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.

Welsh Lamb and Buttermilk Soup

The leek, the national emblem of Wales, plays a delicious part in this soul-warming soup. It’s one of the best in my culinary repertoire, a perfect dish for a cold winter night.

Leeks - Courtesy of Photobucket

Don’t be put off by all the steps. It’s easy if it’s done in parts, the prep work one day, the finish work a day or so later. I prefer to do this in steps for two reasons. Cooling the broth solidifies the fat in the broth, making it easy to remove. And on the day you decide to serve the soup, it’s a cinch to put together. All you’ll need is your favorite crusty bread, or perhaps some Popovers.

Mwynhewch eich bwyd! (Bon appetit!)

WELSH LAMB and BUTTERMILK SOUP

2 lbs. lamb bones
1½-lb. piece of lean leg of lamb
2 leeks, washed and chopped
2 stalks of celery with leaves, washed and chopped
2 small purple turnips, peeled and quartered
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
10 cups water (2 ½ qts.)

4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. flour
2 ½ cups buttermilk
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley

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1. Rinse the bones and meat and place in a soup kettle with the water. Bring slowly to a boil, skimming frequently. After the foam has subsided, add the leeks, celery, turnips, and onions. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. Remove the bones and meat and set them aside. Strain the soup and discard the vegetables. Return the bones to the kettle with the strained broth and simmer till it is reduced to about 5 ½ cups.

2. Transfer broth and meat to separate containers and refrigerate until ready to finish soup.

3. Bring the buttermilk to room temperature. Remove the fat from the broth. Place broth in sauce pot and bring to a simmer. Dice the lamb into bite-sized pieces, trimming off fat and gristle as you go.

4. Melt butter in a soup pot. Stir in the flour and simmer over low heat until golden. Add the buttermilk slowly, stirring constantly until the sauce is thick and smooth. Add the hot lamb broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Adjust the seasonings. Stir in the reserved lamb and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add parsley, and serve. Serves 4-6

Fajoom (Navy Beans and Lamb)

In my first "Kitchen Excursions" post, I mentioned Sandy, my beautiful Syrian mother-in-law, who taught me so much about cooking. Few could match her Syrian food, and learning most of it was "you have to watch someone do it."

Sandy once told me that "When you're going to make Syrian food, you get up in the morning and say, 'today I'm making Syrian food, and that's all I'm going to do all day.'"

Syrian food is great stuff, but spending the whole day cooking anything these days is impractical. Thanks to food processors and the top-notch prepared foods now available, it's also unnecessary.

Fajoom is a great intro to Syrian food. The most tedious chore is cutting up the lamb, and even that isn't bad thanks to the convenience of already boned and butterflied lamb. (You can have a butcher cube the meat for you, but he won't fuss trimming it.) I periodically prepare lamb cubes and almost always have them in the freezer, wrapped in 1-lb. portions and reserved for a number of recipes, from French casseroles to Moroccan stew. And, of course, Syrian food.

Baharat, which Sandy called Syrian allspice, is the Arabic word for spice. Every country in the Arab world has its own blend of baharat. If you're lucky enough to have a Middle Eastern grocer nearby, they will surely have it. If not, you'll find different recipes to make it online. You can also order it online.

FAJOOM

4 Tbs. unsalted butter                         
2-3 garlic cloves, minced                    

1 large onion, minced                          

1 lb. lean cubed leg of lamb
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 14-oz can chicken broth
2 15-oz. cans navy beans
1 tsp. Syrian allspice (Baharat)

Salt and pepper

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Melt the butter in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir for a minute. Add lamb. Brown well, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

In a small saucepan, combine and heat up tomato sauce and chicken broth. Add to skillet and blend with meat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While lamb is simmering, thoroughly rinse and drain beans. (Note: If navy beans aren't available, substitute any small white bean.)

Fold beans and baharat into lamb. Simmer another 5-10 minutes, or until beans are heated through. Serve with bulghur wheat pilaf, rice pilaf, or couscous. (Note: Along with Syrian (pita) bread, plain yogurt (laban) is traditionally served with or on the side of most Syrian dishes. Do try it.) Generously serves 4.

Rack of Lamb with Rosemary Breadcrumbs

Growing up in a "meat and potatoes" house wasn't entirely boring. On Sundays, my mother changed from frying or broiling the meat to roasting it, and instead of mashing the spuds, she baked them in the grease that pooled around a predictable pageant of roasts that rotated from beef to chicken to pork to lamb and back again.

Despite the lack of any seasoning other than salt and pepper, my mother's roast lamb was always a favorite for me, and I never gave a thought to cooking it any other way. Then I married into a family of Syrian descent and learned that lamb could be ground, used as stuffing, kneaded with wheat, braised, cubed, marinated, skewered, or barbecued with spectacular results.

Most ethnic cookbooks offer several outstanding lamb dishes. The following adaptation of an old French recipe is a long-standing favorite among the lamb-a-holics in my family. This dish can be prepared ahead and popped into the oven an hour before serving.

RACK of LAMB with ROSEMARY BREADCRUMBS

2 Racks of Lamb                                      ¼ cup fresh rosemary, chopped
4 Tbs. Olive Oil                                        6-8 garlic cloves, peeled
8 Tbs. Unsalted Butter                             4 cups fresh breadcrumbs
Dijon Mustard                                          Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

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Trim as much fat from lamb as possible. Place lamb on waxed paper. Using a spreading spatula, thinly coat each rack with Dijon mustard. Lightly salt and pepper each rack.

One round loaf of bread (Tuscan or Boule, e.g.,) should give you four cups of breadcrumbs. Cut off the crust and reserve for another use. Tear bread and prepare in food processor, dropping in garlic cloves until well blended.

Melt butter. Place in large mixing bowl with olive oil, parsley, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Empty breadcrumb mixture into bowl and combine well with olive oil mixture. Pat breadcrumb mixture over both racks of lamb, pressing to adhere.

Place lamb in roasting pan lined with foil. Bake at 425° for one half hour. Lower heat to 350° and continue cooking for another half hour for medium well-done. Serves 4.

Lamb Pot Roast with Juniper Berries

Inspired by an Italian recipe, this is one of the best lamb dishes I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy. Try it some afternoon when you know you'll be staying home. You have to allow at least 3½ hours of cooking time, but once you have the meat simmering, there's very little left to do but turn it over once in a while. Well worth the time, I promise!

LAMB POT ROAST with JUNIPER BERRIES

2½-3lbs. half-leg of lamb, bone-in
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1-2 bay leaves
3-4 stalks fresh rosemary
2 Tbs. juniper berries
1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
2 Tbs. soy sauce
Freshly ground pepper
1 14-oz. can beef fat-free broth

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1. Trim fat from the outside of the meat. Place in casserole with all remaining ingredients except beef broth. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 hours, turning meat every 30 minutes.

2. Increase heat to medium. Continue cooking, leaving cover askew, for another 1½ hours, turning meat once. Very little liquid should remain, and the meat should be a rich brown color.

3. Remove lamb to cutting board and cover with foil to keep warm. Add beef broth to pan and increase heat to high, stirring to loosen any vegetables stuck to pan. Boil for 5-10 minutes, then strain into sauce pan. Let sauce sit for a few minutes, skim fat from the top, and serve with sliced meat. Side dish suggestions: Saffron risotto or mashed potatoes, a vegetable and/or salad. Generously serves 2-3.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine (Lamb Stew with Prunes)

If you’re as fussy about trimming the meat as I am, lamb stews can be a lot of work. I like to pick up a boneless butterflied half-leg of lamb, cut it into nicely trimmed cubes (I’ll get about one pound), and freeze it. I’ll repeat the process until I have enough to make something good, like Fajoom, or this Moroccan tagine.

My Aunt Diane served this incredibly delicious stew to my husband and me after one of our coast-to-coast flights to visit her and my uncle in California. I thought I’d pick around the prunes, but one taste and I ate them all. The blend of spices is sublime; none dominate the dish. I’ve fine-tuned the ingredients a tad, but this is essentially Diane’s recipe.

MOROCCAN LAMB TAGINE

(Lamb Stew with Prunes)

¼ cup butter (½ stick)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. powdered saffron (6-0.1g pkgs.)
¼ tsp. turmeric
3 lbs. boneless leg of lamb cut in 1-inch cubes
1 tsp. salt
1½ cups chicken broth
¼ cup minced parsley
2 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 cups pitted prunes (9-oz. pkg.)
2 Tbs. honey
Salt and pepper
Toasted sesame seeds

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1. Bring chicken broth to simmer in a small pan. Heat butter and olive oil in a deep frying pan over low heat. Add cinnamon, ground ginger, saffron and turmeric. Stir mixture well.

2. Add lamb cubes, tossing to coat with spice mixture and 1 tsp. salt. Increase heat to medium low. Cook lamb, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, until lamb is browned well.

3. Add broth, parsley, and cilantro. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in onions. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. (Onions will melt into the sauce.)

5. Stir in prunes and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes. If more sauce is desired, add more chicken broth.

6. Serve tagine alone, with/over Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts, or with rice pilaf. Garnish dish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, if desired. Serves 6.

Irish Whiskey Marinade for Lamb

Barbecue season is here. What can we grill tonight to go with those wonderful warm weather salads we keep in the fridge for quick and easy sides? If you enjoy lamb, try this delicious marinade for barbecued lamb chops, lamb cubes, or butterflied leg of lamb.

IRISH WHISKEY MARINADE for LAMB

½ cup Irish whiskey (I used Jameson's)
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
1 medium shallot, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. fresh thyme or rosemary, or 1 tsp. dried
1 Tbs. fresh oregano, or 1 tsp. dried
Salt and pepper to taste

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Combine marinade ingredients. Reserve ¼ cup of marinade for basting and pour remainder over lamb. Marinate in refrigerator 6-8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Grill lamb to desired doneness, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.

Ground Lamb and Zucchini (Fedicay)

This recipe has a mysterious Arabic name that sounds something like "Fedicay." I can't find it in my Syrian cookbooks, but Sandy, my late mother-in-law, made it often. She delighted me by approving of the personal touches I added, using broth instead of water, mixing in yellow squash for color, and boosting the flavor with a little tomato sauce. I make it a day ahead to allow the fat to cool for easy removal, but if you want to serve it right away, you can easily skim the fat—and there will be some, as that is the nature of even lean ground lamb. But Fedicay is so good!

Serve this soup-like supper with your favorite pilaf and a dollop of yogurt (laban).

GROUND LAMB and ZUCCHINI (FEDICAY)

1½ - 2 lbs. ground lamb                      2-3 medium yellow squashes
1 large onion, finely chopped               3-4 cups chicken broth, boiling
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce                     2 tsps. Syrian allspice (baharat)
2-3 medium zucchinis                          Salt and pepper

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1. Wash squashes well. Slice into half-inch rounds (the thick slicing blade of a food processor is ideal), and reserve. Bring broth to a simmer.

2. Fry lamb and onion in a 6-quart pot. (No oil necessary, the lamb will have enough fat.) Stir until lamb is browned and most of the onion juices have evaporated, 10-12 minutes. Season lamb with salt and pepper.

3. Add tomato sauce to lamb and stir well, cooking for a few minutes to heat through.

4. Lay squash over the lamb. Add enough broth to almost cover the squash. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the squash is steamed tender, about 8-10 minutes (or to desired doneness).

5. Remove pot from heat. Add Syrian allspice to taste. Stir/rough chop squash into lamb. Serve with rice or wheat pilaf and yogurt. Serves 6-8.

Lamb Shanks Braised in Red Wine

Lamb Shank in Red Wine Sauce
with Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf and Broccoli

A satisfying cold weather meal, these braised lamb shanks had my husband's eyes rolling in delight last night. Since it snowed again in New Hampshire today, I thought I'd share the recipe, one I developed after lots of trial and error. This one is a perfect Yum!

LAMB SHANKS BRAISED in RED WINE

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil                1 cup chicken broth

4 14 to16-oz. lamb shanks,                1 cup beef broth

      trimmed of fat                              Fresh rosemary and thyme

2 carrots, peeled and chopped             (Substitute 2 tsps. dried thyme,

2 celery sticks, chopped                          but use fresh rosemary)     

1 large onion, chopped                        2 Bay leaves

3-5 fat garlic cloves, chopped             3 tsps. corn starch

2¼ cups dry red wine                         Fresh parsley for garnish

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1. Preheat oven to 375°. Heat oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Working in two batches, add lamb to skillet and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer lamb to roasting pan. If using fresh herbs, strew around lamb shanks with Bay leaves.

2. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic to skillet. Sauté until light brown, about 8 minutes. Add 2 cups wine. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits, about 2 minutes. Add both broths and dried thyme, if using. Return sauce to a boil and carefully pour over lamb shanks. Place roasting pan, covered, in oven. After ½ hour, reduce heat to 325°. Cook until lamb is tender, stirring occasionally and turning lamb once, about 1 hour more.

3. Transfer lamb to platter. Tent with foil to keep warm. Strain and defat cooking liquid. Mix ¼ cup wine with cornstarch until smooth. Whisk into cooking liquid and simmer until slightly thickened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper and spoon over lamb as desired. Garnish with parsley. Serves 4.

Lamb and Barley Soup

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

In celebration of Robert Burns' birthday, the famous Scottish poet, I thought I would share this thick and hearty Scottish inspired soup. Soups are wonderful comfort food especially appreciated on chilly winter evenings.

This recipe begins with the preparation of roux, a paste like thickener.

Ingredients:

1 pound medium barley
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons flour
43 ounces fat free, sodium reduced, chicken broth
1 pound ground lamb
2 medium carrots, finely diced
1 medium turnip, finely diced
3 stalks celery
3/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Cook barley according to package directions and set aside.

2. In a large soup pot, sauté onion in oil over medium-high heat until limp. Reduce to low-medium heat and add garlic and flour to make roux, stirring often for about 10 minutes.

3. Add chicken broth to roux and blend, then bring to a boil. Add lamb and cook for about 15 minutes.

4. Add pre-cooked barley, carrots, turnips, celery, milk, basil and pepper and simmer until vegetables are tender.

This recipe freezes well. Add a small amount of chicken broth when reheating to thin soup.