Lamb

Leftover Lamb Ragu

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion diced finely

1 carrot diced finely

1 stick of celery diced finely

3 cloves garlic crushed or grated

600 g cooked lamb leftovers chopped into bitesize pieces

350 ml passata (or a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)

300 ml lamb stock (from a cube is fine)

3 dried bay leaves (or a couple of sprigs of rosemary or thyme, if you prefer)

250 g pappardelle (or any pasta shape you like)

Directions

Place the olive oil, onion, carrot and celery in a wide saucepan or sauté pan and cook over a gentle heat with a lid on for 5 minutes until softened. Stir occasionally.

Add the garlic and lamb and cook for a further 2 minutes over a low heat.

Add the passata (or chopped tomatoes), lamb stock, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer (with no lid) for 15 minutes until the sauce is nicely thickened.

Meanwhile cook your pasta according to packet instructions and drain, reserving a little cooking water.

When the sauce is ready, toss the pappardelle in the sauce along with a little of the cooking water and serve with parmesan cheese to grate on the top, if you wish.

Mexican lamb wraps with guacamole

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

½ red onion, sliced

1 tsp ground cumin

350 g diced lamb leg

1 tsp smoked paprika

juice of lime

2 garlic cloves crushed

For the Guacamole

½ finely chopped red onion

small bunch of chopped fresh coriander

2 ripe avocados

To Serve

Tortillas

Sour Cream

Directions

Put a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the olive oil, red onion and cumin. Gently fry for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the chunks of lamb leg, paprika, the lime juice and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or so until the lamb is cooked but still a bit pink inside. Set aside to rest while you make the guacamole.

Mash the avocados with the red onion, lime juice and coriander. Taste and season, then serve with the lamb, warm tortillas and dollops of soured cream.

Beautiful lamb shanks (with tomatoes, chillies & garlic)

Ingredients

3 smoked ancho chillies

1 large handful of raisins

285 ml unsweetened apple juice

4 lamb shanks

olive oil

3 red onions

8 cloves of garlic

3 fresh red chillies

1 tsp smoked paprika

3 fresh bay leaves

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

400 g tin of quality plum tomatoes

750 ml organic chicken stock , optional

red wine vinegar

Directions

Preheat your oven to full whack. Put the dried chillies, raisins and apple juice in a bowl, then set aside.

Put the lamb shanks in a roasting tray, then rub all over with oil, sea salt and black pepper. Bang them in the oven for 20 minutes.

As they’re browning, peel and finely chop the onions, peel and finely slice the garlic, then halve and deseed the chillies.

Get a casserole pan that will fit the shanks quite snugly — about 24cm in diameter and 10cm deep. Put it on a medium heat and add a lug of olive oil, the onions, garlic, fresh chilli, smoked paprika, bay leaves and rosemary. Leave to sweat for about 10 minutes.

Once the onions have softened, put the rehydrated chillies and raisins into a food processor or liquidizer, along with any leftover apple juice, then blitz (feel free to sneak in a swig of red wine or bourbon here!) until you’ve got a paste. Stir this into your onions.

Take your shanks out of the oven and turn the temperature down to 140°C/275°F/gas 1.

Add the shanks to the casserole pan along with your tinned tomatoes and stock (if using) or equal amounts of water.

Stir everything together, cover and put in the oven to stew for 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone and the sauce is thick, topping up with water or stock as you go.

Take it out of the oven, have a taste and season with salt and pepper and a dash of vinegar. Serve with steamed greens, mash, flatbreads, or whatever you fancy.

Tips
To give it a kick up the backside, I like to finely chop up a garlic clove and a little fresh chilli, then mash them with a pinch of salt and stir it through before serving for an extra punch.

Braised Lamb Shank

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil divided

46 lamb shanks trimmed of excess fat

1 large white onion diced

6 cloves garlic minced

2 large carrots sliced 1/2-inch thick

1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ cup flour

2 cups beef stock

1 ½ cups red wine like Merlot Pinot Noir, or a Chianti — optional. Substitute with extra stock).

14 oz passata (tomato puree or American tomato sauce)

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 beef bouillon cubes crushed

1 tsp fresh rosemary finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped (divided)

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to season

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

OVEN METHOD:

Wash and pat dry lamb shanks with paper towel.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy based pot over medium-high heat. Sear two shanks in the hot oil until browned on all sides. Repeat with remaining shanks and oil.
Transfer to a plate, tent with foil to keep warm, set aside.

To the pan juices, sauté the carrots and diced onions until softened, (about 3 minutes), then add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Return the shanks back into the pot; season with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper. Sprinkle with flour, toss well and cook for 4-5 minutes to brown the flour.

Add stock, wine, puree, tomato paste, bouillon and herbs. Bring to a simmer on the stove.

Cover, transfer to lower part of the oven and cook for 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat is fall apart tender (adjust the heat so that the liquid simmers very slowly).

Gently transfer the shanks onto a plate; tent to keep warm.

Discard the bay leaves from the sauce and place pot onto stove. Simmer sauce over medium heat until thickened to your desired consistency.
OPTIONAL: skim off any additional fat which rises to the surface.

You should be left with about 3 cups of sauce thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon.
 *If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of stock. If the sauce is too thin, boil it over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until reduced to the right consistency. (See notes about thickening.)

Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper, if desired. Add the shanks back into the pot of sauce.

Garnish with parsley and serve with mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.

To serve the following day, allow the casserole to cool completely, cover and refrigerate. 
The day of serving, remove from refrigerator for at least an hour before reheating. Place over medium-low heat and let simmer gently for about 10 – 15 minutes, basting the shanks and vegetables with the sauce.

Lamb-Feta Burgers with Tzatziki

Ingredients

TZATZIKI:

1 cup grated seedless cucumber

½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tsp garlic paste

½ tsp grated lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp Black pepper

BURGERS:

1 ¼ lbs lean ground lamb

3 oz feta cheese

2 tbsp grated fresh onion

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano leaves

½ tsp garlic paste

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp Black pepper

1 small zucchini

1 yellow summer squash

4 pita breads

4 butter lettuce leaves

4 slice tomato

Directions

Tzatziki: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Burgers: In a large bowl, gently combine lamb, feta, onion, oregano, garlic paste, salt, and pepper; form into 4 (1-inch-thick) patties. Refrigerate burgers.

Prepare an outdoor grill with a medium-hot fire (or heat a stovetop grill pan over medium heat). Lightly coat burgers and squash slices with olive oil cooking spray. Grill burgers 9 minutes, turning once or twice, for medium-rare doneness. Grill squash slices 2 minutes per side, until tender, and pita breads 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly toasted.

To assemble, place lettuce and tomato slices on half of the pitas, then top with a burger, some tzatziki, and grilled squash slices. Top with remaining pita. Serve with extra tzatziki on the side.

Mediterranean Grilled Lamb Kabobs

Ingredients

FOR THE MARINADE

3 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley

2 tbsp fresh marjoram

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 tsp fine sea salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SKEWERS

2 lbs top round lamb, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large red onion, cut into 1 inch chunks

lemon wedges, for garnish

Directions

Combine the marinade ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.

Pat the lamb cubes dry and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Put the lamb and marinade in a glass dish or resealable plastic bag. Toss to evenly coat the meat and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high heat.

Place a cube of lamb on a skewer, followed by the peppers and onions. Repeat until the skewers are filled.

Oil the hot grill pan, then place the skewers on the grill. Cook the lamb to the desired doneness, turning the skewers every 1 to 2 minutes (7 to 8 minutes total for medium doneness).

Best Lamb Stew

Ingredients

1 tbsp Garlic Infused Oil

2 lbs Stewing Lamb Cubed

1 Onion, chopped

2 Carrots, peeled and chopped

½ Parsnip

¼ Cabbage, chopped

Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

¼ cup Tomato Paste

1 tsp Ground cumin

6 cups Low Sodium Beef Broth

1 cup Red Wine

1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

3 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary

2 Bay Leaves

2 lbs Potatoes, chopped

¼ cup Freshly Chopped Parsely

Directions

In large dutch oven on medium heat, heat oil. Add lamb and cook on all sides, sear, 10 mins., work in batches if needed. Transfer to bowl.

In the same pot, cook onion, carrots, celery until soft, 5 mins. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic, tomato paste, cumin, paprika and cook until garlic is fragrant and tomato paste darkens, 2 mins.

Add lamb, broth, wine, worcestershire, rosemary, and bay leaves.

Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer until lamb is tender, 30 mins.

Add potatoes and simmer. Cover until poataties are tender and stew is thickened, about 30 mins.

Remove bay leaves and rosemary and garnish.

Tandoori Leg of Lamb with Fresh Mango Chutney

Ingredients

5 lbs bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

¼ cup lime juice

2 tbsp minced fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, crushed

5 ½ tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp ground coriander

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp ground cardamom

Fresh Mango Chutney

Directions

With a sharp knife, make ¼-inch to ½-inch-deep gashes on all sides of lamb in a crisscross pattern. Place the lamb in a plastic bag. Combine yogurt, lime juice, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour the yogurt mixture over the lamb, turning to cover. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Place the lamb on a lightly oiled rack in a roasting pan. Combine coriander, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the lamb.

Roast the lamb for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and continue roasting until a meat thermometer registers 140°F for medium-rare, 55 to 60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before carving.

Serve Mango Chutney with the lamb.