Braised Lamb With Tomato And Almonds Recipes

LAMB SHANKS WITH TOMATOES AND FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Mix first 6 ingredients in small bowl; rub all over lamb. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add lamb and sauté until brown, turning with tongs, about 12 minutes; transfer to plate. Reduce heat to medium. Add capocollo and stir 1 minute. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cover and cook until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Mix in garlic; cook 1 minute. Mix in lemon peel strips, bay leaves, and thyme. Add wine and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add tomatoes and broth. Return lamb to pot. Bring to boil; cover and transfer pot to oven.
• Cook lamb until just tender, turning occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove pot from oven. Tilt pot and spoon off fat that rises to top of sauce. Place pot over medium heat and boil uncovered until sauce reduces enough to coat spoon and lamb is very tender, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard lemon peel and bay leaves. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool 30 minutes, chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over low heat before continuing.)
• Mix parsley, grated lemon peel, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in small bowl for gremolata. Transfer lamb to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with gremolata and serve.

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.

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 TOMATOES AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Pat the lamb shanks dry, season them with salt and pepper, and in a large heavy kettle brown them, 3 at a time, in the oil over moderately high heat, transferring them as they are browned to a roasting pan just large enough to hold them in one layer. To the kettle add the onion, cook it over moderate heat, stirring, until it is softened, and stir in the garlic. Cook the mixture for 3 minutes, stir in the tomatoes, the wine, the broth, the dried rosemary, the allspice, and salt and pepper to taste, and bring the sauce to a boil. Ladle the sauce over the lamb shanks. Braise the shanks, covered tightly with foil, in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 1 1/2 hours, or until they are tender, transfer them to a heatproof platter, and keep them warm, covered. Pour the sauce into the kettle, cleaned, and boil it for 10 minutes, or until it is reduced to about 4 cups. The lamb shanks and the sauce may be made 2 days in advance, cooled to room temperature, and both kept in the roasting pan, covered and chilled. Heat the lamb shanks in the sauce in a preheated 350°F. oven until they are hot and transfer the shanks to the heatproof platter. Into the sauce stir 2 teaspoons of the parsley and 2 teaspoons of the fresh rosemary. Divide the shanks among 6 heated plates, spoon the sauce over them, and sprinkle it with the remaining parsley and fresh rosemary.

DENNINGVLEIS (SWEET-AND-SOUR BRAISED LAMB WITH TAMARIND)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Warm the oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot set over medium heat. Season the lamb generously with salt and cook in the oil, in batches as necessary, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the browned lamb to a plate and set it aside. Once all the lamb is browned, add the onion and garlic to the empty pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, tamarind paste, sugar, and water to the pot and stir well to combine. Return the lamb (and whatever juices have collected on the plate) to the pot and stir well to combine. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook until the meat is wonderfully tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Be sure to uncover the pot and give the mixture a stir halfway through the cooking time. Season the lamb to taste with salt and serve hot.

BRAISED LAMB WITH EGG AND LEMON

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Season lamb pieces generously with salt and pepper. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottom soup pot over medium-high heat and brown the lamb lightly on each side. (Do this in batches so as not to crowd the pan.) Remove browned lamb from pan and set aside.
• Lower heat to medium, then add onions and cook until soft, allowing them to brown a bit, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, flour, tomato paste and saffron, if using, and stir to coat the onions. Stir in wine and broth, then bring to a simmer. Add the browned lamb pieces, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf.
• Cover pot and place on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees and cook for an additional hour. The meat should be meltingly tender when pierced with a paring knife or skewer.
• Remove lamb pieces with a slotted spoon. Strain cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, then return lamb pieces and strained liquid to the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cool to room temperature, then cover pot and refrigerate overnight; this makes removing the fat easier and improves the flavor.
• Remove the stew from the fridge and remove congealed fat. Place pot over medium heat and bring to a bare simmer.
• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook fregola until al dente, about 8 to 9 minutes, drain and put into a large serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with olive oil. Keep warm.
• Just before serving, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice together until well combined. Gradually whisk in some of the hot stew liquid to temper the eggs. Turn off the heat under the stew. Pour egg mixture back into the stew, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon. The sauce will thicken very slightly. Taste for seasoning. (Sauce may curdle if it gets too hot. If necessary, keep stew warm over a double boiler.)
• Transfer stew to a serving dish. Mix together parsley, celery heart leaves and lemon zest, and sprinkle abundantly over the stew. Garnish with peeled and halved hard-cooked eggs. Serve with fregola and, if desired, vegetables such as spring carrots, turnips, asparagus or peas.

BRAISED MOROCCAN-STYLE LAMB WITH DRIED PRUNES, ALMONDS AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lay the lamb out, skin side down, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper and the thyme. Roll and tie well with butcher's string. Sprinkle the outside with 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large oven-proof casserole. Add the lamb and brown on all sides. Remove lamb from pot. Add remaining tablespoon oil. Stir in onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining teaspoon cumin, the rosemary and the red wine. Bring to a boil and cook about 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Return the lamb to the pot, cover, place in the oven and bake until meat is almost tender, about 1 hour.
• Remove the casserole from the oven and take out the meat. Remove the vegetables from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them in a blender. Blend until smooth. Scrape the mixture back into the pot and stir well. Place over medium heat and cook about 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Return the meat to the sauce and surround with the almonds, prunes and apricots. Cover and bake until meat is very tender and fruit is soft, about 15 minutes.
• Remove lamb from the pot, cut and remove string and cut lamb into thin slices. If sauce is too thick, thin with a little additional broth. Divide the lamb among 8 plates and spoon some sauce over the top. Serve immediately, passing any remaining sauce separately.