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.
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.
