Braised Lamb With Almonds And Mint Food

BRAISED LAMB WITH TOMATO AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Cut 2 pounds lamb shoulder into 2-inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and brown in a large skillet over medium-high heat; remove.
• To the skillet, add onion, garlic, carrots, olives and cloves; cook until fragrant. Add wine, tomatoes with their juice and browned lamb. When the liquid boils, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Garnish: Chopped toasted almonds and cilantro.

MOROCCAN LAMB WITH APRICOTS, ALMONDS & MINT

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole. Add the lamb and cook over a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until evenly browned, stirring often. Remove the lamb to a plate, using a slotted spoon.
• Stir the onion and garlic into the casserole and cook gently for 5 minutes until softened. Return the lamb to the pot. Add the stock, zest and juice, cinnamon, honey and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for 1 hour.
• Add the apricots and two-thirds of the mint and cook for 30 minutes until the lamb is tender. Stir in the ground almonds to thicken the sauce. Serve with the remaining mint and toasted almonds scattered over the top.

BRAISED LAMB WITH HONEY AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Put oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until quite soft, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and raise heat to medium-high. Add lamb chunks and adjust heat so pieces brown rapidly without burning. Season meat with salt and pepper as it browns.
• Turn off heat and wait for pan to cool a bit; pour off excess fat. Turn heat back to medium and add honey; cook, stirring, until honey has thinned and coated lamb. Stir in garlic, then add spices, reserved onions and the stock. Cover and simmer until meat is tender, an hour or more.
• Meanwhile, put almonds in a skillet, in one layer. Cook over medium heat, shaking skillet, until lightly browned and fragrant.
• Taste meat mixture and adjust seasoning as necessary. Stir in almonds and serve, sprinkled with a few drops of lemon juice and garnished with the parsley

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH MINT AND FLAGEOLETS

Steps:

• Wipe the lamb shanks dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with the garlic, rosemary, mint, thyme and two tablespoons olive oil. Season with pepper and marinate overnight. Rinse and pick over the flageolets. Soak overnight in water.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the remaining olive oil. Dredge lamb shanks in flour and brown them on all sides.
• Remove the lamb and add the onions with the garlic from the marinade. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Add the tomato paste, vinegar, white wine and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and scrape up the cooking juices. Add the lamb shanks, which should fit in one layer, and bake in the oven for two hours, covered or until tender. A large cast-iron casserole is good for this.
• Meanwhile, bring the beans to a boil, drain them and add four cups of fresh cold water. Simmer for about an hour or until cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• When the lamb shanks are cooked, remove them from the sauce. Reduce the sauce so that it is thick enough to coat the shanks without being too soupy. Put the beans on the outer edges of a serving dish and put the shanks in the middle. Top them with the sauce and sprinkle with the fresh mint leaves. Serve immediately.

BRAISED LAMB IN POMEGRANATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Heat oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add all lamb bones and cook until brown, turning often, about 15 minutes. Transfer bones to plate. Season lamb with salt and pepper and dredge thoroughly in flour. Add to pot and cook until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer lamb to plate with bones.
• Add onions and garlic to pot and cook until onions are just golden, scraping up browned bits, about 5 minutes. Return lamb to pot. Arrange bones around lamb. Stir in stock and next 7 ingredients. Bring liquid to boil. Baste top of lamb. Cover; bake until lamb is tender when pierced with long sharp knife, turning once, about 2 hours 15 minutes. Cool; cover and chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove fat from surface of lamb and cooking liquid. Transfer lamb to platter. Remove string from lamb. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange in shallow baking dish.
• Bring pan juices to boil. Remove bones and discard. Strain pan juices, pressing hard on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Melt margarine in same pot over medium heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons flour and stir until mixture begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk in pan juices and boil until sauce is reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over lamb. Cover with foil and bake until lamb is heated through, about 25 minutes. Arrange lamb on platter. Spoon sauce over. Garnish with parsley.

BRAISED LAMB WITH ALMONDS AND MINT

Steps:

• Season lamb with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Working in batches, cook lamb until golden brown on all sides, 7-8 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer browned lamb to a medium bowl and set aside.
• Add onions to same pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened and light golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add wine and reserved browned lamb along with any accumulated juices. Simmer lamb until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato juice, chicken broth, ground cumin, hot paprika, and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lamb is tender and sauce is thickened, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Add chopped carrot and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until carrot is tender and sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in parsley. Transfer braised lamb to a large bowl. Garnish lamb with peas, almonds, and mint.