LAMB AND RED PEPPER RAGOUT

LAMB AND RED PEPPER RAGOUT

Serves 6

(This is a variation of a Geoffrey Smeddle recipe).

Syn Free

8 plum tomatoes - could use tinned, if you didn't want to blanch and peel the fresh ones but, don't forget to drain off the juices. Haven't tried it with tinned but presume it'd work. 
1 kg lean, diced lamb - leg or shoulder, preferably
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. thyme leaves, chopped
2 tsp. rosemary leaves, chopped
2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
725ml chicken stock
500g penne pasta

If using fresh plum tomatoes, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the tomatoes for 10 seconds, then lift them out and put into a bowl of iced water. Leave to cool for a while, then remove from the water and peel off the skins. Chop the flesh but throw away the seeds and set aside the chopped tomato.
Sprinkle the lamb with a teaspoon of salt.
Spray a pan well with Frylight and place over a medium heat. Fry the lamb until browned all over, probably in batches. Put the browned lamb to one side on a plate.
Re-spray the pan and fry the onions and garlic, with a pinch of salt, until soft.
Once soft, add the herbs, paprika and peppers and fry for 5 minutes.
Pour in 100ml of stock and bring to the boil.
Once boiling, stir in the tomatoes and lamb, along with any juices from the lamb.
Season with pepper and pour in the rest of the stock.
Bring to a simmer, turn down the heat and leave to simmer gently for about an hour or until the lamb is tender.
Ten minutes before the ragout is ready, cook the pasta according to pack instructions, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick together.
Drain and rinse the pasta with boiling water and add to the ragout, stirring gently to combine.
Serve on warmed plates.