Lamb Stew With Pasta Recipes

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.

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!

LAMB STEW WITH PASTA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan cook the lamb and onion in hot oil until the meat is brown.
• Stir water, dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper into the saucepan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 45 minutes or until the meat is nearly tender.
• Stir mushrooms, green beans, carrot, and pasta into meat mixture. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes more or until meat, vegetables, and pasta are tender. Stir in tomato sauce; heat through.

PAPPARDELLE WITH LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper. Toss the lamb with the flour in a large bowl to coat. Heat the oil in a heavy, large pot over medium-high heat. Working in 2 or 3 batches, add the lamb to the pot and cook until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a bowl. Add the garlic to the same pot and sauté over medium heat until tender and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced by half, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the broth, tomatoes with their juice, and tomato paste. Cover partially and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
• While the stew simmers, cook the onions in a medium saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Peel the onions and cut off the root ends. When the stew has cooked for 1 hour, add the onions and carrots. Simmer, uncovered, until the lamb and vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes longer. Season the stew with salt and pepper.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta, stir, and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Drain the pasta and toss with the butter and Parmesan.
• Spoon the stew over the pasta, and top with a sprinkle of chopped parsley.