Showing posts with label lamb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lamb. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2014
Palm Sunday Dinner of Spring Lamb Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes and Fresh Spinach Gratin
Spring lamb is something I look forward to throughout the long winter months. Fortunately, Spring has arrived and Palm Sunday Dinner is the perfect opportunity to enjoy this richy delicious meal.
We purchased a small, boned lamb roast as we were only serving a few people. Most of family does not enjoy lamb, and since they were off visiting other family members, we took advantage of the situation and prepared a fantastic roast. Actually, my uncle who lives in North Carolina, fixes the most delicious lamb roast, so I consulted with him on the technique. First, I cut little slits directly into the flesh of the roast and studded it with about 7-10 small cloves of garlic. Then, I rubbed the outside of the lamb with a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and olive oil and seasoned it with a combination of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, chopped rosemary and garlic powder. The lamb roast was place on a rack in a shallow backing dish and roasted in a 375 degree oven for 2 hours. After the lamb resting for about 20 minutes, it was sliced thin and was the most tender, flavorful and succulent meat you could imagine!
While the lamb was roasting I cleaned and dried about a dozen medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, cut them in half and placed them in a large mixing bowl. I seasoned the potatoes as I did the lamb, drizzling over balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a spice combination of rosemary, kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder. Aftering stirring well to coat each potato I placed in the baking dish, directly under the lamb so they could absorb the delicious lamb drippings. The potatoes reach the perfect degree of crispy skin and tender flesh in about 45 minutes.
In preparing to make the fresh spinach gratin, I washed, dried and chopped 1 large bag of leafy spinach. Not the baby spinach, but the more mature variety which will hold up better to the cooking process. I preheated a large sauce pot and added 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter as well as 1/2 small chopped onion. They cooked together for about 5 minutes and the onions were translucent. Next, I added 1 minced clove of garlic and allowed those flavors to cook together for another minute or two. To the onion, garlic, olive oil and butter I added 2 tablespoons flour and cooked them together just long enough to remove the raw flour taste, or about 2-3 minutes. The next step is to add about 1 1/2 - 2 cup of milk while wisking the flour mixture to avoid lumps. Bring this to a simmer and let cook for about 5 minutes until thick and creamy. If it gets too thick add a little more milk. Season with salt and pepper, a pinch of cayenne and a smaller pinch of nutmeg. Add the chopped spinach, turn off the heat and stir to combine. Transfer the spinach mixture into a baking dish and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs. Top with a sprinkle of paprika and bake in the same 375 degree oven with the lamb for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and brown. Serve with the sliced lamb and roasted Yukon Gold potatoes for the perfect springtime holiday meal!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Libyan Lamb Casserole with Carrots and Green Olives Tajin Sfinari bil Zaytun طاجن الجزر بالزيتون الأ� ضر على الطريقة اليبية
Tagine in Libya doesnt refer to the distinctive Morrocan cooking vessels, it just means casserole.This colourful Tagine is distinctly North African, its combination of carrots and green olives is popular in the region, and it is similar to an Algerian chicken, preserved lemons and green olives recipe. The Libyan casserole diffrentiates itself from the latter by its unusual mix of flavourings: caraway (which goes really well with the carrots) is dominant, but without overwhelming the lemon, cinnamon, harissa and parsley.
Nowadays a Libyan Tajin is usually made by cooking the meat or chicken in a pot and then adding it to the rest of the ingredients in a pyrex
dish. The traditional method uses an ovenproof clay casserole dish (pictured above) that goes from stove top to oven (they used to be sent to the neighbourhood bakery). A Moroccan Tagine or Dutch oven would also make this a one-pot meal. When I dont have time for slow cooking I use a pressure cooker for the meat in which case this casserole takes about 1 hour cooking time (15 minutes for the lamb and 45 minutes in the oven).
dish. The traditional method uses an ovenproof clay casserole dish (pictured above) that goes from stove top to oven (they used to be sent to the neighbourhood bakery). A Moroccan Tagine or Dutch oven would also make this a one-pot meal. When I dont have time for slow cooking I use a pressure cooker for the meat in which case this casserole takes about 1 hour cooking time (15 minutes for the lamb and 45 minutes in the oven).Ingredients
1 kilo veal or lean lamb (deboned and diced into bitesize pieces)
Bone or 1 litre stock
1 kilo carrots sliced diagonally (more surface to absorb the flavour!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (or ground ginger )
2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
salt and pepper to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Handful good quality pitted green olives
1 heaped teaspoon harissa (homemade or commercial)
1 heaped teaspoon harissa (homemade or commercial
)Before Serving
Olive oil
juice of one lemon
1 cup chopped parsley
Place the onion and spices in the pan with olive oil, and stir on medium heat.
Add the diced lamb or veal
Stirring occasionally until it is evenly browned
Add about one litre water and a bone, or cook in stock. Cover and leave to cook on a medium heat until the meat is just done, at this point the stock should be reduced to about half the amount (concentrated).
Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and place in an ovenproof dish, cover it with the cooking liquid after straining it through a sieve (fine enough to catch the caraway seeds)
Add carrots sliced at an angle to the meat and broth, cover tightly with foil or your ovenproof pot lid, and place in the oven for about 45 minutes at 250 °C.
When the carrots are fork tender the lamb should practically melt in your mouth.
Add a teaspoonful of harissa, and mix it in the sauce. Scatter olives on top and place the Tajin in the oven for about 10 minutes without a cover. When some of the sauce has evaporated and the lamb has browned slightly, remove from the oven. Dont let it dry out!
Add the fresh lemon juice over the Tajin and drizzle generously with olive oil, then garnish with chopped parsley. Eat with with warm Arabic bread to soak up the sauce.
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