Connemara Lamb with a Lebanese theme

Lebanese Lamb casserole

with sesame lemon cous-cous and parsnip fennel puree

This recipe is based on Lebanese cuisine so the combination of herbs and spices makes this casserole spicy but not hot. To make it hot, add 1/2 tsp of Harissa paste or some chili's.
It's a great way to prepare the cheaper, tougher but more flavoursome cuts of lamb like shoulder.
Its a deliciously warming, spicy one-pot dish that's easy to prepare - great winter food.

Lebanese cuisine has a lot of fruits, vegetables and seafood.
When they use red meat it is usually lamb on the coast and goat meat in the mountain's.
It also includes lots of garlic and olive oil, often seasoned by lemon juice, butter and cream are rarely used.

Lebanese food concentrates on herbs and spices more than sauces, but the combinations they use are fantastic.

You can use stock cubes for this meal, but I don't see the point in this when you are trimming the chops anyway. The home made stock can be used for more than one meal, so as a gardener and cook you get great value for money and delicious winter soups.

INGREDIENTS

400g lamb shoulder chops, boned and trimmed - the bones and trimmings are retained.
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large onion, sliced
1 leek, sliced
2 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tbsp oregano,
400g skinned, de-seeded chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
500ml lamb stock
Salt
black pepper

METHOD

FOR THE STOCK

Take the bones and trimmed off fat, add to a pot with a little olive oil and brown them.
Add the leek offcuts, tomato peels and seeds, coat them in the rendered fat and add 1 litre of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes - strain off 500ml for the casserole.

When this is done, retain the bones etc. add a 1.5 litres and leave the stockpot on the stove if you have one - it creates a lovely base for soups, lamb stock is particularly good with lentil, pumpkin and parsnip soups.
A stock pot is a great idea, just add any veg trimmings you have - for example, I did this dish with squash, so I added the seeds to the stock. On another I used parsnip and fennel, trimmings were added.

A handy idea if you have space is to freeze stock in lunch boxes or old ice cream containers for use in the future.

FOR THE CASSEROLE
Toss the lamb in a mix flour and spices (ground coriander, turmeric & cayenne) just like with the Hungarian style liver


Fry the lamb gently for 2-3 minutes or until brown. Add the garlic, onion, oregano and leek 
Cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft.

Place in the casserole dish. Add remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover and place in a preheated oven 170°C for 2 hours or until tender.
Or, alternatively, cook very gently on the hob in a heavy based pot on the lowest heat for 2 hours or until tender.
 
As an oven dish, it can be served with baked potato's to save on energy, but I really like it with rice or cous cous.

Served with corriander rice and squash

 

Connemara Lambs Liver with wild Irish mushrooms a la mode Mygar

This is a liver dish, but please do not be put off by that. Many kids and even adults have an aversion to it, perhaps because of its texture, colour or presentation at the butchers - but it is the same stuff which the same people will pay a lot of money for in it's processed form - pate.


The other reason may well be that the only liver people in Ireland have had was an over cooked, dried out attempt at liver and onions.


Liver is probably one of the most economic and yet undervalued cuts.
It is filling, versatile and being packed with Iron it is particularly beneficial in the diet of teenage girls who may have some degree of anemia. But this is a way of serving it that most people enjoy.

In keeping with the previous post on onions, I had planned to do a staple - liver and onions - but this is just a little more exotic.

This recipe is basically Hungarian, with a few little alterations from myself, its tasty, filling, attractive and very economical. True to its eastern European origins its heavy on paprika and peppers.
To give it an Irish twist I used a little barley flour and some wild mushrooms - but this is entirely optional.

The wild mushrooms are in a way not only Irish but a nod to eastern Europe - Poland in particular.
This is the time of year that Polish friends of mine tend to become as maudlin as Russians.
With their continental climate, they normally have a long, dry September/October period.

What gets them down is the rain we get here - in particular at this time of year. They call this period of time the Golden Autumn - where it is virtually a national obsession to go into the forests and pick mushrooms.

Other European cultures have a strong interest and knowledge of wild mushrooms, we Irish have a fear of being poisoned - with some justification.
On mainland Europe children are taught how to identify and collect wild mushrooms at an early age.
But we are taught that if it is not a field mushroom then it should be avoided at all costs.

If you want to learn about mushroom hunting in Ireland then its worth contacting Bill O'Dea who has been holds annual mushroom hunts. He also organizes the occasional trip outside Ireland.
For details go to http://www.mushroomstuff.com/
If you don't know your mushrooms, then shop bought ones are a safe option.

Normally served with a veg risotto rice, I just went with some small herbed potato's.

This meal serves 2

INGREDIENTS
300 gm Liver - chopped (lamb is the most subtle flavoured)
100 ml cream
1/2 small leek, finely sliced
1 Bell pepper, red, diced
3 heaped tablespoons flour
3 teaspoons Paprika
2 teaspoons barley flour
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
Optional
150 gm Sliced Mushrooms
1/2 finely chopped red chili.

Allow 30 minutes for small spuds, so get them down in some salted water.

Take the flour, Paprika, salt and pepper. Put into a clean plastic bag and mix well.
Add the chopped liver and coat it well with the mix. This is the method I use for coating any meat or veg with seasoned flour.

Fry the leeks, garlic and chili gently in some butter until they are soft.
Add the coated liver and cook through. The smaller you cut the liver, the quicker this will be.

To me liver is cooked when the centre of a sample piece is dry and pink, it is important not to over cook it.

When the liver is cooked through add the sliced mushrooms and diced bell pepper, sweat them off until they have softened - about 50% cooked.

Then add the cream, which picks up a lovely colour from the paprika and reduce the heat.
Leave for about 5 - 10 minutes to reduce a little and the bell peppers are cooked.

All of the above takes about 20 - 25 minutes, so you are timing it for the potato's.

When they are done, just strain them - put them back in the pot with some butter, freshly chopped herbs and salt. I used Atika parsley, chives and a little dill leaf. Whirling them around in the still warm pot gives a nice even coating.

I plated this up with home made Blackberry Chutney, and it really sets off all the flavours of the meal.
The texture of the liver, for those who might find it a little different is well complimented by the mushrooms, so in a way this recipe is all you ever wanted to know about liver but were afraid to ask about.

I found the slight sweetness of Cabernet Sauvignon also complimented the meal.

I hope you enjoy this recipe - and please take the time to comment on any thoughts or suggestions.