Lamb ragu papardelle

1. Heat the oven to 140C/120C fan. Rub the meat with 1tbsp of the oil and season well. Put any cooking vessel that the meat fits in, on the hob and brown the meat on all sides. Roughly chop the onion and put in the bottom of a roasting tin then add the garlic and thyme. Sit the meat on top and pour the red wine or stock into the bottom of the tin. Seal tightly with foil and roast for 4 hours if using lamb and 5 hours if using hogget, checking halfway through and if the pan is drying out, add some more liquid.
   
   
2. 45 minutes before the meat finishes cooking, put the tomatoes in a large saucepan with the rest of the wine, the lemon zest, vinegar, sugar, umami paste, oregano and basil and season well. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 45 minutes until well reduced.
   
   
3. Once the meat has cooked carefully remove from the pan onto a plate and set aside. Skim the fat from the pan and pour the juices, onion and garlic into the tomatoes. Use a stick blender to blitz the sauce until smooth and check the seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar as needed. Bring back to a simmer and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce is thick.
   
   
4. While the sauce is cooking, shred the meat from the bones, with 2 forks, discarding all fatty bits. Stir the meat into the sauce and keep on a low heat while you cook the pasta, according to the pack instructions. If the sauce is getting a bit too thick add a little of the pasta water to loosen.
   
   
5. Once the pasta is al dente, drain and tip into the ragu, stirring carefully but well to ensure all the pasta is coated with sauce. To serve, put a handful of rocket on each plate and dress with oil and salt, top with the pasta and ragu and some shaved parmesan.
   
   

Note: You can cook the lamb to the end of step 1 a day or two ahead and keep the meat in a sealed container in the fridge until you make the sauce. You can also portion the ragu up and freeze for future use.