Lamb Stew Yucatán Style Food

LAMB STEW RECIPE

Steps:

• In a 5Qt dutch oven, saute chopped bacon over medium heat until browned and fat released. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a large plate.
• While bacon cooks, season lamb pieces with 1/2 Tbsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup flour and toss to coat. Cook lamb in 2 batches in hot bacon grease over medium heat until browned (3-4 min per side) then transfer to the plate with bacon.
• Add diced onion and sauté 2 min. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/2 cups wine, scraping the bottom to deglaze. Add sliced mushrooms, bring to simmer then cook uncovered 10 min. Preheat Oven to 325˚F.
• Return bacon and lamb to pot and add 4 cups broth, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp dried thyme and 2 bay leaves. Stir in potatoes and carrots, making sure potatoes are mostly submerged in liquid. Bring to a boil then COVER and carefully transfer to preheated oven at 325˚F for 1 hr and 45 min. When done, potatoes and lamb will be very tender.**

LAMB STEW WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the canola oil in a medium (10- to 11-inch) ovenproof pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes, until browned. Transfer the bacon to a large plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Dry the lamb with paper towels and toss it in a bowl first with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and then with the 1/4 cup of flour. Raise the heat to medium high and cook half the lamb in the bacon fat for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned. Add the lamb to the plate with the bacon and brown the second batch, also transferring it to the plate. Add the garlic to the pot and cook for one minute.
• Pour the lamb and bacon, along with any juices that collect, back into the pot. Add the beef stock, wine, tomatoes (including the juice), thyme, rosemary, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits in the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes, cover and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, onions and turnips, cover and return to the oven for 1 hour, until all the vegetables are tender.
• Mash the 2 tablespoons of flour with the butter in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the stew and simmer on top of the stove for 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the peas and parsley, season to taste and serve hot in large shallow bowls.

LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Heat a large Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to fill the pan about 1/4-inch deep. Spread flour out on a plate or piece of waxed paper. Season half the lamb with 1 teaspoon of the salt and some pepper. Dredge in the flour and shake off the excess. Cook, uncovered, stirring only occasionally, until well browned, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lamb to a plate. Repeat with the remaining lamb. Discard the oil and wipe out the pan.
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Return the pot to the stove and melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Return the lamb to the pot and add the water or broth, and bring to a simmer. Using a piece of kitchen twine, tie together the parsley, thyme, and bay leaves and add the bundle to the pot. Stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Cover and transfer to the oven. Stew the meat until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Skim the fat from the cooking liquid with a ladle. Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, and the tomatoes, and bring to a simmer. Cook the stew, uncovered, on top of the stove until the liquid has thickened and the vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Stir in the vinegar. Divide among bowls and serve immediately.

TRADITIONAL LAMB STEW

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, brown meat in 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon; set aside. Add the onions, carrots and remaining oil to pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes, broth, salt, pepper and lamb; bring to a boil. , Remove from the heat. Cover and bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender., With a slotted spoon, remove meat and vegetables to a large bowl; set aside and keep warm. Pour pan juices into another bowl; set aside. , In the Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in pan juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the parsley, chives, thyme, and meat and vegetables; heat through.

OLD-FASHIONED LAMB STEW

Steps:

• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour, salt and pepper; add lamb, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a Dutch oven, brown the lamb in oil; drain. Add tomatoes, onion, parsley, rosemary and garlic powder. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. , Add carrots and potatoes; cover and cook 1 hour longer or until the meat is tender. Add peas and mushrooms; heat through. Thicken if desired.

MEDITERRANEAN STYLE LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Separately cooked white beans and braised fennel and 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil.
• Blue print stew technique: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Coat the meat with flour and shake off excess. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole. Brown the meat, in batches, until browned on all sides. Remove browned meat to a plate. Add seasoning vegetables to remaining oil in casserole, cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until totally tender. Return browned meat to seasoning vegetables with juices that have collected on the plate. Add optional tomato ingredients, bouquet garni and liquid. Season lightly with salt, bring to a simmer, cover and set in oven to cook for about 1 1/2 hours or longer or until meat is fork tender. Remove casserole from oven, remove meat and keep warm, degrease the liquid. Either puree the solids into the liquid to form a thick sauce, or strain the solids out and reduce the sauce until intensely flavored. Add any additional seasoning ingredient (like barbecue sauce) and fresh herbs at last minute. To cook the vegetable garnish, either cook it in the stew liquid before you puree or reduce it, then return the meat to the liquid to rewarm it. Or cook the garnishes separately.

SPANISH-STYLE LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Warm oil in a large heavy-bottom pot with a lid or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, sprinkle lamb generously with salt and pepper and cook in batches to avoid overcrowding, turning once or twice, until each piece is well browned all over, about 15 minutes total. Transfer pieces to a plate as they brown.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat and add onions, bell pepper, garlic and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions and peppers are softened, about 5 minutes. Add pimentón and stir for a minute. Stir in tomatoes, breaking them into bite-size pieces and scraping browned bits from the pot. Add wine, chicken stock, vinegar and bay leaves and bring just to a boil.
• Return lamb to pot and reduce heat so mixture is bubbling very gently. Partly cover pot and cook, stirring every 20 minutes or so, until lamb is very tender, about 2 hours. Discard bay leaves. Stir in beans and cook another 10 minutes to heat them through. Stir in parsley and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

LAMB STEW WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the canola oil in a medium (10- to 11-inch) ovenproof pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes, until browned. Transfer the bacon to a large plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Dry the lamb with paper towels and toss it in a bowl first with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper, and then with the 1/4 cup of flour. Raise the heat to medium high and cook half the lamb in the bacon fat for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned. Add the lamb to the plate with the bacon and brown the second batch, also transferring it to the plate. Add the garlic to the pot and cook for one minute.
• Pour the lamb and bacon, along with any juices that collect, back into the pot. Add the beef stock, wine, tomatoes (including the juice), thyme, rosemary, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits in the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes, cover, and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, onions, and turnips, cover, and return to the oven for 1 hour, until all the vegetables are tender.
• Mash the 2 tablespoons of flour with the butter in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the stew, and simmer on top of the stove for 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the peas and parsley, season to taste, and serve hot in large shallow bowls.

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.

MAKE-AHEAD MOROCCAN LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Combine cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, curry powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the ground lamb. For most flavorful results, allow mixture to rest, refrigerated, overnight.
• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion in the butter until soft and just beginning to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Mix the spiced lamb mixture to the onions. Cook and stir until meat is browned, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the beef broth, chicken broth, and consomme into the pot. Stir in the tomatoes, honey, carrots, sweet potatoes, garbanzo beans, dried apricots and lentils. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low.
• Simmer stew for 30 minutes or until the vegetables and lentils are cooked and tender. Season with black pepper to taste.

EASY LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Add the meat in batches and brown over a high heat for 5 mins, then lift onto a plate. Tip in the onions and carrots, and cook for 8-10 mins until starting to colour. Scatter over the flour and stir for a few minutes, then stir in the tomato purée and cook for a few minutes more. Tip the meat and any resting juices back into the dish and stir well. Pour over the stock, tuck in the herbs and season well. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat.
• Cover with a lid and put in the oven for about 2 hrs 30 mins until the meat is tender. Once cooled, the stew can be chilled and frozen for up to three months - defrost completely before reheating on the hob for 5 mins over a medium heat, until piping hot. Leave to settle for a minute or two, then serve with mash and greens.

MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE LAMB STEW

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender process the tomatoes with juice until smooth; set aside.
• Place the currants in a heat-proof bowl; cover with very hot water and set aside while browning the lamb.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven.
• Season the lamb with salt and ground black pepper; add to the oil and brown on both sides; remove the lamb to a plate or bowl.
• Add in onions and cook stirring for about 5 minutes adding in the garlic and red chili flakes the last 2 minutes of cooking.
• Add in tomato paste and bay leaf; cook stirring for 1 minute.
• Return the lamb with all the juices that have accumulated in the bowl back to the pot.
• Drain the water from the currants.
• Add in the pureed tomatoes, currants and all remaining ingredients except the salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil stirring over medium heat.
• Reduce heat to very low and simmer uncovered for about 1-1/2 hours or until the lamb is tender.
• About halfway through cooking season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.
• Just before serving remove and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaf (if you are making this a day in advance refrigerate with the cinnamon stick and bay leaf left in).