Have you ever cooked a goat's neck? Plus, sweet potato & pea ragu

This is a story of a girl, a goat's neck and a sweet potato ragu.

Let's start from the beginning.

In April, I was contacted by Bonnie Benwick of Washington Post to see if I'd be able to take a few photos of Mike Isabella's Pepperoni Sauce for the Food Section's blog. How often does Washington Post contact you? In my case, the answer is not so often, so I happily accepted the assignment.

Bonnie came over to my condo with the pepperoni sauce, chicken, some pea shoots for the photo shoot and a neck of goat for me to keep as a thank you.

The goat's neck has been sitting in my freezer for months; finally, last weekend I decided to do something with it.

There were two camps of thought: the first suggested I braise the neck of goat until it became tender, the second suggested I roast it and add it to a ragu.

I decided to go with roasting as I thought it'd be faster.

But wait! I'm the girl who doesn't buy whole chickens, unless Robyn Webb asks me to roast one; I am also not a fan of bones and skin in fish...did I really have any business dealing with a neck of a goat!?

Here's the goat's neck in question:

After defrosting the goat's neck, I seasoned it with salt and pepper and browned it on all sides in some oil (about 5 minutes per side). I then added about half a cup of red wine, covered my Le Creuset and put it in the 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.

I was under the impression that I'd be able to remove some of the meat, but I was mistaken. It looked beyond gross. I just could not stomach it. And I did not feel like fixing the situation.

So...
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I threw it out.

I can hear many of you gasping.

Instead, I made a sweet potato & pea ragu. This ragu was supposed to have the meat from the goat's neck originally, but since it ended in the garbage, it turned out to be 100% vegetarian. Hope you still like it!

Sweet Potato & Pea Ragu
Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
salt & pepper
4 carrots, peeled and diced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon paprika
1 cup water
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted

garnish: sour cream and chopped parsley

Directions
1. Heat a heavy-bottomed pan. Add olive oil and allow it to heat up a bit. Add onions and saute for five minutes.
2. Add garlic and celery, season with salt and pepper and saute for three minutes.
3. Add carrots, sweet potatoes and paprika and saute for three minutes.
4. Add a cup of water, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook covered for about 15 minutes.
5. Add the peas and cook uncovered for five more minutes.
5. Make sure potatoes are cooked through, adjust the seasoning and serve with sour cream and parsley.

Do you guys think I'm a failure for not being able to cook goat's neck? What would have you done?

Have a marvelous weekend!