Moroccan Stew with Beef, Squash, Chickpeas and Lentils

Ingredients:

2 lbs stew beef

1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 cups cubed butternut squash (from about 2 pounds butternut squash) 1 cup green lentils, rinsed well
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
fresh juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Optional: a few basil leaves, chopped

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown beef and remove. Add the onion and garlic; cook a few minutes or until the onion becomes softened. 
2. Next stir in cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, cayenne; cook for 30 seconds to a minute until spices are fragrant.
3. Add tomatoes, broth, chickpeas, butternut squash, lentils, beef and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until butternut squash is tender and lentils are fully cooked. 
4. Stir in lemon juice and sprinkle with cilantro and basil, if desired. Makes 4 servings - about 2 cups each.

Lamb Tagine with Dates, Almonds and Pistachios

Lamb Tagine with Dates, Almonds and Pistachios

Tim got a Tagine for his birthday and he was dying to try it out.  He had brought spices and goodies back from his trip to India and we found the rest in Delhi.  That's Delhi, New York. This was an amazing meal with tremendous flavor but not too spicy.  We loved it!

2-3 tablespoons ghee, or 1 tablespoon olive oil plus 1 tablespoon butter
2 onions, finely chopped
1-2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 lbs 4 oz. lean, boned lamb, from the shoulder, neck or leg, trimmed and cubed
1 1/4 cups ready to eat pitted dates
1 tablespoon dark, clear honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2-3 tablespoons blanched almonds
2 tablespoons shelled pistachios
leaves from a small bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Basmati rice to serve

Heat the ghee in a tagine.  Stir in the onions and saute until golden brown.  Stir in the turmeric, ginger and cinnamon.  Toss in the meat, making sure it is coated in the spice mixture.  Pour in enough water to almost cover the meat and bring it to the boil.  Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer gently for roughly 1 1/2 hours.

Add the dates and stir in the honey . Cover with the lid again and simmer for another 30 minutes.  Season with salt and lots of black pepper.

Heat the olive oil with the butter in a small pan.  Stir in the almonds and pistachios and cook until they begin to turn golden brown.

Scatter the toasted nuts over the lamb and dates and sprinkle with the flat leaf parsley.  Serve with the Basmati rice.

Spiced Lamb Meatball Pizza

Spiced Lamb Meatballs and Pizza

Cold weekend and comfort food.  Perfect combination.  After birthday dinner Saturday night, we wanted something easier to make Sunday night for dinner.  We keep pizza dough in the freezer all the time that we pick up from the grocery store and we made meatballs to put on the pizza.  They are just the right amount of heat and absolutely delicious on their own or as a pizza topping like we served.

1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 whole 2" dried chipotle chile or 2 tsp. ground chipotle chiles
1 small (21/2-3" diameter) potato, peeled
1 lb. ground lamb
1 Tbsp (heaping) minced scallion (white part only)
1 1/2 tsp finely grated Pecorino
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp finely grated peeled ginger
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat broiler.  Stir first 3 ingredients in a small dry skillet over medium heat until aromatic and slightly darker in color, about 2 minutes.  Let cool; transfer to spice mill.

2. Place chile on a baking sheet and broil, watching closely to prevent burning just until it begins to puff up, about 1 minute.  Cut chile in half; discard seeds and stem.  Add chile ( or ground chipotle chiles) to spice mill with toasted seeds; finely grind together.

3. Meanwhile , place potato in a small saucepan; add cold water to cover.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Finely grate potato into a large bowl.

4. Add chile mixture, ground lamb and next 4 ingredients to bowl; mix with your hands until well combined.  Form mixture into tablespoon size( 1 inch diameter) meatballs.

5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Cook meatballs, turning occasionally, until golden all over but still pink in center, about 6 minutes ( meatballs will finish cooking on pizza).

Tim made a red sauce and mozzarella with caramelized onions and I did a 4 cheese white pie with the lamb meatballs.  So good.

Lamb and Apricot Stew

This had to be the best stew we have ever tasted!  Christmas weekend with 4 inches of snow on the ground and a crazy day of gift wrapping and finalizing our Holidays.   Perfect evening for stew and watching Netflix and the snow fall.

Lamb and Apricot Stew

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pound boneless lamb stew meat
Salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 two inch piece fresh ginger peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup dried apricots
Toasted sliced almonds for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees . In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high.  Season lamb with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 9 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, transfer lamb to a plate.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is softened.  5 minutes.  Return lamb to pot. along with tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon, and 2 cups water; season with salt and pepper.  Cover and transfer to oven; cook 45 minutes.  Stir in apricots, cover, and cook until lamb is tender 45 minutes more.  Serve stew sprinkled with almonds. ( To store, refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 3 days.)

Ravioli with Lamb, Spinach and Ricotta Filling with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

 We decided that it would be fun to make homemade pasta with our house guests for dinner. Well, maybe if we hadn't had so much alcohol - it would have made more sense but too late - the pasta making was a little dysfunctional.  Tim had prepped everything else but the pasta  but we were beyond capable of making pasta - so the ravioli was a little misshapen. However, all the flavors were fantastic.
The pasta was delicious.

Ravioli with Lamb, Spinach and Ricotta Filling

Make Pasta but do not have too much to drink prior to pasta making.

For the stuffing:

1/2 lb ground lamb
3/4 lb young spinach leaves
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks
6 tablespoons butter
6 fresh sage leaves
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

1. Saute the lamb and set aside.
2. Put the spinach in a large pan of lightly salted boiling water and cook until starting to wilt, 2 minutes at most.  Drain and plunge into ice-cold water, then drain thoroughly and press out as much of the remaining water as possible.  Chop the spinach coarsely and mix with the ricotta. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and stir in the grated Parmesan and egg yolks.  Add lamb as well and mix.
3. If the ravioli are to be stuffed without the aid of special molds, roll out the dough as thinly as possible and cut into 2 sheets, each about 20 x 12 inches.  Using the back of a knife and a ruler, score a grid of 2 inch  squares on one of the sheets.  Put an equal amount of stuffing on each of the squares.  If this process takes a long time , the dough will start to dry out, so you will need to brush a little egg white around each bit of stuffing, so that the second sheet of dough will stick.  Lay the second sheet loosely over the first one and press down lightly around the stuffing, so  that the edges are well sealed.  Using a ruler and a fluted pasty wheel, cut out the squares and lay them on a lightly floured cloth.   Cook the stuffed pasta in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, remove with s a slotted spoon , and arrange on plates.

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons  flour
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup cream
5 ounces Gorgonzola cheese

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, sprinkle in the flour, and cook gently, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes; do not brown.   Pour in the stock, whisking constantly.  Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and simmer 20 minutes, whisking occasionally.
2. Remove the pan from the heat.  Mix together the egg yolk and cream.  Add a little of the hot sauce to the egg yolk and cream mixture, then stir into the rest of the sauce.  Strain the sauce.  Reheat gently (do not boil  or the sauce will curdle), then add the melted gorgonzola cheese and blend thoroughly.