Greek Inspired Lamb Stew Recipes

GREEK LAMB STEW WITH ORZO PASTA RECIPE (LAMB GIOUVETSI)

Steps:

• To prepare this lamb giouvetsi recipe, start by cutting the lamb into chunks. Wipe the lamb with paper towels. Heat 1/2 of a cup of olive oil into a pan, add the chopped onions and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes in medium-low heat. Turn up the heat and add the lamb; brown the meat on all sides until crusty.
• Stir in the tomato paste and pour in the red wine. Wait for the wine to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, a glass of water, the nay leaf, sugar and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
• Turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for at least 45 minutes.
• In the meantime into another pan heat 3 tbsps of olive oil and the orzo pasta. Sauté, until golden.
• Place the orzo pasta along with the meat and sauce in an oven tray (remove the bay leaf) and mix with a spatula. Cover the tray with some aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven at 180C for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil, add a glass of water if needed, and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with some grated hard yellow cheese (kefalotyri) and enjoy!

GREEK-INSPIRED LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan or casserole (that has a lid) over medium-high heat and brown the lamb pieces all over. Transfer to a bowl. Add onion to pan/casserole, lower heat and cook gently for 5-10min until softened. Add the aubergine and peppers and cook for a further 5min until starting to brown.
• Stir in the garlic, fry for 1min, then return lamb to the pan with the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, stock, olives, oregano, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and some seasoning. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 45min.
• Uncover, stir in courgettes, then re-cover and simmer for a further 30min. Remove the lid and simmer for 15min more, until lamb is tender and sauce has thickened.
• During the final 15min of cooking, bring the bulgur wheat and 400ml (14fl oz) water to the boil in a medium pan and cook over low heat for 10-12min, until water has been absorbed and the bulgur wheat is tender.
• Check seasoning of stew, scatter over feta and dill and serve with bulgur wheat.

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.

YOUVETSI: GREEK LAMB STEW WITH ORZO

Steps:

• Pat the lamb dry and season with kosher salt and black pepper.
• In a large, ceramic braising pan or heavy pan with a lid, heat 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the lamb and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, tossing regularly, until browned. Transfer the lamb to a large plate for now.
• In the same pan, add the onions and garlic. Season with kosher salt. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until softened.
• Return the lamb to the pan. Add the red wine, oregano, paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg and bay leaf. Cook until the wine has reduced by at least ½, then add 1 cup of water and the tomatoes. Break the tomatoes up using a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the lamb is cooked through.
• Stir in the orzo and cover the pan. Let cook for another 20 minutes or until the orzo has cooked through and most of the moister has been absorbed.
• Garnish with parsley and crumbled feta, if you like, before serving.

GREEK LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, add to the pot, and cook until deeply browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Stir in the onions and garlic, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
• Pour the wine into the pot, and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, lamb stock, lemon zest and juice, oregano, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Bring back to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lamb is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the green beans and cook until they are tender, about 20 additional minutes.
• Remove the bay leaf and any bones from the stew. Garnish stew with chopped fresh parsley.