Greek lamb stew with tagliatelle

Serves 4-5

This dish was created because I couldn’t bear to waste some dill! Can’t believe I spent about £6 on lamb to save the dill, but lamb is such a rare, expensive treat. And it does go quite a long way in this dish.  I then portioned this up and froze little bags of it as I am not feeding a family, although it would improve in flavour in the fridge a day or two after you cooked it.

Next time I might chop up the lamb smaller and cook for 2 hours to make a finer ragu style sauce for pasta or just some nice crusty bread.

• olive oil

• 500g lamb steaks ,  cut into chunks
• 1 aubergine , cut into chunks
• 2 onions, half chopped and half sliced into half moons
• garlic 2 cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes 
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs (or Herbes de Provence)
• 200ml chicken or lamb stock 
• ½ stick cinnamon 
• few sprigs fresh dill (or parsley if you don’t like dill)
• 1 lemon, zested (optional)
• grated parmesan cheese or crumbled feta
• 50g dried tagliatelle for each person (so 200g for 4)

Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a large wok or casserole with a lid. Season the lamb  and brown all over in two batches then remove. Add the aubergine and another splash of oil and cook for 2-3 mins until softened a little. As the aubergine soaks up so much oil, I poured a little of the meat juices that had run out of the lamb to the pan. This deglazed it which adds more flavour and made the aubergine cook quicker without even more oil. Lift out the aubergine and give the pan a wipe as it will probably be black by now! Then add the onions and garlic and cook for 5-6 mins until softened and translucent.

Tip the lamb and aubergine back with the tomatoes, tomato puree, stock, cinnamon and check seasoning. Simmer then put on a lid on (or transfer to a casserole if you used a wok) and cook for 1.5 hours or until the meat is tender and the sauce is rich. Remove the cinnamon stick. Sprinkle the dill or parsley over and lemon zest.

Cook the tagliatelle according to packet instructions and serve with the stew. Add either parmesan or feta to taste and eat.

Keema Matar (lamb mince and pea curry)

Keema Matar

Serves 4-6 depending on how much bread or other accompaniments you serve

This is one of my favourite weekend recipes to make as although it is a little time consuming, it is really easy and the results are worth it. I find I usually have most of the ingredients – maybe just have to go out and get some fresh coriander, chilli and the mince. The results are deeply satisfying, rich, savoury, sweet from cinnamon and warm from the chilli. Eat with naan bread. I forgot to add the coriander for the photo - looks much better with it sprinked over!

2 tbsp oil

Half a cinnamon stick

2 cloves

2 cardamom pods, bruised

3 peppercorns

2 onions, chopped

500g Lean minced lamb

1 tsp curry powder

1 tbsp ground coriander (I like to grind my own)

½ tsp ground cumin (again, I grind mine)

¼ tsp chilli powder/cayenne

¼ tsp turmeric

1 tbsp. coriander stems, finely chopped

1 fresh red chilli, split but not all the way in half

½ tsp garlic paste

1 tsp ginger paste

Salt

½ tsp paprika

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 2cm dice

150g frozen peas

¼ tsp garam masala

Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Heat the oil in a wok (with a lid) and add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns and onions.  Cook on a low heat until turning golden brown, but don’t let it burn. Turn up the heat and add the lamb, curry powder, ground coriander and cumin, chilli powder and turmeric. Stir well and break up all lumps. Stir fry until the lamb is brown – if a lot of fat is release try to drain a bit off, but not all of it.

Add the coriander stems, red chilli, garlic and ginger pastes, paprika and season with about 1 tsp salt. Stir fry on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes to cook out the pastes and spices. Then tip in the tomatoes and about half a can of water. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, pushing them down into the curry and add a bit more water just to cover if necessary. Pop the lid back on and cover gently for anything from 20-40 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add the peas and heat through for a couple of minutes. Turn heat off, sprinkle with garam masala and chopped coriander and serve.