Lamb with lettuce, spinach and egg and lemon sauce (fricasse in Greek)

LAMB WITH LETTUCE, SPINACH AND EGG AND LEMON SAUCE

(Lamb with lettuce and spinach, fricassee, in Greek)

I describe two different ways of making the fricassee.

The two methods differ only in the way that the meat is cooked. All the other steps are the same on both recipes.

 (Recipe for 6 people)

Ingredients

2kg lamb or baby goat (The most suitable part of the animal is the neck and the front leg cut into medium size pieces. The lamb must be very fresh, because the stale lamb has an unpleasant odor).

180 grams of olive oil

2 large onions

1 medium potato

1.5 kg purified spinach or 2 pounds gross

4 large lettuces

1 bunch dill

2 large eggs

2 lemons,

Some olives for the decoration,

Salt to taste

Very little red hot pepper

1 teaspoon coriander motes

Instructions

The meat for fricassee should be cut into small pieces.

It is good to have each piece approximately the size of a medium mandarin.

Some Super Market sell mutton purified from bones.

If you buy boneless meat, 1.5kg is enough.

Put 4 glasses of water in a pot.

Put the pot on high heat.

Wait for the water to boil.

Chop the onions and put them in the pot.

Let the onions cook 2-3 minutes.

Thoroughly wash the lamb with water.

Look carefully to see if there are any small broken bones on the meat. If you find any take them off.

Put the meat in the pot with the onions and wait until it begins to boil.

Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat and simmer.

If the meat is cooked in medium heat, it becomes tastier.

Cooking for 1-1.5 hour is sufficient to soften the meat.

Stir occasionally and check if there are enough liquids in the pot.

If the broth is very little, add some boiling water in the pot.

The fricassee isn’t a soup. It does not need too much of broth.

When you think that the meat is ready, is time to check if it is soft.

Nail a fork into the meat.

If the fork goes easily into the meat and the meat unsticks from the bones, it is time to add the vegetables.

If the fork finds resistance to get into the meat and the meat does not unstick from the bones, it needs more cooking. .

Let the meat simmer until it becomes soft and tender.  

Add salt if necessary and put very little red chili pepper.

While you boil the meat, prepare lettuce, spinach and dill.

From dill usually use the leaves.

The stalks are sometimes soft, sometimes dry.

Single dried stalks and discard them.

Chop finely the tender stalks and put the pieces in the food, because they add flavor.

Wash the dill in plenty of water, two or three times, and leave it aside.

If you buy washed and purified spinach, then just rinse it once, to refresh it.

If you buy gross fresh spinach, then scour it.

There is soil hidden between the stems of the leaves and the roots. 
Cut the roots of each spinach and discard it.

Spinach needs good washing in plenty of water.

To be sure that all the dirt is gone, wash the spinach at least four times changing the water each time.

Cut each leaf of the spinach in 2-3 pieces and let them aside.

Remove the yellow dried leaves from the lettuce.

Fill a big bowl with water. Put in it some salt and vinegar and submerge the leaves of lettuce.

Let the leaves briefly dipped into the water, to loosen all the small bugs on them.

Wash them at least three times, each time changing the water.

Cut each leaf in four pieces.

Clean the potato washed it and cut it into dices.

When the meat is tender, take a slotted spoon and remove it from the pot. Place the meat on a platter,
cover it and leave it aside.  

Taste a small piece of meat. If it needs more salt, add some.

Chop finely the dill in the pot with the boiling broth of the meat.

Add in the pot the pieces of spinach and lettuce and stir.
Let those vegetables to boil for 3 minutes.

Add the pieces of the potato and stir well.

Let the vegetables cook until they become soft.

Add some salt.

When the vegetables are ready, put the meat back into the pot and boil them all together for 5 minutes.

 Squeeze 1.5 lemons.

Put two eggs in a bowl and beat them with a whisk.

Pour the lemon juice little by little in the bowl with the eggs and at the same time continue beating the eggs.

With a soup ladle take hot broth from the pot and pour it in the bowl with the eggs little by little while beating.

Repeat this step 3-4 times.

So add enough hot broth into the eggs to get them cooked and yet remain a velvet sauce.

Take the pot from the heat and leave it aside.

Uncover the pot and pour in slowly the eggs and lemon sauce while stirring.

Give the eggs the time they need to mix with the lemon and become a tasteful sauce.

Tilt the pan to the side so the sauce goes everywhere.

Second way of cooking the meat

Put in a saucepan the oil and add chopped onions.

Put the pot over medium heat and let the onions sauté.

Put the meat into the pot and mix it with the onions.

Stir well so all the meat gets olive oil.

Lower the heat and let the meat simmer.

If the maximum of your appliance is 6, turn the indicator to 2.

Add salt, ground black pepper or a very small piece of red chili pepper.

Stir frequently.

The meat releases its fluids and cooks in them.

Let the meat simmer until soft.

Remove meat to a platter and continue as before.

Whichever way you choose  to make your fricassee it will come out delicious.

You can make the fricassee with lettuce only or with spinach only or solely with artichokes.

                                                                                                                                                                                             

Lamb in the oven with red pilaf

LAMB IN THE OVEN WITH RED PILAF

Ingredients

1 leg of lamb about 1200 g or more

2 cups rice for pilaf

5 large ripe tomatoes

Salt, pepper, oregano, savory

120 g olive oil

Instructions

Preparation and cooking the meat

Buy the meat from the day before.

Wash it well. If you find any small broken bones on the meat, take them off.

Sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, oregano, savory and grease it all around with oil.

Place the meat in a deep baking pan and put it in the fridge overnight.

The next day put the tomatoes in the blender and make them pulp.

Take off the pan, with meat, from the refrigerator.

Spread the tomato pulp on the lamb as a thick red layer that covers it.

Pour water in the pan until it covers the 2/3 of the meat.

Put a non stick baking paper over the meat to protect it from burning.

Bake at 250 C degrees longer than 40 minutes.

The meat eventually begins to smell crisp.

Take off the non-stick baking paper.

Nail a sharp fork ladle into the meat and turn it around.

The part of the meat that was in the water goes out of it.

The upper part of the meat descends down and plunges into the water.

Cover the pan again with the non stick baking paper and put it in the oven.

Let the meat boil for another 40 minutes.

Nail a sharp fork ladle into the meat to see if it is soft.

When the meat is cooked, the fork goes easily in it.

If the meat is hard and the fork finds resistance, bake it longer.

Reduce the heat to 180 degrees.

Let the meat simmer until it becomes soft and unsticks from the bones

Take the pan from the oven.

Take the meat from the pan and put in a serving platter.

Cover the meat with aluminum foil and put over it a fluffy towel to keep it warm.

Pilaf

Measure the broth of the the pan.

For the pilaf you need 2.5 cups broth for each cup of rice.

If the broth is less than 5 cups, you must put less rice in the pan.

Put the pan in the oven again.

Put the rice in a colander and rinse it. Leave it for some time to drain.

Put the rice into the pan.

Stir it with a long spoon ladle and add salt.

Let the rice in the oven, to bake for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Taste some rice, to see if it is done and if its flavor is correct.

Put again the lamb in the pan over the rice.

Cover the food with greaseproof paper so it won’t dry.

Leave the food in the oven to remain warm.

The lamb is delicious when it's warm, so served it so.

Lamb in the oven with potatoes

LAMB IN THE OVEN WITH POTATOES

(Recipe for 6 people)

Ingredients:

1 leg of lamb (about 1.5 kg)

Salt, pepper, oregano, savory

200 g. olive oil

3 kg potatoes

2 large lemons

Instructions

Buy the leg of the lamb from the previous day, to marinate.

Wash it well.

Put on the leg salt, pepper, oregano and savory.

Rub the leg with your hand and spread the herbs evenly all over it.

Put 1TB oil in your palm and grease the leg around.

If you like the smell of garlic, nail into the meat a few cloves of garlic.

When you invite people for dinner, avoid the garlic because its smell is very strong.

Put the meat in a baking pan with dimensions 31CH41CH7 cm.

Wrap the pan around with cling film and put it in the fridge.

Let the meat overnight in the refrigerator.

The next morning pour water into the pan until it covers the 2/3 of the meat.

Put the pan in the oven on the first rack from the bottom.

Bake at 250 degrees Celsius.

Cover the whole pan with a loose sheet of non stick baking paper, to protect the meat from burning.

Leave the pan covered for an hour.

After that time, uncover the pan and turn the meat upside down.

Peel the potatoes and wash them.

Cut them into pieces that have the size of a walnut.

Put those pieces in a bowl and pour some oil over them.

Stir them well so that all pieces get greased around with oil.

Put the potatoes in the pan with the meat.

Pour in the pan the remaining oil. Add salt, pepper, oregano and savory.

Cover the pan again with the loose non stick baking paper.

Bake for one more hour.

Uncover the pan to check the meat.

Nail a fork ladle into the meat, to see if it is soft.

If the meat is soft, leave the pan uncovered and continue baking until it gets color on top.

Remove the meat from the pan and put it on a serving platter. Cover the meat with a lid to keep it warm.

Evenly spread the potatoes in the pan.

Pour into the potatoes the lemon juice and stir gently.

Bake the potatoes for half an hour.
Taste the potatoes and, if necessary, add salt.

Bake the potatoes until they are soft and tender and have absorbed almost all their fluids. 

Place the meat back in the pan and bake for 5 more minutes.

Turn of the oven. 
Keep the food in the oven covered with the baking paper.

When you are going to serve the food on the plates, take the pan off the oven..

The lamb is tastier when it is hot.