slow cook recipes

Jacob Kenedy&#8216;s ragù recipe is made from venison and pancetta simmered down with red wine – the perfect dinner party main to impress your friends. For something a little more everyday, try our quick and easy beef ragù stirred through your favourite pasta.

Tagliatelle with venison ragù

venison lamb

olive oil

pancetta, chopped

carrot, finely chopped

celery stick, finely chopped

onion,

garlic cloves, chopped

bay leaves

thyme

rosemary sprig, all

tbsp ground mixed spice

tomato purée

milliliters red wine

milk

fresh egg tagliatelle

unsalted butter

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C/gas 6. Season the venison well with salt and pepper, put in a small-medium roasting tin and drizzle with 3 tbsp olive oil. Roast for 1 hour until well browned outside and more or less cooked (it doesn’t matter if it’s well done or rare). Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin, reserving the roasting juices.

Heat a heavy casserole with a lid over a medium heat and add the pancetta, along with the remaining oil. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the pancetta starts to brown and crisp and the fat is released, then mix in the chopped vegetables, garlic, herbs, mixed spice and tomato purée. Turn the heat to low and cook gently for 20 minutes until tender but without colour.

Meanwhile, dice the roast venison into roughly 1cm cubes. Add the meat to the tender vegetables in the pan and mix together. Raise the heat to high and fry for 10 minutes until some of the meat starts to brown at the edges. Add the roasting juices, wine and milk. It may look curdled but it’ll come back together during cooking.

Bring to a simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, then cook gently for around 3 hours, stirring every so often. You can do this on the hob over a low heat or in the oven at 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3. It’s ready when the oil collects on the surface, the meat is very tender and the gravy has thickened. You may need to add a splash of water during cooking if it dries out too much or raise the heat towards the end if it looks a little wet. At the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring a large pan of well salted water to the boil. Add the tagliatelle and cook until it’s still quite firm to the bite (leave it even more al dente than you like, as it will continue to cook in the sauce). Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water, then add the pasta to the ragù, along with the butter. Add just enough of the reserved cooking water to loosen the sauce slightly. Put the whole lot on a warmed serving platter or put in individual bowls, then top with lots of parmesan to serve.

Alex Mackay&#8216;s spiced roast ’n’ braise lamb shoulder recipe is truly spectacular and deserves its place on any dinner party table, or as a Sunday roast main.  In his own words: &#8221; My roast ’n’ braise technique captures the flavour of a roast with the melting richness of a slow braise. I serve it with gravy-soaked freekeh and soft, savoury onions that get drunk on the lamb’s flavour and become as good as the meat itself.&#8221;

Moroccan-spiced lamb shoulder with onions and freekeh

2-2.2kg British lamb shoulder,

vegetable oil

runny honey

garlic cloves, finely chopped

fresh ginger, grated

lemon

Finely grated zest and juice 2 oranges

tbsp ras el hanout spice mix

small onions, peeled and halved

raisins

milliliters lamb or chicken stock

1½ tbsp dark soy sauce

cooked freekeh (I like Merchant Gourmet)

cornflour

mild red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced (optional)

basil mint

toasted almonds, chopped and tossed with salt and ras el hanout

Rose petals to serve (optional)

Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Put the lamb in a deep roasting tin and rub salt and oil all over it. Roast, skin-side up, for 35 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and turn the oven down to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3.

Meanwhile, mix the honey, garlic, ginger, the zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange, and 2 tsp ras el hanout in a small bowl.

Transfer the lamb to a plate. Scatter the halved onions and raisins in the tin, pour over the rest of the orange juice, then season with salt and most of the remaining ras el hanout. Toss the onions to coat thoroughly with the seasonings, lamb fat and juice, then turn the onions cut-side down. Put the lamb in the centre.

Brush three quarters of the honey mixture over the lamb (do this with great gusto – really cover it). Reserve the rest to glaze the lamb later. Cover the roasting tin tightly with foil, sealing carefully around the edges. (If it’s not fully sealed or there’s a hole in the foil, heat will escape, the lamb will take longer and it won’t cook properly.) Braise for 3½ hours.

While the lamb braises, put the stock, soy sauce and tomato purée in a medium saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce by half (see tips), then remove from the heat.

Once the lamb has braised, remove the foil. It should now be so tender that you can push a spoon right through it. Lift the lamb onto a plate. Drain half the cooking juices into the pan with the reduced stock (you’ll have about 500ml liquid in total).

Add the cooked freekeh to the roasting tin and stir it into the onions and remaining cooking juices. Turn the oven back up to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Put the lamb back on top, glaze it with the remaining honey mixture, then put the tin back into the oven for 10 minutes. Baste and check twice, ensuring the glaze doesn’t burn.

Bring the reduced stock and lamb juices to the boil and whisk in the cornflour mix. Bring back to the boil for 15 seconds, whisking constantly, until the gravy has thickened enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Season to taste with salt, ras el hanout and lemon juice.

Before serving, brush the lamb with gravy to give it a glossy shine. Sprinkle the zest of the second orange and the chilli (optional), basil/mint and almonds on top. Serve at the table with tongs and a big spoon, and rose petals to scatter over, if you like. I squeeze a little extra lemon juice over the top, too.

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Tagliatelle with venison ragù

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