Curried Lamb and Lentils

This dish will make your house smell so warm and inviting. As the Curried Lamb and lentils were cooking, it took a ton of restraint not to bust into the pot and gobble it up. I don't know what it is about curry, but it is one of my favorite comfort foods. 

Living in small town Texas can make it hard to find some ingredients, but the nice butcher at the local HEB was kind enough to cut a leg of lamb into steaks for me. They were only about a 1/4 inch thick so they cooked really quickly and took on all the flavors of the spices.

First the lamb steaks were browned on each side. Then carrots, celery and onions were added.

After the onions start to become clear and the carrots get soft, the spices were added.



Then the broth and lentils were added. Cook until the lentils start to become soft.
 

Serve over rice! Doesn't it look good.

Not only did this dish smell wonderful, but it tasted amazing. I chose to cool and freeze this meal for a later dinner and it reheated very well.  This is definitely going to be a feature on some future premade special  menus.

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Curried Lamb and Lentils

Serves 6

10 lean boneless lamb leg steaks about 1 3/4lbs
1 medium onion chopped
3 medium carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tbsp hot curry powder
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups broth
1 cup green lentils
Salt and pepper
Boiled rice

In a large nonstick pan, cook the lamb steaks without fat until browned, turning once.
Add vegetables and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the curry paste, tomato paste, broth and lentils.
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Cool completely then bag and freeze.
Thaw and heat in skillet with a bit more broth for 15 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Lamb

Moroccan Rack of Lamb with Shiraz sauce

I made this one on my quest to try new ingredients and expose my children to different flavors. I very rarely cook with lamb, so this was a new and fun experience for me. I know it looks intimidating, but it was really easy and the flavor was amazing.

First I seasoned the lamb with salt and pepper and a home made "ras al hanout" Ras al hanout is just a moroccan spice blend that contains any number of spices. The recipes I found for it were very similiar to a Garam Masala blend I already had so I just tweaked it a bit with additional cinnamon and cardamom. It turned out to be the perfect flavor.

Make sure to get both sides.

Then I seared the rack on all sides in a hot pan.

Then I put the pan in the 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

I checked the lamb temp and it was 140 so I put it to the side on a plate while I made the pan sauce. It was a reduction of Shiraz, agave nectar and honey. I love the flavor of agave nectar, but I am unsure of how it does with heat, so I still added some honey.

After the lamb had rested for about 10 minutes I cut it into chops and drizzled with the sauce. I wish I had a picture of the finished product, but my hungry hoard came in and started devouring them before they made it to the plate.

The meat was tender and delicous and the sauce was a wonderful complement to the spices on the lamb. It really was great. Now would I make it again? Probably not. Rack of lamb is pretty expensive and not a cost effective way to feed my kids. Lamb chops are delicious, but they are tiny with about 3-4 bits each. With my crowd of big eaters it just didn't work. Now I just have to figure out how to get that wonderful flavor in a more practical protein, Hrm- pork? What do you think?