LAMB BOLOGNESE RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter and oil and warm until the butter is melted. Add the carrots, celery, onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft but have no color, about 6 minutes. Add the beef and lamb and cook, breaking apart the meat with a wooden spoon, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir the tomato paste, chili paste, red pepper flakes and garlic into the meat mixture. Cook the tomato paste, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk is almost entirely evaporated, about 20 minutes.
• Add the wine, bay leaf, Parmesan rind, tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low to just maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Skim the oil from the surface.
• Spoon the sauce over the Creamy Polenta with Spinach, reserving any extra to serve on the side. Serve with the Parmesan sprinkled over the top and a drizzle of olive oil.
• In a Dutch oven, bring the chicken broth, oil, garlic and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and whisk in the polenta. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone, pecorino and butter. Cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Fold in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes longer. Add 1/4 cup water if the mixture gets too thick.
• Pour the polenta onto a large board or platter. Serve with grated Parmesan over the top.

Steps:

• Heat a large rondeau (or Dutch oven) with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the lamb with a liberal pinch of salt and cook until brown, about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the carrots, celery and onions in a food processor and pulse to chop finely. With a slotted spoon, remove the browned lamb from the pan and set aside. Add the vegetables to the pan with a large pinch of salt and sweat until translucent and aromatic, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat 1 minute more. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the goodies into the sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by about half. Then add the tomatoes, oregano, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and chile flakes, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the lamb back into the pan and let simmer 20 to 30 minutes longer. While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When you have 10 minutes left for the sauce, drop the pasta into the boiling water and give a stir so it doesn't stick. When the pasta is cooked al dente, remove and set aside 1/2 cup of the pasta water, and then drain the pasta. Stir the pasta into the sauce to coat the noodles. Add the reserved pasta water, Parmesan, butter, olive oil and mint and continue to mix. Once the butter is melted and everything is incorporated, remove from the heat and serve immediately.