Greek Fricassee Of Lamb Recipes

TRADITIONAL LAMB FRICASSéE WITH AVGOLEMONO SAUCE

Steps:

• Trim most of the visible fat from the lamb then cut the meat into 1½" - 2" chunks. Pat down the lamb to remove any excess moisture then brown it on all sides over medium-high heat in the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.
• Add the leeks, onions, and celery to the pot and sauté until the vegetables soften. Add the chicken stock to cover the mixture and season it generously with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 40 minutes.
• Mince the dill, reserving some for garnish. Chop the lettuce and add it to the pot, along with the dill. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or, until the lamb is fork-tender and a small amount of liquid (about a cup or so) remains in the pot. Turn off the heat.
• Prepare the egg-lemon (avgolemono) sauce. In a small bowl whisk the egg whites with the teaspoon of cold water and a little corn flour until very frothy. Whisk in the egg yolks and lemon juice (start with only one lemon if you do not like the acidity of the lemon too much). Temper the avgolemono sauce by slowly adding one ladleful of the hot liquid from the pot to the small bowl with the eggs, while whisking the whole time. Continue with a second ladleful of the hot liquid and whisk again. Now add the avgolemono to the pot and stir gently to incorporate. Shake the pot a few times to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed together.
• If you need to reheat the lamb fricassée before serving, do so very gently, making sure the stew does not come to a boil. Place on a serving platter, topped with the reserved minced dill, a drizzle of olive oil and a few wedges of lemon. Good, crusty bread is a must and a Greek salad on the side is always a good idea.

GREEK FRICASSEE OF LAMB

Steps:

• In a large Dutch Oven, heat the olive oil till smoking and in it brown the pieces of lamb (you may have to do this in 2-3 batches) until golden-brown all over.
• When all the pieces are browned add onion, garlic, water and wine (you could use just water if you wanted to), salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is very tender.
• Add lettuce and dill. You may have to cram it into the pot but it will reduce to practically nothing. Put the lid on the Dutch Oven and cook for 8 minutes. Remove lid, stir carefully not to break up meat and cook another 2 minutes. Turn off heat.
• In a large, heatproof bowl, whisk together eggs, cornstarch, lemon juice and a little salt and pepper to taste (remember, there is more in the pot).
• With a ladle, remove ladlefuls of the cooking liquid the meat and lettuce have cooked in and VERY slowly whisk it into the egg/lemon mixture. Keep doing this until, whisking all the while, until you have incorporated most of your cooking liquid - this tempers the egg-lemon sauce so it won't curdle when added to your lamb.
• Pour all the sauce into the pot, covering the lamb and lettuce. Turn heat up to medium-high and just bring to the boil. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Dinner is ready. Have lots of crusty bread around to sop up the delicious avgolemono sauce.