Bites & Pieces (Saturday Night Food Edition)

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Michigoose

We’re having our usual slightly schizophrenic fall weather here in Salt Lake City. . . it was in the mid-to-upper 60s Thursday and Friday, and then I awoke to snow this morning. Not too bad–nothing what like Scott and Brent got last weekend–but enough to actually break out the shovel and get rid of it from the driveway and front walk. I live in a neighborhood called “SugarHouse” here in SLC, so called because one of the first things that the Mormon pioneers did when they started to settle the valley was to designate a site for a sugar mill and this is the neighborhood that sprang up around it. One of the things about SugarHouse that makes it stick out is the trees–since the sugar mill was sited here there is, of course, a stream that runs year-round running through this general area of the city, and we have some beautiful mature trees that line every street of the area. Unfortunately, many of them are non-native horse chestnut trees (otherwise known as, ahem, buckeyes)(yes, quarterback, buckeyes) that don’t drop their leaves until after there is a serious frost and several below-freezing nights. . . which don’t happen until well after the first snow here at altitude. Luckily today’s snow was “shovel-able” but not terribly heavy, so no limbs have come down yet.

Whenever the weather really starts to turn like this (many of you will remember that we had our first snow here over a month ago) I start thinking of stews, and even though lamb is traditionally a spring dish, it makes a lovely fall stew also. Plus, the eggplant puree has enough heft to it that, if you’re serving a mixture of carnivores and (non-fussy) vegetarians you can serve them both this dish and everyone will feel full. Score!
Lamb Stew with Eggplant Puree
(Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Mediterranean Cooking by Michigoose
Serves 4 – 6, and both the stew and the puree are even better the next day (just don’t combine before storing)
For the eggplant puree:
4 – 5 lb Eggplant
4 T Unsalted butter
4 T Flour
2 c Heavy cream, warmed
1 t Nutmeg (freshly ground)
1 c Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat an oven to 450. Prick each eggplant all over to vent, then place in a baking pan and bake, turning occasionally so they cook evenly, until very soft (45 – 60 minutes). Remove from the oven, place in a colander to cool, and, when cool enough to handle, peel them and leave the flesh and seeds in the colander. Let stand for 15 minutes to drain off the bitter juices, then transfer the flesh to a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until smooth. Set aside.
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly (i.e., make a roux) until thickened but not browned (i.e., a blond roux). Add the warm cream and whisk until thickened, 3 – 5 minutes. Season the cream sauce to taste with salt and pepper and add the nutmeg. Add the pureed eggplant and Parmesan cheese to the cream sauce, mixing well. Heat through before serving.
For the lamb stew:
2 T Unsalted butter
1 T Olive oil
3 lb Boneless lamb shoulder, cubed
2 ea Yellow onions, chopped
1 t Allspice, ground
4 t Thyme, chopped (fresh, preferably from your herb garden [it survives under the snow here in SLC])
4 cl Garlic, minced (I really like garlic)
2 c Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced–I use two cans of good quality peeled tomatoes for this, rather than fresh, and break them apart with my fingers
1 c Chicken stock
In a heavy pot with a lid over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the oil. Divide the allspice and thyme in half and toss the lamb with the spices. Add the lamb and brown well on all sides (working in batches if necessary). Add the onions and salt and pepper to taste and saute, stirring, until the onions are soft and pale gold.
Add the remainder of the allspice and thyme, garlic and tomatoes to the pot and cook for about five minutes to combine. Add the stock, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the lamb is tender, 45 – 60 minutes. Stir from time to time and add more stock (or water) if needed; when the lamb is done, there should be enough sauce to coat the meat and spill over onto the eggplant. Taste and adjust seasonings.
To serve, place a mound of eggplant puree in the middle of a bowl and heap around with the lamb stew for the carnivores, or just drizzle with some of the juice from the lamb stew for the vegetarians who aren’t fussy about it. This is about twice the ratio of puree:lamb stew than the original recipe (along with a fiddling of the original spices) since I’ve discovered that it is virtually impossible to have too much of the eggplant puree. . . even for those who think they don’t like eggplant. Enjoy, and stay warm!

Update: Post renamed per okie’s suggestion. Why didn’t I think of that???

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