Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Ingredients for Lamb Stew
2-3 lamb shoulder chops
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded & coarsely chopped
1/2 c. robust red wine
1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. powdered allspice
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of sugar
1/2 a yellow onion, coarsely diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Ingredients for Eggplant Cream
1 Italian-style eggplant
2 TBS butter
1 TSB flour
1/2 cup milk
3 TBS kasseri cheese (or pecorino), coarsely grated
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Directions: |
Directions:Stew Preparation
Preheat oven to 325º F.
Trim off all the fat from the lamb chops and remove any bones. Cut the lamb into 1 inch cubes.
Brown the lamb cubes in olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan that you can also put into the oven. When browned, remove the cubes and use the same pan to sauté the onions and garlic. When they are lightly browned, remove from pan and mix with lamb cubes.
Deglaze the pan with red wine. Add water and spices, sugar, tomatoes and the lamb/onion mixture.
Bring the whole thing to a simmer, cover and place in a preheated oven. Cook for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove to stove top and cook uncovered for another 30 minutes to reduce the liquid. The stew should be thick and dark.
Eggplant Preparation
While the stew is cooking, bake the whole eggplant at 400º F on a baking sheet lined with foil for about 30 minutes.
When the eggplant is very soft remove from the oven and let it cool. When it is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and scrap off any eggplant that remains on the skin. Discard the skin.
Separate the lobes of the eggplant and scrap away as much of the seeds as possible.
Place the eggplant in a colander to drain for a few minutes while you make the béchamel.
Melt butter in a saucepan and stir in flour. Cook the flour/butter mixture for few minutes, then gradually add the milk, stirring constantly to keep it from lumping.
Cook the béchamel for a few minutes, then scrap it into a large bowl. Add the drained eggplant and mash lightly with a pastry blender. (Do not puree the eggplant and do not over mash it. You want it to have some texture.) Add the grated cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. At this point, the eggplant cream can either be kept warm on your stove top or reheated in the oven when ready to serve. |
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