Italian Lamb Stew Food

LAMB AND RED WINE STEW

Steps:

• Place a medium Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat another 30 seconds. Dry the lamb meat well and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Place the meat in the pot and leave undisturbed for about 4 minutes. When the first side is deeply browned, use tongs to flip the meat. Continue to brown the meat for about 4 minutes on each side until the pieces are evenly browned on all sides, about 20 minutes total. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat to a plate. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and onions. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more. Deglaze with the red wine. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often to reduce slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, thyme, bay leaf and reserved meat. Reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
• Stir in the olives. Partially cover the pot, leaving a small opening, and simmer until the meat is completely tender, about 30 minutes more. Stir in the parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes or crusty bread to sop up the juices.

ITALIAN LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan on a medium - high heat.
• In a bowl, sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper, then add the flour. Using your hands toss the lamb in the flour until evenly coated.
• Add the lamb to the pan and brown in batches to ensure you keep the heat up. This ensures you seal the meat quickly and do not stew it, keeping the juices inches.
• Set the lamb aside on a plate.
• Add the garlic to the same pan and sauté until soft and fragrant (around 3-5 minutes).
• Add wine and red wine vinegar and simmer over medium to high heat until reduced by half.While stirring to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Return the lamb to the pan, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste and beef stock. Stir. Cover partially and simmer on a low heat for about 1 hour until the lamb is getting tender.
• Add the onions, carrots and potatoes to the stew.
• Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and serve. This recipe goes great with slices of garlic bread!

PAOLA DI MAURO'S ROMAN LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Rinse the lamb chunks under cold running water, and pat dry with paper towels.
• In a casserole or roasting pan large enough to hold all pieces of lamb, heat olive oil over medium-high to high heat. When oil is almost smoking, add lamb chunks and brown quickly, turning frequently, for about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Coarsely chop 2 of the garlic cloves; add to lamb as it browns. When all the lamb is browned, add salt and abundant pepper. Sprinkle flour over lamb pieces, and turn them to mix in seasoning and salt. Add wine; as soon as it starts to bubble, cover pan and place in oven to roast, covered, for 30 minutes.
• While lamb is roasting, coarsely chop remaining garlic, and using a mortar and pestle, pound it with chopped rosemary into a coarse paste. Add chopped anchovies, and continue pounding to make a fairly smooth paste. A tablespoon at a time, mix in wine vinegar to make a smooth emulsion.
• When lamb has roasted for 30 minutes, remove from oven, and pour vinegar emulsion over lamb pieces. Turn them to coat well with sauce. Return to oven, uncovered, to roast an additional 30 minutes.
• When lamb is done, with no trace of red in the meat, remove from oven, set aside for 5 minutes, then put lamb on a heated serving platter. Bring pan juices to a boil and cook rapidly for about 45 seconds, or just long enough to reduce juices and thicken them slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour juices over lamb chunks; serve immediately.

ITALIAN STYLE LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• First, you need to roast the capsicums (bell peppers).
• Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) or, alternatively, set grill (broiler) to high temperature.
• Slice capsicums into quarters lengthwise and remove stem, seeds and membrane.
• Coat well with olive oil and place into a roasting tin, skin side up.
• Cook in a hot (200°C) oven or under a hot grill until the skin begins to blacken and bubble.
• Remove and place capsicum pieces into a plastic bag.
• Seal bag and set aside until capsicums are cool.
• When cool, open bag and remove as much peel as possible from capsicums and set aside until needed.
• *Ifthis sounds like too much trouble, you could substitute a bottle (210g approx) of roasted capsicums (drained).
• TO PREPARE THE LAMB SHANKS: Preheat oven to moderate 180C (350F).
• In a large jug, combine beef stock powder, garlic powder, soup mix, red wine, and hot water, mix well.
• Add entire (undrained) contents of the can of peeled tomatoes to the jug, and set aside until needed.
• Heat oil in a large frypan (preferably an ovenproof frypan) or in a dutch oven or similar.
• Add lamb shanks, turn to cover well with oil, then cook on a high heat until brown all over.
• Remove lamb shanks from the pan and set aside.
• Reduce heat in pan, pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil, and add onion, garlic, thyme and tomato paste.
• Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant.
• Now pour the contents of the jug into the pan and stir to mix well.
• Add lamb shanks to the pan, turning to coat well with the sauce.
• Increase heat and bring liquid to the boil.
• When liquid is boiling, cover the pan and transfer it (if ovenproof) to the centre shelf of the pre-heated oven.
• *Ifyour pan is not ovenproof, simply tip the shanks and their sauce into a suitable dish before transferring to the oven.
• Cook shanks, covered, in the oven for 2 hours at 180C (350F).
• After 2 hours, add the capsicums.
• Cover and cook for a further 30 minutes.
• Skim any excess fat from the top of the sauce before serving.
• Before serving, add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
• Serve with steamed rice, cous cous, or mashed potatoes.