weeknight lamb ragu with burrata cheese

It’s been a busyyyyy August for me so my food baby has gotten the brunt of it. Sorry y’all!

Here is a my easy weeknight lamb ragu that you can use with any ground beef, tbh. I love lamb instead of ground beef to take my ragu up a notch!

See recipe below, this is basically the same from recipe from the shrimp & mussels pasta. Try it below!

Ingredients (Serves 4 people)

• 1, 28 oz can of whole steamed San Marzano tomatoes, crushed with your hands in a large bowl

• 1/2 lb cavatappi pasta, cooked al dente according to the package (I did half the box)

• 1lb ground lamb

• 1 small yellow onion, chopped

• 4-5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 3 anchovies, whole

• 3 tablespoons chopped calabrian chili peppers

• 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• Kosher salt & fresh cracked black pepper

• Extra virgin olive oil

• chopped fresh basil for garnish

• burrata cheese

  Directions

• Add some extra virgin olive oil in a pan, about a tablespoon on medium heat and let het up.

• Add the anchovies and let them dissolve. With your wooden spoon, just break them up. Anchovies, add umami AKA salt and flavor to your sauce.

• In a wide sauté skillet still on medium heat, add more olive oil if needed. Add the onions & garlic once the oil is hot. I like to get the garlic cloves a little toasty so an intense garlic flavor comes out. This will take about 3-5 minutes, depending on your stove. Season with some salt & pepper.

• Add the tomato paste and let cook for about 1-2 minutes. You will notice the color of the tomato sauce will get deep red, that means it’s cooking!

• Add the ground lamb and let cook.

• Add the hand crushed tomatoes, the calabrian peppers and balsamic vinegar. I love spice so I added 3 heaping tablespoons lol but adjust to your liking.

• Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to adjust to your liking. The sauce will get nice and thick and flavors will combine.

• As your sauce is simmering, prepare the cavatappi in a heavily salted pot and cook until al dente according to the box instructions.

• Add the noodles straight from the pot. The pasta water which has a lot of starch in it helps the sauce bind to the noodles.

• Serve in a big bowl topped with burrata and lots of basil! I always like to serve it with a side of Maldon finishing sea salt, red pepper flakes and fresh cracked pepper too satisfy anyone’s taste buds. My friends loved to crack open the burrata and stir it all together!