I have about two thirds of a pound of ground lamb, which should make at least two servings for me. How should I fix it? It’s tasty, but seems a bit fatty.
I can’t eat black pepper, any sort of raw allium (onion, garlic, that family), and I don’t particularly like tomato sauce or pasta. I do have a variety of staples available to me, along with a variety of cooking dishes and utensils.
Last night, I baked a patty of the lamb in foil, with sliced onions, carrots, and potatoes, and it was quite good.
Lambburger. Just make hamburgers, but out of lamb. They’re good.
Personally (and I know this won’t help in your case), I like to mince an onion, some garlic and a bunch of parsley, mix in an egg, salt, pepper, and a bit of cayenne pepper, and make patties or kebabs and eat it with couscous.
Lamburger again but due to the onion and garlic constraint add chopped fresh oregano, grated lemon zest, chopped olives and a small cube of Greek feta in each patty. Spread the rolls with tzatziki dip, lettuce, sliced tomato and shredded carrot.
Just to be clear, the lamburger and the other thing are separate. With a burger, I like the meat pretty plain. So for lamburger, my suggestion is just to season it as you would beef. Put it on a bun with your usual condiments.
The other thing is a suggestion for others who can eat onions and garlic and such.
I can eat COOKED garlic and onion and such, but if I try to eat the raw stuff, I will suffer for at least three days, and more likely for an entire week.
Last night’s dinner had sliced onions, cooked in the foil packet, and I’ve had no ill effects. I’m very glad that I can eat the cooked stuff, I love onions and garlic.
Right now, I’m leaning towards the lambburger, just a patty, no bun, with rice. Maybe make a little gravy for the patty and rice. I’ll have to root around in the freezer to see what sort of veggies I have available.
Brown the ground lamb. Add diced carrot, celery, onion (optional), peas, and corn, about as much altogether as you have meat. Or whatever vegetables you have on hand. Mix in gravy sufficient to moisten/cover all that. Spread evenly in a baking pan/casserole . Cover with mashed potatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until the potatoes start to brown.
The amount of spices used is up to the cook, but these are very strong flavors, so caution is advised. I would recommend about ½ tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg and perhaps two teaspoons of cumin to start.
1 lb ground lamb
½ cup chopped mint (cilantro can also be used)
Grated nutmeg
Ground cinnamon
Ground cumin
¼ cup pine nuts
½ cup chopped onion
Salt & pepper
½ cup bread crumbs
1 egg
Olive oil
Saute onion until nearly translucent. Add the pine nuts and the spices and sauté for about two minutes. Mix all ingredients (except olive oil) together in a bowl, taking care not to overwork the mixture. Form the kebabs into 2” logs by squeezing a small amount of the mixture in your fist just until it holds together. Place the kebabs on a plate and chill for a couple of hours.
Heat a bit of olive oil in a large skillet at medium heat. When hot, fry the kebabs in the pan until well-browned and cooked through. Turn frequently, but carefully. Remove and drain excess fat. Serve with saffron rice.
Saffron Rice
1 cup Basmati or Jasmine rice
Cooking water, per package instructions
½ cup raisins
1 generous pinch of saffron
1 tsp salt
¼ cup sliced almonds
Butter
Wash the rice well. Place in cold water along with the raisins, saffron, salt and about a tablespoon of butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until done, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly toast the almonds in a tablespoon of butter and set aside. When the rice is done, add the almonds and serve with kebabs. Makes about 2-3 cups rice.
Pastry for double-crust 9- or 10-inch (23- or 25-cm) pie
For the egg wash:
1 egg
1 teaspoon (5 mL) water
To improve texture, hand chop the meat fine; can easily substitute ground pork.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook meat, breaking up with wooden spoon, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Drain off fat.
Stir in stock, onions, garlic, celery, salt, cinnamon, pepper, savoury and cloves; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 35 to 45 minutes, or until about 2 tablespoons (25 mL) of liquid remains.
Stir in breadcrumbs and parsley. Cover and refrigerate until cold, or for up to 24 hours.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the pastry to 1/8-inch (3-mm) thickness; fit into pie plate. Make egg wash by combining well the egg, water, then brush egg wash over bottom of pastry shell.
Spoon filling into pie shell, smoothing top. Roll out remaining pastry. Moisten rim of pie shell with a little of the egg wash; cover with top pastry, pressing edges together to seal. Trim and flute edge.
Brush egg wash over pastry top. Cut decorative shapes from remaining pastry and arrange on top; brush with some of the remaining egg wash.
Cut steam vents in top crust. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degreesF (190 degreesC) for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting.
What I’d probably do for a quick-n-easy dinner is lightly brown the meat in a skillet and drain it well to get that excess fat out, and then mix in a curry sauce and serve over rice.
Just about all of this sounds delicious. I think I’ll go with shepherd’s pie, it has two votes, and I have everything I need, and I’ve been meaning to try it anyway. I’m sure that I’ll try other recipes when I buy ground lamb again. Finding it available was a pleasant surprise, as I hadn’t seen it before.
Pinenut, Rosemary, and Lamb Tomato Sauce/Bolognese Lasagna, with a ricotta, feta, egg, and romano cheese alternating layer- Mozzarella to top- homemade rag pasta for noodles.
Another vote for shepherd’s pie. I got this recipe off a bottle of jerk sauce (it uses beef but you can substitute lamb):
Jamaican Shepherd’s Pie
A homey dish with a Calypsonian twist.
4-6 Servings
1-1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 8 oz can mushrooms
1 11 oz can corn niblets (drained)
1/2 cup Blue Mountain Jamaican Jerk Sauce
4 cups mashed potatoes
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
Vegetable cooking spray
Spray a large skillet with cooking spray.
Brown meat together with onions. Drain.
Stir in Jamaican Jerk Sauce, mushrooms, drained corn, salt & pepper.
Cook 2-3 minutes.
Spoon meat mixture into 9 x 12 oven proof dish.
Top with mashed potato. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 375° for 20 minutes, until cheese has melted.