Nici Wickes: Cost-effective Lamb Ragu

Let’s get one thing straight – I love New Zealand lamb! However, I’m not made of money, so I need to find clever ways to use the cheaper cuts or to stretch it further. Lamb shoulder chops are a great choice – easy on the pocket and full of flavour.  Serves 2-3    Ingredients   4 lamb shoulder chops  2 tbsps. olive oil  1 medium onion, diced  2 cloves garlic  ¼ cup wine, red or white  1 cup stock  1 cup crushed tomatoes  1 bay leaf  1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or use scant tsp dried)  Pinch chilli flakes  1 tsp sea salt & ¼ tsp black pepper  Zest from half lemon to serve  Small handful chopped parsley to serve  50g parmesan to serve  Mashed potato, pasta or polenta to serve    Method  Heat the oil, then brown the lamb chops in a large pot. Remove from the heat.  Sauté the onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes in the same pot, then pour in the wine and simmer for one minute.   Return the lamb chops and add in the remaining ingredients (barring those labelled ‘to serve'). Cover and simmer for one hour.   Remove the lid and simmer for further 20-30 minutes or until the meat falls easily away from bone and the sauce thickens a bit.  Use two forks to shred the meat away from bones. If there is an excessive amount of fat from the meat, spoon this off the surface of the sauce mix. Add meat back into sauce and heat.  Spoon ragu over mashed potato or polenta or toss it through pasta to serve.  Add zest, parsley and cheese and eat!    Nici’s notes  Make a double batch of the ragu and freeze it for a future meal.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.