Olive Lamb And Red Pepper Casserole Recipes

Steps:

• Make sure your lamb isn't too damp - pat it dry with kitchen paper if you need to, otherwise it won't colour well. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large casserole dish and brown the lamb over a high heat in batches (if you crowd the pan the meat will sweat and not brown). Remove with a slotted spoon as you go. When all the lamb is browned, add the remaining oil and cook the onion and peppers over a medium heat until the onion is golden and the vegetables are softened. Add the garlic and paprika, and cook for a further 1 min, then add the sherry and bring to a simmer.
• Put all the lamb back in the pan, along with the stock, saffron, sherry vinegar and honey. Season and bring to just under the boil. Turn the heat down, cover the pan and leave to cook very gently for 2 hrs, turning the meat every so often.
• In the last half hour of cooking time, remove the lid so that the sherry and stock can reduce. You want to end up with completely tender meat in a flavoursome gravy - how long this takes will depend on how wide your pan is so you may need to give it longer than 30 mins. Check the seasoning. You're unlikely to need to adjust the vinegar or honey but you might want to sweeten the dish slightly. Scatter the parsley or almonds on top (or use both). Serve with the couscous.

Steps:

• Pat the pieces of lamb dry with paper towels and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
• In a heavy saucepan or casserole, gently sauté the garlic and rosemary in the oil over medium-low heat until the garlic is soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add the seasoned lamb, raise the heat to medium, and turn the lamb pieces, stirring constantly, until they have browned thoroughly on all sides. Add the wine, let come to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half.
• Stir in the olives and the dissolved tomato paste, mixing everything together, then cover the pan and continue cooking on very low heat for about 1 hour, or until the sauce is very thick and the lamb is cooked through. Check the sauce periodically and add more wine or water if it seems necessary.
• When the lamb is done, serve it immediately, accompanied by polenta, if you wish.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Poke holes in the skin of the squash, and place onto the baking sheet cut-side down. Bake in the preheated oven until soft, about 1 hour. Turn the squash cut-side up, and allow to cool until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the ground lamb, and cook until browned and crumbly, about 7 minutes. Once browned, remove the lamb from the skillet and set aside. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and bell peppers, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, basil, rosemary, and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper (remember that the ricotta salata is very salty). Continue cooking and stirring until the flavor of the garlic has mellowed, about 3 minutes more.
• Scrape the flesh of the warm spaghetti squash into a large bowl. Separate the strands of the squash with a fork, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place half of the squash into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread with half of the lamb, half of the red pepper mixture, half of the olives, sprinkle with half of the cheese, and spread with half of the tomato sauce. Repeat the layers using the remaining squash, lamb, red pepper mixture, olives, cheese, and tomato sauce.
• Bake the casserole in the preheated oven until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes.