Feb 26 2008
Earthy Comforts
Horrid nasty wet day; my man in late from work. The way to his heart?
- Rapid Ragù
Everyone at work on Monday was feeling low (except for me, but try as I might it was rubbing off a little!). Outside the fierce winds lashed rain against the windows and the sky was a photocopier grey. I realised, even before leaving work, that I needed to make something solid and satisfying for dinner. I had in my mind the illustration for this dish and a quick squint at the BBC website revealed that a little shopping would see me right.
This is a thick tomatoey, lamby stew, with lentils (I used puy) to give it extra body and bite, and a wonderful richness of flavour imbued by using caramelised onions (out of a jar) in the mix. Unlike Nigella, we felt it a bit decadent to eat straight from the pan, so we had some rice too, and plates, fancy!
The cheese on top turned out to be a vital part of the mix, a lovely counterpoint to the other flavours. If you are looking for an easy wintry night stew, this comes highly recommended. (Recipe on the BBC Food pages, don’t say I’m not good to you.)
Good winter fodder, check.
(I’m hungry now, yet again. Dang).
For a really really thick stew, I can recommend grabbing a slow cooker from somewhere if you dopn’t have one already - mine’s an Xmas present from my mum and originally from Lakeland. Bubbling a sauce on a low heat for hours and hours really adds the flavours…..
Having said all that, it would hardly be Rapid Ragu any more….. :)
ps. Brilliant work you’re doing in here. Kudos.
[…] we ate — last night’s remake of Rapid Ragu, with a bit of rice to bulk it out — Helen decided to make some more with a slightly different recipe. Which explains any typos […]