Greek Lamb Casserole With Feta Food

GREEK LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Into the largest saucepan or casserole you have that will go into the oven, pour 3 tablespoons of the oil. Brown the meat in batches over high heat and remove with a slotted spoon to a plate nearby. You may need more oil as you do this. The onions will certainly need it, so pour the remaining oil or add more, add the onions, sprinkling a little salt over them and cook then until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, celery, thyme, and oregano. After a couple of minutes or so, when the smell of garlic wafts up, remove half the mixture. Add the meat to the mixture in the pan, cover with the remaining half, add the bay leaves, carrots, tomatoes, stock and wine. I use a big but flattish casserole and this amount of liquid covers the meat, but if you find you need more liquid, add water- you want a lot of liquid, because you will, eventually, be cooking some pasta in it. Bring to a boil, remove scum, and let bubble for about 3 minutes. Then cover, transfer to the oven, and bake for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or cook on a very low heat. The meat should be tender and yielding. Remove the carrots (and eat, cook's treat) and bay leaves, too, if you want, and season, to taste, with the salt and pepper.
• Of course you can proceed to the final stage now, but I am presuming you're not going to. In which case, let the stew cool and keep it in the refrigerator until you want it. Skim the fat off the top, and do remember to take it out of the refrigerator a good 1 to 2 hours before you cook it again. You can reheat this in the oven, but because the pasta will be put in on the stove, I tend to heat it there. Make sure the stew is piping hot. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. When it boils, add the salt and then pasta. Cook this until it's nearly but not quite cooked; it should have a couple of minutes still to go.
• Then drain the pasta and add it quickly to the bubbling juices in the casserole, making sure first that there are enough bubbling juices. You don't want the meat to be drowned, but you want enough for the pasta to be covered. The pasta will absorb some of the liquid as it finishes cooking, of course.
• In a couple of minutes, the pasta should be cooked. Crumble some feta and put in a bowl with the chopped parsley, oregano, or basil. Stir to combine and then leave the spoon with it, so that people can sprinkle the herb-spiked cheese over the stew as they wish. Ladle the stew into shallow soup bowls.

GREEK LAMB STEW WITH FETA

Steps:

• Trim fat from lamb and cut into 1 inch cubes.
• In a shallow dutch oven, heat oil over med high heat, then brown lamb in batches and add to slow cooker.
• Drain fat from dutch oven, then add onions, garlic, rind, salt, allspice and cinnamon, frying over med heat, stirring occasionally until onions are softened (about 5 minutes).
• Sprinkle with flour - cook stirring, for 1 minute. Add beef stock & tomato paste, then bring to a boil and stir and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour into slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours or on high for 4 - 5 hours, until the lamb is tender.
• Stir in artichokes, then cover and cook for 15 minutes to heat through. Serve sprinkled with feta and parsley!

GREEK LAMB CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Add the onion and garlic; cook stirring frequently until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add the eggplant and water; cook stirring frequently until eggplant is tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the cubed lamb and cook until longer pink, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the tomatoes, 1/2 cup of mint, 1/2 cup of dill, salt and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes or until lamb is tender.
• While the lamb mixture is cooking, cook orzo according to package directions, drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, flour and egg whites.
• Stir the drained orzo into lamb mixture, spoon mixture into an 11 x 7 inch baking dish.
• Cover and bake 10 minutes; uncover spoon yogurt mixture on top, return to oven and bake until casserole is bubbly, about 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mint and 1/4 cup dill on top of dish and serve.

GREEK LAMB STEW WITH FETA

Steps:

• Place flour in a snap-log bag, add lamb and shake to coat.
• Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, preferably non-stick, over a medium heat, and add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes; increase the heat to medium high and add the lamb and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes or until browned.
• Add the stock and the wine and bring to the boil; reduce the heat to low; cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for one hour.
• Add zucchini and cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the lamb is tender and the gravy has thickened; season to taste with pepper and salt.
• Combine the mint, olives and feta and sprinkle over the stew.
• Serve with the pasta.

KLEFTIKO-STYLE LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Put the lamb shanks in a large bowl with the garlic, rosemary, thyme, dried oregano, cinnamon, bay leaves, lemon juice (drop in the juiced halves as well), and olive oil. Season well, then toss everything together. If you have time, chill overnight.
• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/ gas 5. Tip the potatoes and peppers into a large roasting tin, then pour over the wine. Remove the lamb from the marinade and set aside, then pour the leftover marinade over the veg. Toss to combine, then arrange the lamb on top of the veg. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 2 hrs 30 mins. Remove the lamb from the tin, turn all the veg over, then turn the lamb over and return to the tin on top of the veg. Drizzle over a little more oil, if the tin seems dry. Bake for 30 mins more, uncovered, until the lamb is falling off the bone and the potatoes are golden around the edges. Leave to rest for 5 mins, then scatter over the feta and fresh oregano, if using.

SPICY LAMB & FETA SKEWERS WITH GREEK BROWN RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Soak 12 wooden skewers in water for 30 mins. Cook the rice following pack instructions, then rinse under cold water and drain thoroughly.
• Heat the grill. Mix the mince with the harissa, feta, grated onion and seasoning. Form into 12 sausage shapes and thread onto the skewers. Lay on a non-stick baking tray and grill for 6-8 mins, turning until cooked through and slightly browned.
• Mix the brown rice with the remaining ingredients and some seasoning. Serve alongside the hot skewers.

GREEK LAMB CASSEROLE WITH FETA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F Heat the oil in a large casserole, add the lamb in batches and brown off well. Set the lamb aside.
• Return the pan to the heat and add the onions, carrots and celery. Cover and cook for 10 mins until the vegetables are starting to soften. Then add the garlic and cinnamon and cook for a further 2 minutes
• Add rosemary, tomatoes, white wine and season well with sea salt and black pepper. Cover and cook in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hrs, until the lamb is tender.
• Stir in the olives and mint and crumble over the feta cheese to serve.