November 26, 2022
Lamb Chili
Serves 6 - Start the night before
2 cups dry black beans
2-2.25 lbs bone-in Lamb Loin Chops
8 thyme sprigs
3 bay leaves
3 rosemary sprigs
4 garlic cloves, finely diced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 med-lrg yellow onion, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 tbsp minced ginger
3 tbsp whole cumin
1 tbsp whole black peppercorn
1 tbsp whole white peppercorn
1 tbsp whole allspice
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 small dried red chili, crushed (remove stem nub and seeds)
1 28oz can whole San Marzano tomatoes with juice
1 small can Chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
1 1/2 cup red wine
kosher salt to taste
2 avocados (for topping/garnish)
sour cream (for topping/garnish)
1/2 bunch of chives, diced (for topping/garnish)
1. The night before, measure beans into a medium saucepan and cover with water, with a couple inches of additional water. The next afternoon, rinse beans and put them back in the water with lamb shanks, and the thyme, bay leaves and rosemary (these last 3 ingredients wrapped in cheesecloth and tied.) Add 1/2 the garlic and then add enough fresh filtered water to completely cover. Bring to almost boiling then reduce to simmer. Simmer for one hour,or until beans are tender but not mushy. As it cooks, skim off foam as it rises to the top.
2. While the beans and meat are cooking together, heat the olive oil in a dutch oven and add all the onions. Saute until almost soft. While the onions cook, put the cumin, both types o f peppercorns and the allspice in a dry cast-iron skillet. Heat until you can smell the smokiness and aroma of the spices. Transfer whole spices to. a mortar and pestle and crush until they become a powder.
3. When the onions are soft, add the other half of garlic, the ginger, 1 1/2 tbsp crushed spice mix, the chili powder, cayenne powder, crushed red chili and a few pinches of salt. Cook on low-med until onions have absorbed all the spices, about 1 mn. Add the tomatoes and cut them up to bite-size right in the dutch oven, being careful not to touch knife to the enamel in the pan (I use a wooden spatula under the tomatoes.) Pour the chipotle chilis into a snack-sized ziploc bag, setting 2 small-medium chilis aside to finely dice on a cutting board. (Label the ziploc and put it in the freezer for another use.) You wil now have an empty tomato can and empty chipotle chili can.Pour the wine into these, and pass back and forth, rinsing the sauce out of both cans. Finally, pour the wine from the cans into the dutch oven, along with the 2 diced chipotle chilis. Bring to boil and immediately reduce to simmer. Simmer for 30mn.
4. Remove beans from heat when they're done. Using tongs, remove and discard the herbs and take meat out of pan. Set the meat pieces on a cutting board to cool slightly. Remove meat from bones, and cut on bias into bite-sized pieces. Add both the meat and bones to the tomato sauce. Reserve the bean-meat cooking liquid. Add enough of the reserved liquid into the chili to cover meat and bones. Stir, cover with lid, and place chili in preheated 350F oven for about 45mn, until meat is very tender. While chili is in the oven, cook the rice and make the Caesar salad (see below).
6. Remove the bones from the chili and then serve it over saffron rice (see below) and top with sour cream, sliced avocado and diced chives. Caesar salad is great on the side!
7. If you have leftovers, this chili makes delicious nachos...see below!
Safron Rice
Serves 6
1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice
2 pinches saffron threads
1 tsp leftover toasted spicemix from above (peppercorns,cumin and allspice)
2 1/2 cups filtered water
Rinse rice wellin a sieve, until water comes out mostly clear. Transfer to a saucepan. Add water, saffron threads and toasted-crushed spices. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 40mn. Do not remove the lid while cooking. After 40mn, remove from heat but don't remove lid. Keep covered for 10 more minutes, and then fluff with a fork and serve as a base under the chili.
Chili leftovers:
Lamb Chili Nachos with pineapple salsa! (dairy-free)
Serves 6
Leftover lamb chili
Corn tortilla chips (preferably homemade, or your favorite store-bought)
pineapple salsa: mix together chopped pineapple, red onion & cilantro
avocado (optional)
On a small sheet pan, layer the chips and then spoonfuls of lamb chili. Cook at 350F until warm and the chips are beginning to brown slightly. Remove and add toppings. Enjoy!
Caesar salad
Serves 6
Dressing
3 cloves garlic
3 oz parmesan, cut into 1" chunks
2 whole anchovies (or 4 filets) packed in olive oil
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp dijon (or tarragon dijon...my preference)
1 tbsp creme fraiche (optional...or use 1/2 heavy cream and 1/2 sour cream)
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
Salad
1 large head of romaine
a couple pieces homemade sourdough (optional, if you want breadcrumbs)
3 oz parmesan, cut into 1" chunks
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1. Cut up the bread a bit and put in a small food processor until you have rough medium crumbs. (If you like regular sized croutons, cut the bread instead of using a food processor. For Caesar salad, I like mine to be small crumbs.) Spread the crumbs on a cookie sheet, toss with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and put in 400F oven to lightly brown. Set aside to cool. No need to wash the food processor yet.
2. In the same food processor with the regular blade, add the all 6 oz of the cheese chunks. It's ok if there's a little bit of bread crumb residue mixed in, unless your guests are GF. Blend or pulse the cheese until finely grated. Remove half the cheese and set aside for the salad.
3. Add all other dressing ingredients to the remaining grated cheese in the processor, except for the olive oil. Pulse until well mixed and grainy-smooth. Then, very slowly, drizzle in the olive oil, while processor is turned on. Continue to blend until the dressing has emulsified, and it's thick and creamy. Let sit on counter for 30mn.
4. Wash, dry and tear (or cut) lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Toss with half of remaining cheese and 1/2 the toasted breadcrumbs. Add some of the dressing and toss until lettuce pieces are coated but not drenched. Garnish salad with remaining bread crumbs and parmesan.
5. The dressing will keep in the fridge for about 5 days.
Comments