LAMB STEW with orange and thyme

Thyme, Wikipedia.

The recipe

Serves six

• 2 pounds of lamb for stew, cut and trimmed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh, salted butter
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 large yellow onions, cut into large dice
• 4 medium boiling potatoes, cut in fourths
• 3/4 pounds of string beans, tipped and halved
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 cup of dry red wine
• 1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 2-inch pieces of orange rind
• juice of one orange
• 2 cups homemade gluten-free chicken stock or 1 sixteen-ounce package of Imagine Organic Free Range Chicken Broth, gluten-free
• 4 springs of fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup of calamata olives, pitted
• freshly grated sea salt, to taste
• freshly grated black pepper, to tase

In a pot large enough to accommodate (four quarts) the ingredients, melt the butter with the olive oil.  Brown the meat in the fats and then remove them to a plate and reserve.  Sauté the onions until they are translucent.  Then add the garlic and cook, stirring well for a minute or two. Remove the garlic and onion and set aside for a moment.

Pour the wine into the pan and deglaze, loosening all the sediment from the bottom and sides. Place the lamb back into the pan. Bring to a boil, adding the broth, sautéed onions and garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, olives, orange rind, orange juice, and potatoes and string beans.

Turn down the heat.  Cover and simmer for one hour or until the meat is tender.  You may periodically have to skim the top of the stew.  Remove orange peel. Taste for salt and pepper and add as appropriate.

Actual product ingredients may contain more and different information than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

SKORTHALIA, Greek potato sauce/dip with garlic

This is a delicious and simple Greek sauce that is traditionally used to top fried fish or as a dip with bread. It can be used to good effect as a topping for almost any steamed vegetable.  The texture should be creamy, smooth, and somewhat thick.  It is most easily made in a food processor; but, you can mash the potatoes by hand and do the garlic with a mortar and pestle, the old fashioned way.

The recipe:

• 6 large cloves of garlic, mashed or minced
• 1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled, quartered, boiled and mashed
• 1/2 cup half-and-half or unsweetened wheat-and-gluten free soy creamer
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, the best quality you can afford
• salt to taste

Prepare the sauce:

Put the potatoes, garlic, and creamer in the food processor and puree.  Then slowly add the oil and the wine, alternating a little of each until it's all incorporated.

Serve as dip:

Place in a small bowl on a large platter surrounded by crudités and/or gluten-free crackers or toast triangles.

Serve as sauce:

Top your choice of steamed vegetables with the sauce.  Thin if you need to with water or milk.  Or, use as a topping on pan fried or batter fired fish or batter-fried vegetables.

Actual product ingredients may contain more and different information than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.