Lamb and Eggplant Casserole

I recently visited my local grocery store to pick up a half-dozen baby eggplants. When the cashier asked what I planned to do with them, I gave her an overview of my Lamb and Eggplant Casserole, a wonderful winter dish I found in a French country cookbook many years ago and revised to my own taste (feel free to do the same). When she asked for the recipe, I told her to check here on Kitchen Excursions, though I had a suspicion I'd never added it. I was right. I've since fixed that.

Cutting up lamb can be tedious. I find it easier to pick up a few leg of lamb steaks, cut them into cubes, and freeze them until I have enough to make this casserole (I do this for any recipe requiring any kind of cubed meat.) I also prefer to use baby eggplant, as it has fewer seeds than the larger eggplant.

As this casserole bakes, the eggplant and onion melt into a delicious gravy/sauce.   I sometimes serve this dish with Roasted Beet Salad with Crème de Cassis Dressing. A wonderful meal for a chilly winter evening!

LAMB and EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

3 lbs. boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and cubed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, more as needed

2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced

3 lbs. eggplant (about 6 baby eggplants) peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 13 oz. can chicken broth

1 bouquet garni (a few stalks of fresh thyme, or ½ tsp. dried thyme,

             6 parsley stems, and 1 bay leaf

TOPPING

About 2 cups of fresh breadcrumbs made from a small loaf of bread,

            such as ciabatta or boule, crust removed

3 large garlic cloves

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

5 Tbs. unsalted butter

5 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
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1.  Preheat oven to 375°.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Sprinkle the pieces of lamb with salt and add to the oil in batches, cooking each batch 5-7 minutes until browned. Transfer lamb to a large ovenproof casserole.

2.  Add the onions to the same frying pan and sauté until tinged with brown, 8-10 minutes. Add onions to lamb in casserole.

3.  Brown the eggplant in batches in the same frying pan with a little salt. Add oil to the pan if the eggplant seems too dry. Add eggplant to lamb and onions.

4.   Pour broth into the casserole and stir meat and vegetables. Add bouquet garni and bake, uncovered, for 1½  hours. Stir 2-3 times while baking. Discard bouquet garni. Add pepper and taste for seasoning. (Casserole can be baked a day or two ahead and chilled. Reheat, covered, in a low oven before proceeding.)

5.   Make the breadcrumb topping by tearing bread in pieces and pulsing in a food processor to make large crumbs. Slice garlic and add to food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add parsley and pulse until everything is finely chopped. Melt butter with oil in a frying pan. Add breadcrumb mixture and stir to evenly coat with butter.

 6.    Preheat broiler. Sprinkle breadcrumb topping over lamb casserole and place on oven rack about 2 inches from heat. Broil until lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. Turn casserole as needed to brown evenly. Serve as soon as possible. Serves 4-6.

Hungarian Cabbage and Noodles

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

I mentioned in a previous post, Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage, my grandmother in-law, Anna, and the little pamphlet of Hungarian recipes she gave to me. Within its pages, I found a clipping with a recipe for Hungarian Cabbage and Noodles. My husband doesn't remember her serving it, so I made it this weekend. His statement on the dish—delectable.

We had the cabbage and noodles as a main course, though I think it would make a nice side dish for a buffet. Here is the slightly tweaked recipe.

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups chopped cabbage
4 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked
1/2 cup sour cream
paprika


1. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove from skillet, and set aside.

2. Stir sugar and salt into bacon drippings in skillet. Add cabbage and toss to coat. Cover and cook over medium heat until cabbage is tender (about ten minutes.)

3. Crumble the bacon and combine with cabbage and cooked noodles then transfer to a 1 ½ quart baking dish with lid. Cover and bake in a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven and uncover. Add dollops of sour cream to the top and sprinkle heavily with paprika. (Use Hungarian paprika if you can.) Cover once more and return to the oven for 5 additional minutes.

2 to 4 servings. Delectable. Enjoy!

Spinach and Beef Lasagna

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

Many years ago, my sister, Lynn, introduced her lasagna recipe to our family. Since then, hardly a family gathering has gone by without one of the Hamilton girls making 'the lasagna'. I added spinach recently at my husband's request. We really like the new recipe…

Ingredients

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup water

8-ounces lasagna noodles (12 noodles), cooked
1 pound part skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup finely ground parmesan cheese

16-ounce part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Pour oil into a frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, brown beef. Drain off excess fat. Stir in garlic, salt, parsley, oregano, basil, sugar, tomato sauce, tomato paste and water. Bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, slice ¾ of mozzarella cheese into 27 pieces and set aside, cube remaining ¼ of mozzarella cheese to mix into ricotta in step 3.

3. Mix ricotta, cubed mozzarella cheese (step 2), egg, spinach, salt and pepper.

Add sauce and repeat layers.

4. Spoon a small amount of sauce into bottom of lasagna pan. Layer 4 noodles, 1/3 ricotta mixture, 1/3 parmesian, 9 slices of mozzarella, sauce. Repeat for 3 layers. Cover pan with aluminum foil.

5. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!!

Turkey Tetrazzini

A "Tetrazzini" is an American casserole named for Italian soprano Luisa Tetrazzini (1871-1940), who lived in the United States in the early twentieth century. Recipes vary, but Tetrazzinis usually include mushrooms, cream, Parmesan cheese, and cooked spaghetti. Chicken, ham, shrimp, and tuna have all lent their names to the dish. This one is a great way to use some of that leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
　

TURKEY TETRAZZINI

8 oz. thin spaghetti,                                4 Tbs. butter
   broken into 3-inch pieces                    3 Tbs. flour
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced              1 13 oz. can chicken broth
1 clove garlic, crushed                            1 cup light cream
1 Tbs. chopped onion                              ½ cup dry white wine or vermouth
2 Tbs. chopped parsley                            Salt and pepper
2 Tbs. olive oil                                          Grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. lemon juice                                     Bread crumbs
3 cups diced cooked turkey

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Cook pasta in 3 quarts boiling salted water for 7 minutes; drain and turn into a buttered shallow baking dish. Sauté mushrooms, garlic, onion and parsley in hot olive oil for 3 minutes; sprinkle with lemon juice. Toss and arrange over noodles. Cover with diced turkey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Heat butter in the same skillet; blend in flour and then the broth, stirring over medium heat until thickened. Reduce heat and gradually blend in cream and wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and pour over turkey. Sprinkle a layer of cheese and bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, until bubbling hot and golden brown. Makes 4 servings.