½ lb. pancetta, diced small
1 yellow onion, diced small
2 carrots, peeled and diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. ground Ohio lamb
6 oz. tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons fennel seed
2 tablespoons ground cardamom
1 orange, quartered
coarse salt
1 cup roughly chopped mint leaves
1 ½ cups roughly chopped unsalted pistachios
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
In a large pot over moderate heat, render pancetta slightly with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. (Do not brown.) When pancetta is translucent, about 8 minutes, add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Lower heat and sweat until vegetables are translucent and soft, about 12 minutes. (Do not brown.) Add lamb and cook, working it with a wooden spoon until it loses its pink color, about 12 minutes.
Add tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it turns rust colored, 3 to 5 minutes. Add up to ½ cup water and stir to loosen tomato paste so it doesn't burn. Add wine and simmer 2 minutes, stirring and scraping the pot with the wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of meat. Add milk, fennel seed, cardamom, orange, and 1 tablespoon salt. Stir to combine. Cover and barely simmer over extremely low heat until flavors are well blended, about 1 ½ hours. Skim off fat and discard, remove orange, and season with salt to taste. Stir in mint and pistachios. Add butter and reduce until sauce clings to the back of a spoon.