Goat Ragù
Ingredients
For the Ragù
3⁄4 cup olive oil
1 1⁄2 pounds ground goat meat
1⁄2 cup carrot, finely diced
1⁄2 cup onion, finely diced
1⁄2 cup celery, finely diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1⁄2 cups red wine
1 cup tomatoes, chopped (I used fresh since I had them, canned is also fine.)
3 cups chicken broth or water
2 bay leaves
1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
For assembly
1 pound spaghetti, orecchiette or other pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1⁄4 cup chopped mint (I couldn’t get fresh mint, so I omitted it.)
1⁄4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
1. For the ragù: Place a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat. Heat oil and add goat, stirring to break it up. Raise heat to high and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Spoon off excess liquid. Add carrot, onion and celery, stirring for about 2 minutes.
2. Add tomato paste and stir until blended, about 1 minute. Add wine and stir, scraping bottom of pan, until completely evaporated, about 2 to 5 minutes; adjust heat as necessary to prevent burning. Add tomatoes, chicken broth or water, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, cumin, coriander, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until most of the liquid evaporates, about 1 1⁄2 hours, scraping down sides of pot as necessary to avoid burning. Meat will turn dark brown and liquid dark orange.
4. For assembly: Cook pasta as desired, drain and add to sauce. Stir over medium-low heat, adding olive oil, butter and mint. Top with cheese and serve.
Comments
A friend of mine suggested I use the ground goat meat I bought some weeks ago for a ragout. While trying to find a recipe for ragout, which is a main-dish stew, I ended up finding this recipe for ragù which is a sauce typically used to dress pasta. And now you know the difference between these two words! I certainly didn’t.
We all thought this was tasty; Art even had seconds which is always a good sign of the success of a dish. We also came to the conclusion that we don’t really see the need to add goat to our regular diet. While the flavor of goat is certainly enjoyable, we prefer the other meats we’ve had. I’m sure we’ll still enjoy having goat meat once in a while for variety, but not as a staple meat.
In step 1 I wish that I had drained the meat through a sieve instead of just spooning off the fat, so consider taking this additional step if you make the dish. I would have liked the end result to have been a bit less fatty.
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