Sprinkle with salt and saute until soft. Add garlic and ginger. Cook one minute. Add cumin and pepper and cook until fragrant. Stir in harissa to coat vegetables. Add lamb and brown on all sides. Add tomatoes and water or stock. Cover and braise in the oven until tender, about 2 hours. The sauce will have cooked down, but you can use pasta water to thin it later, if necessary. Shred the lamb and season to taste.

Meanwhile, cook the Strozzapreti in a pot of heavily salted, boiling water until just shy of al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups of pasta water.

Combine the pasta and the ragu, adding pasta water as needed. Finish with ricotta salata, lemon and a light dusting of fennel pollen.