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Tuesday 25 August 2009

Day 5: Summer lamb and herb stew

Summer lamb and herb stew

recipe: Janine Ratcliffe

Olive Magazine, August 2009

According to the recipe, it should take 2 hours, serve 4, and is classed as 'easy'.


Ingredients

olive oil
4 lamb neck fillets or 600g diced lamb
1 large aubergine, cut into small pieces
1 large onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2tbsp harissa - add more if you like it spicy!
chopped tomatoes, 1x400g tin
300ml lamb stock
large bunch parsley, chopped
1/2 lemon juiced


Method

Heat the oven to 190c. Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a non-stick, lidded casserole. Brown the lamb all over then remove from the pan. Add the aubergine and another tablespoon of oil and cook until browned and softened bit. Scoop out the aubergine then add the onion and garlic and cook until softened.

Add the lamb and aubergine with the harissa, tomatoes and stock. Bring to a simmer then put on a lid and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours until the lamb and aubergine are tender. Stir in the parsley and lemon. Good with new potatoes or rice.

What it should look like...


Original photograph: Lis Parsons

What mine looked like...


The facts:

I used the lamb neck fillets and chopped them into chunky chunks before browning. It was, again, very easy, a case of chopping, frying, adding and cooking. the lamb was beautifully soft after the time given and it definitely served four, well, would have done had I used four fillets not three.

Taste:

This is by far the tastiest of the recipes so far! Absolutely delicious. Like I said, the meat was very tender and soft and had taken on the spicy harissa flavours. If I made it again, I'd add another spoon of this as the recipe suggests as it was 'nicely warming' with just the 2 tbsp. I served it with rice as suggested, but I also made flatbreads: They were a first attempt, and a bit heavy, but went well with the stew as I added coriander seeds which complemented the Moroccan feel to this dish. I lightened it up even more with a dollop of creme fraiche, but I'd have used natural yoghurt had I had any left from making the flatbreads! I served it with a fruity red, as below, but a crisp white would have been just as nice.

Overall, very easy and easily the tastiest yet.

4 comments:

  1. sounds and looks delish, just wish the boyf liked aubergine! bit of a waste just to cook for me :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just catching up with the Olive challenge as I've been away for a few days. I wouldn't usually think of eating stew at this time of year, but this stew looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @anne The aubergine breaks down so much he won't even know it's there if you don't tell him! No identifiable pieces are left! Makes it tasty though...
    @jules Hope you've had a good few days. The stew was really light and fresh, especially with the squeeze of lemon and parsley at the end. Really was good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. just checked in again, the stew looks great! It would work perfectly without the aubergine, you could either substitute a veg like squash and just add a bit later (for the last 45 mins say) or just leave out completely.

    ReplyDelete

Hi,
Would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
Merlotti x

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