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For your munching pleasure, I've decided to post the recipes I used for the lamb stew and tzatziki sauce I made for Christmas dinner. The tzatziki is pretty much verbatim taken from... some web page... somewhere. But it's really quite good. The stew is a concatenation of three different recipes with my own adjustments and I was surprised and impressed with how well it turned out.
Tzatziki Sauce
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar
2-3 teaspoons minced fresh dill (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon of following spice mixture: 1/4 t. each paprika, salt, garlic powder; 1/8 t. each ground pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme
Put cucumber in a strainer set over a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Put yogurt in another strainer set over a bowl. Let both drain for one hour. Combine cucumber and yogurt with remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving. Yields about 1 1/2 cups.
Lamb Stew
about 1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds leg of lamb, cut into stew cubes
4 T olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 t paprika
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/4 t dried thyme
1/4 t ground cinnamon
Few dashes ground cloves
1/4 t saffron threads
3/4 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup white wine
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 large carrot, 1 sweet bell pepper, 1 leek, and 2 tomatoes, all cut into chunks
Stir saffron into chicken stock. Heat 2 T of oil and cook onions and garlic until soft. Season flour with salt and pepper and dredge lamb in flour. Add 2 T more oil to pot and add lamb. Cook a few minutes to brown meat. Add stock, wine, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until lamb is tender (add more broth or wine if necessary), adding vegetables 20-30 minutes before meat is done. Sauce may be thickened with cornstarch if you find it too thin. Serves 4-6. (I really like the taste of the sauce/seasonings and figure this could be easily adapted to a really tasty veggie stew, too.)
Tzatziki Sauce
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar
2-3 teaspoons minced fresh dill (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon of following spice mixture: 1/4 t. each paprika, salt, garlic powder; 1/8 t. each ground pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme
Put cucumber in a strainer set over a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Put yogurt in another strainer set over a bowl. Let both drain for one hour. Combine cucumber and yogurt with remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving. Yields about 1 1/2 cups.
Lamb Stew
about 1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds leg of lamb, cut into stew cubes
4 T olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 t paprika
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/4 t dried thyme
1/4 t ground cinnamon
Few dashes ground cloves
1/4 t saffron threads
3/4 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup white wine
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 large carrot, 1 sweet bell pepper, 1 leek, and 2 tomatoes, all cut into chunks
Stir saffron into chicken stock. Heat 2 T of oil and cook onions and garlic until soft. Season flour with salt and pepper and dredge lamb in flour. Add 2 T more oil to pot and add lamb. Cook a few minutes to brown meat. Add stock, wine, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until lamb is tender (add more broth or wine if necessary), adding vegetables 20-30 minutes before meat is done. Sauce may be thickened with cornstarch if you find it too thin. Serves 4-6. (I really like the taste of the sauce/seasonings and figure this could be easily adapted to a really tasty veggie stew, too.)
