Peppered Lamb With Pine Nut Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Place lamb in a food storage bag. Combine the 7 spices in a small bowl. Sprinkle into the bag and seal bag. Shake and evenly coat the lamb pieces in the spices.
• Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high to high heat. Add 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan, then the lamb. Sear the lamb and caramelize the meat all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and cook 5 minutes more. Add the dates and 2 cups of chicken stock to the pan and cover. Cook 7 to 8 minutes more to plump the dates and soften the onions. Remove cover and adjust seasonings.
• During the last 5 minutes the lamb has to cook, melt butter and toast pine nuts. Add 2 cups stock and bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat, add couscous and cover pan. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with fork.
• Serve lamb over couscous in shallow dishes and garnish with chopped scallions.

Steps:

• Heat broiler and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.
• Brush both sides of eggplant slices with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Arrange slices on prepared baking sheet and broil in batches until they are deep mahogany brown, turning once halfway through, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
• Adjust the oven to 375 degrees with rack positioned in the center.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, but not browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground lamb or beef, stirring frequently and breaking up meat into very small pieces with the side of a metal spoon. Season with remaining teaspoon salt, cinnamon and pepper. Sauté until meat is just cooked through. Taste and add more salt or pepper, or both, as needed.
• In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add pine nuts and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir nuts to coat them with butter and continue stirring constantly until nuts are golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Keep a close watch over the nuts; they can burn quickly once they begin to brown. Transfer nuts to a bowl while still warm and salt them lightly.
• Coat a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish. Lay 1/3 of the eggplant slices in a single layer over the sauce, covering as much surface area of the bottom of the dish as possible. Spoon half the meat evenly over eggplant. Pour 1/3 of the remaining tomato sauce evenly over meat. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the pine nuts. Layer again with eggplant, meat, tomato sauce and pine nuts. Finish with a layer of eggplant and cover with more tomato sauce, sprinkling top with pine nuts.
• Pour 1 cup warm water around the perimeter of the baking dish. (Sauce will thicken as it bakes.) Cover pan with foil and bake for 90 minutes. Remove foil and top eggplant evenly with mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes longer, uncovered, or until the cheese is bubbling and golden. Serve eggplant warm, over rice.

Steps:

• Make crust mixture:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. In a baking pan toast pine nuts in middle of oven until golden, about 10 minutes, and cool.
• Discard stems from spinach and coarsely chop spinach. Rinse spinach and drain in a colander. In a large heavy kettle cook spinach in water clinging to leaves, covered, 1 minute, or until just wilted. Drain spinach well in colander, pressing out excess liquid with back of a large spoon, and cool. Tear ham into pieces. In a food processor pulse spinach with nuts, parsley, ham, and butter until finely chopped and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in remaining crust ingredients until combined well. Crust mixture may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Increase temperature to 425°F. If leaving strip of fat on racks, score a diamond pattern on fat with tip of a sharp thin knife. Halve lamb racks to form six 4-rib pieces. Pat lamb dry and season with salt and pepper.
• In a large heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and lightly brown pieces 2 at a time, on all sides, about 1 minute total for each batch. Transfer pieces as browned to a large shallow roasting pan and arrange meaty sides up. Spread meaty side of each piece with 1 teaspoon mustard. Divide crust mixture into 6 portions and pat over mustard coating on each piece, gently pressing to help adhere.
• Roast lamb in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted 2 inches into center registers 135°F. for medium-rare. Transfer lamb to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.
• Cut lamb into individual chops and serve with sauce.