SlowCooked Lamb Ragu with Creamy Polenta Squares

Lamb Ragu Polenta Squares

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Preparation time:45 Mins

Cooking time:03 Hrs

Servings:6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs (900g) boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 2 celery stalks, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry red wine (Merlot or Chianti)
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups good quality beef or lamb stock
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup coarse or medium-grind cornmeal (polenta)
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup heavy cream
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Sear the Lamb: Pat lamb dry, season heavily. Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven; sear lamb in batches until deeply browned on all sides. Remove lamb and set aside.
• Build the Soffritto: Add onions, carrots, and celery to the pot. Sauté gently until softened (about 8–10 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
• Thicken: Sprinkle flour over the vegetables; stir and cook for 1 minute.
• Deglaze & Simmer: Pour in red wine, scraping up any brown bits (fond). Reduce by half. Add crushed tomatoes, stock, rosemary, bay leaf, oregano, salt, and pepper. Return lamb to the pot.
• Cook Low & Slow: Bring to a gentle simmer, cover tightly, and transfer to a 325°F (160°C) oven or keep on the lowest stovetop setting for 3 hours, or until the lamb is utterly fork-tender.
• Finish Ragu: Remove bay leaf and rosemary stem. Shred lamb slightly with two forks if desired. Cool completely before portioning into freezer containers.
• Boil Broth for Polenta: Bring the 4 cups of broth to a boil in a heavy saucepan.
• Whisk in Cornmeal: Slowly whisk in the polenta in a steady stream to prevent lumps.
• Cook Polenta: Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently (every 2-3 minutes), until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan (about 25–35 minutes).
• Enrich and Set: Stir in butter, Parmesan, and heavy cream. Season well. Pour the hot polenta into a parchment-lined 9x13 inch baking dish, spreading to an even ½-inch thickness. Cool, then chill until firm (at least 4 hours).
• Cut Polenta: Once firm, cut the chilled polenta into serving-sized squares or rectangles.
• Reheat (Oven Method): Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Place polenta squares on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Spoon ragu over or alongside the squares. Bake for 25–30 minutes until heated through and the polenta edges are golden and slightly crisp.

Nutrition Facts

Calories	2072 kcal
Protein	18.2 g
Fat	57.4 g
Carbs	80.5 g
Fiber	27.6 g
Sodium	626 mg

Recipe Info

Category	Main Course, Make-Ahead Dinners
Cuisine	Italian

The Weeknight Rescue: Why This Ragu Reigns Supreme for MakeAhead Dinners

We’ve all been there. It’s 6:30 PM, your energy reserves are depleted, and the thought of chopping vegetables feels like scaling Everest. This is precisely the moment when having a collection of brilliant MakeAhead Dinners tucked away in your freezer separates the serene from the stressed.

As an advocate for flavourful, yet practical cooking, I champion meals that improve with age, allowing your Sunday batch cooking session to pay dividends all week long. Our focus today is a recipe engineered for ultimate convenience and supreme flavour: a Slow Cooked Lamb Ragu paired with revolutionary Creamy Polenta Squares.

This isn't just about speed; it’s about delivering a culinary experience that tastes better than the effort expended.

Unveiling the Ultimate Comfort: Lamb Ragu Built for Batch Cooking

This Ragu isn't simply meat simmered in tomatoes; it’s a rustic Italian inspired comfort dish, elevated by the deep, earthy notes of lamb shoulder. Its composition is ideal for Make Ahead Dinners for the Week .

The fat content in the shoulder breaks down over long cooking, lending a silken texture to the sauce, and crucially, the flavour profile only deepens after a night in the refrigerator or several months in the freezer.

The inclusion of sliceable, pre-formed polenta squares transforms this stovetop classic into an easy-to-serve, baked delight, making these Easy Pre Pre-Made Meals genuinely exciting.

Solving the 'Knackered Cook' Dilemma

The beauty of planning meals such as these Make Ahead Dinners for the Weeknight Dinner Prep Ahead is that the active work is front loaded. You dedicate about an hour and a half of focused effort on a weekend, and in return, you gain multiple stress free evenings.

The sheer satisfaction of pulling a substantial, flavourful meal like this Lamb Ragu from the freezer on a Tuesday night when you’re feeling completely knackered cannot be overstated. It immediately elevates the evening from rushed takeaway territory to genuine home cooked satisfaction.

A Sunday Roast Vibe, Ready by Tuesday Night

What we’ve engineered here is the essence of a slow cooked Sunday roast, but streamlined for midweek consumption. The richness from the lamb, the aromatics, and the deep colour imparted by the red wine create a depth of flavour that usually requires hours of passive attention.

When you serve this rich ragu alongside the golden, pan-crisped polenta squares, it feels celebratory, even if the only achievement that day was making it through your email inbox.

This is why it works so well for Weeknight Meal Prep Families —it’s hearty enough for growing appetites.

The Power of Slow Simmering: Deepening the Flavour Profile

The true alchemy in this recipe happens during the 3-hour simmer. We are breaking down tough connective tissues in the lamb shoulder, releasing gelatin that thickens the sauce naturally, ensuring that even when reheated, the ragu maintains a luscious mouthfeel.

This long, slow bath allows the herbs rosemary and bay leaf — to thoroughly infuse the base, creating the complexity necessary for truly superior Make Ahead Dinners Healthy options that don't rely on processed shortcuts.

Sourcing Excellence: Essential Components for Culinary Impact

Great slow cooked meals depend entirely on the quality of the core ingredients. Because the cooking time is extensive, every element must be high quality, as there's little opportunity to mask substandard components later on.

We need robust lamb, wine that you’d actually drink, and firm, flavourful vegetables to form the foundational soffritto .

Selecting the Right Lamb for Richness

For the best results in your Make Ahead Dinners to Freeze , opt for boneless lamb shoulder. While leg of lamb is leaner, the shoulder contains the perfect balance of fat and connective tissue.

When cut into roughly 1 inch cubes, these pieces will sear beautifully, forming a dark crust that locks in flavour, and then dissolve into unctuous submission during the simmering process.

Don’t be afraid of trimming off only the thickest exterior fat; some internal marbling is essential for the sauce's velvety texture.

The Root Vegetables That Define the Sauce Base

The classic soffritto —onion, carrot, and celery — is non-negotiable here. These vegetables, finely diced, melt down over the long cooking period, providing natural sweetness and body to the sauce without ever being overtly detectable as separate entities.

They are the unsung heroes that ensure this ragu remains profoundly savoury, moving it beyond a simple tomato sauce into something worthy of being one of your primary Make Ahead Dinners for the Week .

Polenta Prep: Achieving Perfectly Square Portions

The accompaniment elevates this from a simple stew to an integrated meal. Polenta, cooked thick and enriched with butter, Parmesan, and cream, needs time to set. We pour this mixture into a flat dish lined with parchment paper for easy removal and chill it thoroughly.

This transformation allows us to slice it into neat, manageable squares. These squares, once baked alongside the reheated ragu, develop gloriously crisp, golden edges, perfect for soaking up that rich sauce.

Tool Kit Check: Equipment Needed for Flavour Extraction

While this recipe isn't technically demanding, it relies on the correct vessel to manage heat evenly. You need something sturdy that can handle both a searing blast and a gentle, hours long slumber in a low oven.

A heavy bottomed Dutch oven is your undisputed champion here. Its thick base distributes heat flawlessly, preventing scorching during the searing phase and maintaining a low, even temperature during the long cook.

On top of that,, because we are building flavour sequentially searing, sautéing, deglazing you need a single pot that can handle all these stages without fuss.

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Phase One: Building the Depth of Flavour

The initial steps are all about developing layers. We are pursuing the Maillard reaction aggressively with the lamb, followed by the careful coaxing of flavour from the vegetables.

This is active cooking time, and rushing it is the single biggest mistake when preparing deep flavoured Make Ahead Dinners Healthy meals.

Browning the Lamb: A Critical First Step

Pat your cubed lamb fiercely dry with paper towels; moisture is the enemy of a good sear. Heat your olive oil until shimmering hot in the Dutch oven, then add the lamb in small batches. Do not crowd the pan! Each piece needs direct contact with the hot metal to develop that rich, mahogany brown crust.

Once achieved, remove the lamb and set it aside. This browned surface is the flavour foundation we build everything upon.

Deglazing with Wine: Releasing Hidden Savoury Notes

Once the lamb is removed, the fond —those tantalizing brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot — must be liberated. This is where the red wine enters. Pour in a cup of dry red wine and use a wooden spoon to vigorously scrape up every last speck. Allow this wine to bubble and reduce by half.

This concentrates the acidity and tannin, which brightens the entire ragu structure and provides a complex counterpoint to the richness of the lamb.

Assembling and Freezing the Creamy Polenta Squares

While the ragu simmers, turn your attention to the polenta. Once cooked to a thick, pulling consistency, quickly stir in the butter, Parmesan, and heavy cream this is crucial for texture before spreading it evenly into the lined baking dish. Once cooled and firm, slice it into individual portions.

Layer parchment paper between the squares before stacking them in your freezer bags; this prevents them from fusing into one giant, unusable corn block, ensuring easy retrieval for those busy nights.

Reheating Magic: Warming the Ragu Without Losing Texture

When ready to eat, the frozen ragu thaws beautifully. Place the defrosted or chilled portions into a saucepan over low heat. The goal is gentle warming. If reheating from fully frozen, add a splash of stock or water to prevent scorching the bottom, allowing the heat to permeate slowly.

Aggressive boiling will degrade the texture we worked so hard to achieve during the slow simmer.

The Long Game: Slow Cooking for Tenderness

After incorporating the tomatoes, stock, and herbs (rosemary sprig and bay leaf), the ragu is ready for its long rest. Whether you opt for the 325° F ( 160° C) oven which offers incredibly stable heat — or the lowest possible setting on your stovetop burner, the rule remains: low and slow.

Three hours should render the lamb fork tender, capable of being easily shredded.

The Finishing Touch: Setting Up Your MakeAhead Dinners for Success

Once the lamb yields easily, remove the tough rosemary stem and bay leaf. Give the ragu a final taste check for seasoning. Now is the time to decide on texture: you can leave the lamb chunky, or use two forks to shred it right in the sauce.

Either way, cool the ragu completely before sealing it into containers destined for the freezer. This speeds up the freezing process, which is vital for preserving the best flavour quality in Make Ahead Dinners to Freeze .

Extending the Life of Your Feast: Storage and Freezing Mastery

For long term preservation, ensure your containers are freezer safe and airtight. I advise leaving about an inch of headspace if using rigid containers, as liquids expand when freezing. Label everything clearly with the contents and date.

Stored properly, this ragu is excellent for up to three months, making it a reliable standby for truly chaotic weeks when you need reliable Make Ahead Dinners for Kids that are nutritious and satisfying.

Trending Variations: Making This Ragu Your Own

While the classic lamb ragu is sensational, the beauty of a master sauce recipe lies in its adaptability. These variations allow you to rotate your Make Ahead Dinners for the Week without boredom setting in.

Optimal Freezing Techniques for Best Flavour Preservation

To combat freezer burn, especially important for rich sauces, always aim to press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cooled ragu before sealing the container lid. This minimizes air exposure.

For the polenta, if you are freezing it unbaked, slicing it first and freezing the squares individually on a baking sheet before bagging them keeps them perfectly separated and ready to use.

Nutritional Snapshot: Hearty Fare Made Healthier

By using lean lamb shoulder and leaning heavily on root vegetables, this ragu manages to be incredibly hearty yet surprisingly balanced. The high protein content from the lamb offers excellent satiety, which is key when trying to maintain energy throughout a busy week.

It’s substantial food that supports sustained energy, fitting well into a Make Ahead Dinners Healthy lifestyle without relying on lighter, less satisfying fare.

Chef's Secret: Pairing Suggestions Beyond the Standard Sides

While this ragu is classically served over pappardelle, think outside the box when serving your reheated portions. For a change of pace, try serving the ragu spooned over creamy mashed celeriac, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, use the leftover polenta squares as a base for slow braised short ribs later in the month.

These creative pairings keep your Make Ahead Dinners for Company options feeling fresh.

Quick Fixes: Transforming Leftover Ragu into New Meals

Don't let that leftover ragu languish! A small amount is perfect for transforming into a filling for baked sweet potatoes, or stirred through leftover cooked grains like farro or barley for a quick, textured lunch.

You can even blend a portion of the ragu until smooth, mix it with a touch of cream cheese, and use it as a robust, flavour packed filling for homemade ravioli — a truly luxurious use for your Easy Pre Made Meals stock.