Hearty Sheep Ragù

This is Sardinian sheep ragù! 
The process is very similar to other meat ragù, although this recipe has a much more intense and wild flavour. Sheep meat is also much fattier and gamier in flavour than lamb meat. It's often eaten in Sardinia on special occasions and you can find many delicious recipes using this type of meat. 
This recipe is often made with whole cuts of meat but the ragù using mince meat is our favourite version of this dish. 
Once the ragù is made it can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days or it can be frozen in small batches for up to 3 months. It will taste even better from the day after you make it as it will have cooled down properly overnight and the flavours will have combined all together to make a very tasty ragù!
If you can’t find sheep mince you can substitute it for lamb mince. Of course sheep meat is fattier and stronger in flavor but lamb is a good substitute and will still make a tasty ragù! 

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Makes: 12-14 portions 
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Ingredients

• 500g sheep mince (or lamb) 
• 2 carrots 
• 1 celery stick 
• 1 white onion 
• 300g chopped tomatoes  
• 1 tbsp tomato paste 
• 80ml  of Cannonau red wine 
• 1 bay leaf

Method

1. Chop the carrots, onion and celery into very small cubes to create a soffritto base. Warm up a large pot and add the soffritto with a good glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook on a medium heat until all the vegetables are soft (about 8-10 minutes). 
2. Now add the sheep or lamb mince to the soffritto base, bring the temperature to a medium high heat and cook until the mice is all brown. Constantly stir to break down all the minced meat. 
3. Keeping a medium high heat add the tomato paste and stir it in. Add the wine and cook it off for a couple of minutes until you can’t smell the acidity released from the wine anymore. 
4. Crush and add to the pan the peeled plum tomatoes followed by the bay leaf. Top up with 600ml of water and cook, occasionally stirring it, for 3 hours on a low heat. 
5. At this point the sauce should be thick, moist and juicy. If the sauce still has a lot of liquid, continue cooking it for longer. Try the ragù and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. 
6. Let the ragù rest and cool down in the pot for 30 minutes. The ragù can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days or it can be frozen for up to 3 months. The ragù will taste even better from the day after you make it. It will have cooled down properly overnight and the flavours will have combined all together making a very tasty ragù!
7. Serve the ragù with any pasta you like. Since it is a Sardinian speciality we like to serve it with spizzulus, a traditional homemade pasta originally from the south of the island. You can find the recipe for spizzillus here. ​

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