Lamb and Goat’s Cheese Ragu 

Ingredients

2 onions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 red peppers, deseeded and diced

2 carrots, peeled and finely diced

400g extra lean diced lamb (I got mine in Sainsbury’s as this is the leanest one I could find)

1 tsp each ground cumin and dried oregano

½ tsp each ground cinnamon and chilli flakes

125ml glass of red wine

2 tbsp tomato puree

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 chicken (or veggie) stock cube made up with 500ml boiling water

1 bay leaf

240g dried pasta of your choice

100g spinach, roughly shredded

240g pasta of your choice, dried

80g goats cheese, roughly torn up/chopped

1 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped

Low calorie cooking spray

Method

1. Take a large saucepan, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and add the onion, garlic, peppers and carrot, frying for around 10 minutes over a medium heat until they start to soften and adding a little water if the pan gets too dry. Remove the veggies from the pan and pop onto a plate to one side.
2. Next, spray the pan with a little more low-calorie cooking spray and add the diced lamb with the cumin, oregano and cinnamon and fry for about 10–12 minutes until browned.
3. Add the veggies back to the pan and then add the wine. Simmer for another few minutes until the alcohol has burned off and the liquid has reduced by half.
4. Add the tomato purée, stir, and then simmer for another 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, stock, bay leaf and chilli flakes.
5. Season to taste, bring to a boil and cover with a lid and then either: Pop in the oven on 150°C (fan) for 2 hours or pop in the slow cooker on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours.
6. The lamb should soften nicely and the sauce will thicken and smell divine.
7. Cook the pasta for the last 10 minutes of the lamb simmering.
8. Once the lamb is nice and soft and the sauce is reduced, remove the bay leaf from the pan and throw in the spinach. Let it wilt for a few minutes.
9. Drain the pasta and toss through the sauce. Top with the roughly torn goat’s cheese and a sprinkle of mint leaves.