Lamb Ragout and Polenta

A super cozy meal and a great use for leftover lamb or beef.

Ingredients:

- 4 cups chopped and cooked lamb

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

-  2 carrots, peeled and chopped into ¼ inch disks

- 1 celery stalk, chopped

- 1 clove minced garlic

- ½ teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

- ½ teaspoon finely chopped sage

- 2 cups chopped plum tomatoes, about 8 tomatoes

- 1 cup red wine

- ½ cup canned tomato sauce

- 1 teaspoon salt

- ½ teaspoon sugar

- ½ teaspoon dried oregano

- 1 tablespoon butter at room temperature

- 2 tablespoons flour

- 1 cup store bought polenta mix

- ½ cup grated parmesan

-  4 tablespoons crème fraiche

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add carrots and celery and sauté for 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic, sage and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes.  Pour in the red wine and cook until it is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.   Add chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, sugar and dried oregano.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer over low heat.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add lamb.

In a small bowl, mix butter until a paste is formed.  Whisk the paste into ragout and continue to cook until the sauce thickens, about 4 minutes.

For the polenta, follow the cooking directions on the package.  Once the polenta is fully cooked, fold in parmesan and 2 tablespoons crème fraiche.  Plate ¾ cup of polenta and top with a cup of the ragout.  Top with a dollop of crème fraich and serve.