I had some friends over and decided to make some nice and different. Also something that could be prepared in advance and be hot and ready for them. A stew (or slow cooked dish) is always a good choice especially now that the cold weather is upon us. To make it a little different, I went with lamb… who am I kidding? Lamb is one of my favorite meats and I use any excuse to eat it. The Uzbek spice mix is also something quite different but not too different that would raise high brows from more nit-picky guests.

As a side, the cauliflower mash brings it’s own flavor to the table, without overpowering the main course. This mash is fast becoming one of my favorite side dishes for its ease of preparation, and taste… and it takes no time to prepare!

In end the guests were quite happy - the wine might have had something to do with it - and ate everything. I call it a success, my mom would say I should have made more food and the guest left the house hungry.

There is no picture of the food, but I have one of the classic Portuguese roasting pot used to prepare it. Made of clay it is excellent to make one pot dishes in the oven.

Variations

• Beef can be used instead of the lamb. I did it with a cheap cut, and must that due to nature of meat - lamb doesn’t need to cooked for a long time and beef sometimes gets better with longer cooking times - beef can be even better.
• I sometimes add carrots cut in chunks to the stew to have extra portion of veggies. Add the carrots to pot about 1 hour before it finishes cooking to have them crunchy, or from the beginning if you prefer them soft.
• [vegetarian] I have not tried it, but this spice mix could be a good basis for a vegetarian curry/stew.
• Use a Crockpot (slow cooker), or simmer it in a stove.
• Use double the amount of red wine (old open bottle) instead of the red wine vinegar. Trick learned from poorer times.
• Increase the amount of cayenne pepper for extra punch.

Inspiration

Originally I saw the sauce in Weber’s Grill Bibel and it was to marinate lamb chops. During a botched BBQ party - it rained - I had the sauce prepared and the only way to use it was a stew with beef. It worked. From the original I doubled the amounts of Thyme and Cumin.

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• Servings: 7
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 30 mins

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Ingredients

Cauliflower mash

• Caulifower: 2 large heads
• Parmesan: 4 tablespoons
• Cream cheese: 4 tablespoons
• Butter: 2 tablespoons
• Black pepper: to taste
• Sea salt: to taste

Lamb stew

• Leg of lamb: about 1.8 Kg
• Canned tomatoes: 1 can, 400 mL
• Onion: 2, roughly chopped
• Garlic: 4, roughly chopped
• Olive oil: 120 mL
• Red wine vinegar: 10 mL
• Sweet paprika: 2 tablespoons
• Thyme: 2 Tablespoons, fresh or dry
• Coriander seeds: 1 tablespoon
• Cumin: 1 tablespoon
• Cayenne pepper: 1 teaspoon
• Black pepper: to taste, if available use pepper with citrus flavor
• Sea salt: to taste

Directions

Cauliflower mash

1. Trim and discard the green leaves of the caulifower and separate the florets. Boil for about 10 minutes (or until soft) with a pinch of salt.
2. Drain the cauliflower very well, and in bowl (or pot) add the other ingredients. Puré with a blender until smooth. Add some more salt if needed.

Lamb stew

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180ºc.

2. To prepare the sauce, blend all the ingredient - except the lamb - with a blender.

3. De-bone the meat, and cut it in 1-2 cm thick chunks, put in a stove-proof pot (with a lid!), mix the sauce, cover the pot, and stick it in the oven.

4. Cook for about 30 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 150ºc. Cook for another 3-3 and half hours. Serve in a rustic pot with the side of Cauliflower mash.

5. For the sauce, pour off excess fat from the frying pan and place over a high heat. Pour in the port, stirring to deglaze, and let bubble for a minute. Add the cranberry jam and reduce the heat. Mix the cornflour with a splash of cold water to dissolve, and add it to the pan mixing well. Let it bubble until the liquid has the desired consistency. If it gets too thick, add a splash of water and mix.

6. Add any juices from the resting duck. Taste and adjust the seasoning and add some jam or orange juice if desired.

7. Slice the duck breasts on the diagonal and fan them out on warmed serving plates. Spoon the sauce around the duck and serve with the mashed celery root.

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