Red Wine Braised Lamb Ragu

Costco typically has great options for lamb legs and shoulders. There are few things I love more than lamb braised in red wine. Add some pasta and it's a slam dunk dinner for me. This is a lovely Sunday dinner! 

Lamb:
Bone-In Lamb Leg or Shoulder (~4.5 pounds)
1 bottle red wine
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 yellow onion, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning 
Salt and pepper
 
Ragu:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
2/3 cup celery, finely diced
2/3 cup carrot, finely diced
salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 28oz can tomato sauce 
 
Pasta:
400 grams 00’ flour
4 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup semolina flour (for dusting)

1. Start by braising the meat - low and slow is the goal here. In a crockpot, add lamb leg, onions and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, rubbing the meat well. Pour in bottle of red wine. Cover. 
2. Braise lamb on low heat for 8 hours. Shred lamb leg, discarding onions, garlic, and lamb bone. Add shredded meat back to the red wine lamb broth on the warm setting. Let lamb continue to absorb broth. 
3. In a dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add celery and carrot to pot, stirring to coat with olive oil. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, until soft.
4. Add tomato sauce, stirring. Cook until tomato sauce has absorbed down, about 15 minutes. 
5. Add heavy cream, stirring. Cook until cream is mostly absorbed, about 10 minutes. 
6. Turn heat to a mild simmer. Add in 1 cup of red wine lamb stock from the stock pot. Cook sauce uncovered on a mild simmer for at least an hour. Stir occasionally, adding 1/2 cups of red wine lamb stock at a time as needed as sauce starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. 
7. To make the pasta dough, use a kitchen scale to measure the flour by weight. Create a well of pasta flour on a clean kitchen counter. Whisk together eggs in a small bowl and pour into the well. Use a fork to gradually whisk the flour into the eggs. Dough will come together, crumbly at first, but eventually elastic. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand. 
8. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes to let the gluten develop. 
9. To finish the ragu, add about half of the shredded lamb to the sauce with an additional cup of stock. The rest of the leg of lamb can be frozen for later use. When it comes time to serve, liquid should be mostly absorbed.  
10. Put pasta through an extruder to cut into desired shape or roll out pasta and cut into pappardelle. Toss pasta with semolina flour to prevent sticking. 
11. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in pasta and cook for about 4 minutes. Fresh pasta only takes a few minutes to cook, so monitor closely. Drain pasta and toss with sauce. Enjoy!