Tag Archives: ground lamb

Baked Harissa Meatballs with Cherry Tomato Sauce

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A go-to pantry flavor solution does double duty when both meatballs and sauce are added into the mix. For a taste of North Africa use the spice paste harissa described here, or depending on your mood and what you have on hand, give the dish a Mexican flair with smoky-spicy chipotle chilies in adobo instead.

Cherry tomatoes are roasted until they burst—their juices mingling with the seasonings to form a luscious sauce. Then the meatballs are nestled into the tomatoes and everything is roasted in the same pan. Serve with crusty bread for dipping in the sauce.

TIP: Refrigerate the meatballs before cooking; this firms them up so they’ll hold their shape as they roast.

Let’s talk about portion size. The original recipe states it feeds four—and that’s without any rice or pasta. Realistically, we felt 4 meatballs over orzo made for a decent serving, therefore comfortably feeding three people.

Baked Harissa Meatballs with Cherry Tomato Sauce

  • Servings: 3-4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 pints cherry OR grape tomatoes
  • 6 medium garlic cloves, 4 cloves smashed and peeled, 2 cloves finely grated, reserved separately
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. harissa paste, divided
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • ⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 lb. ground lamb, OR 90 percent lean ground beef
  • Chopped fresh cilantro OR flat-leaf parsley, to serve
  • Crumbled feta cheese, as topping

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the middle position. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, toss together the tomatoes, smashed garlic, oil, 1 tablespoon harissa, ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and ¼ cup water. Bake, uncovered, until the tomatoes have broken down, 30 to 35 minutes; stir once about halfway through.
  2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the panko and ½ cup water. Let stand until the panko softens, about 5 minutes, then use your hands to mash to a smooth paste. Add the beef, grated garlic, remaining 1 tablespoon harissa and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper; mix thoroughly with your hands. Divide into 12 portions, rolling them into smooth balls. Place on a large plate and refrigerate until ready to use.
  3. Remove the baking dish from the oven and nestle the meatballs in the tomato sauce. Bake, uncovered, until the meatballs are browned and the centers reach 160°F, about 15 minutes. Taste and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cilantro and feta cheese crumbles.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Courtney Hill for Milk Street

Slicked and Spicy Lamb Pappardelle

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This weeknight pasta by Zaynab Issa is all about creating deep flavor in as little time as possible. As in the classic Northern Chinese dish, this recipe deploys a similarly heavy hand of cumin, but complements it here with frizzled shallots and caramelized tomato paste for an added touch of sweetness.

To make things extra fast, use ground lamb and store-bought pappardelle, but any wide, long, flat pasta or other noodle will cling well to the spiced oil and saucy meat. To finish, top the whole thing with a little extra fresh mint to balance out the richness of the dish; and some shavings of parmesan or grana padano.

Our pappardelle cooked to al dente in 4 minutes, so keep timing in mind when making this meal. We also used the entire 2 cups of reserved pasta water. If you’d like the dish to be more meat-centric, use only 8 ounces of pasta (which of course will result in fewer servings). At the end, we added all of the pasta to the lamb mixture instead of doing it in two steps.

As to the amount of pasta, we were originally only going to cook up one 8.8 ounce package, but then decided to use two of them, totaling 17.6 ounces (a bit more than the recipe called for). In the end, we agreed that 8- to12-ounces would have made a better ratio with the one pound of meat. If preferred, ground beef, turkey or pork can be substituted in place of the lamb.

Slicked and Spicy Lamb Pappardelle

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. cumin seeds
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 large shallots, thinly sliced
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 lb. ground lamb
  • 1 lb. pappardelle (or less)
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped mint, plus more for serving
  • Shaved parmesan or grano padano for topping

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

A mortar and pestle or a spice mill

Directions

  1. Coarsely grind 2 Tbsp. cumin seeds in mortar and pestle or spice mill. Set aside. 
  2. Heat ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a large (12-13″) high-sided skillet over medium-high. Add 3 large shallots, thinly sliced, and season with kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened and beginning to brown around the edges, 6–9 minutes.
  3. Add 2 Tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste and stir to coat shallots. Cook, stirring often, until paste is darkened in color, about 3 minutes.
  4. Add 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika, 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, and reserved cumin seeds. Cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  5. Add 1 lb. ground lamb and break up into small pieces with a wooden spoon; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lamb is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and keep warm. 
  6. Cook 1 lb. pappardelle or other wide noodle in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot off heat. 
  7. Increase heat under lamb to medium and add 1 cup pasta cooking liquid; stir to combine. Add half of lamb and ½ cup coarsely chopped mint to the cooked pasta; cook over medium-low heat, tossing and adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed to loosen, until sauce coats pasta, about 2 minutes. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
  8. Divide pasta among bowls; top with remaining lamb in skillet, then with more mint. 

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Zaynab Issa for Bon Appétit

Beef and Lamb Bolognese

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This version of bolognese is half lamb and half ground beef, a mixture you’ll see a lot in northern Italy, and because the lamb is lean, this is a somewhat lighter sauce than all-beef or pork-based ragu.

The sauce needs a good long simmer, but it makes enough that you’ll likely get two meals. Giada claims the pasta shouldn’t be swimming in sauce; you only want it to stain the pasta, but we are “saucy” people and like to pile on a fair amount.

One of the ingredients is Calabrian chili paste, but a good substitute is Sriracha, and that’s what we used.

Beef and Lamb Bolognese

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 celery, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt divided
  • 3/4 lb. ground lamb
  • 3/4 lb. ground beef chuck
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • 1 tsp. Calabrian chili paste; or Sriracha
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup dry red wine such as chianti
  • 1 can whole San Marzano tomatoes, (28 ounce) crushed by hand
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 piece parmesan rind, (3 inch)
  • 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 lb. fusilli, cooked to package instructions; or polenta

Directions

  1. Heat a medium dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil and warm until the butter is melted.
  2. Add the onions, carrots, celery and a 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook stirring often for 6 minutes or until the vegetable are soft but have no color.
  3. Add the lamb and beef and cook breaking apart the meat with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink.
  4. Stir the garlic, chili paste, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste into the meat mixture. Cook the tomato paste stirring often for 2 minutes.
  5. Add the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the milk is almost entirely evaporated.
  6. Add the wine, tomatoes, bay leaf, parmesan rind and remaining salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low to just maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer the sauce for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Use several folded paper towels to skim some of the oil from the surface.
  7. Discard the bay leaf and parm rind.
  8. Spoon the bolognese over fusilli or creamy polenta reserving any extra to serve on the side. Serve with additional parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

Egyptian Hawawshi

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An Egyptian street food, hawawshi (pronounced ha-WOW-shi) is a riff on the hamburger, if you will. It is basically dough (or pita in this case) stuffed with a mixture of ground meat—lamb or beef—that is seasoned with tantalizing warm spices, onions, garlic, hot peppers and fresh herbs.

There are three components to making these hawawshi patty sandwiches: the seasonings, the meat mixture, and pita pockets—we used the multi-grain variety. This satisfying sandwich is typically served hot without much else to accompany it, although we both felt it needed a sauce of some sort, such as tahini or tzatziki, neither of which we had. Instead, we made a quick mixture of mayo and Sriracha and spread it in the pocket. And it’s never a bad idea to add a side salad…

Since the original recipe (shown below) made 12 sandwiches, we cut it in half, which also gave us a few leftover for lunches.

Egyptian Hawawshi

  • Servings: 12 pockets
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 large yellow onion quartered
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 green bell pepper, cored and cut into large chunks
  • 1 jalapeno, halved and seeded (leave some of the seed if you like heat)
  • ½ oz. fresh parsley stems, trimmed
  • 2 lbs. lean ground lamb or beef
  • 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • Kosher salt
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 pita pockets

For the Hawawshi Seasoning (Spice Mixture)

  • 1 tsp. coriander
  • 1 tsp. allspice
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • ½ tsp. cumin
  • ¾ tsp. cardamom
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In a small bowl, add the spices and mix to combine.
  3. Put the onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno, and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, pulse a few times until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a sieve to drain excess liquid (it helps to push with the back of a spoon).
  4. Transfer the onion mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the ground beef and tomato paste. Mix to combine. Add the spice mixture and a dash of kosher salt. Mix again until the mixture is well combined and the spices are well distributed within the meat mixture.
  5. Cut the pita loafs in halves to create 12 pita pockets.
  6. Prepare a large sheet pan brushed with a bit of extra virgin olive oil.
  7. Stuff each pita pocket with ⅓ cup of the meat mixture. Using the back of a spoon, spread the meat mixture inside the pita pockets.
  8. Arrange the pitas in the prepared sheet pan. Brush the pita pocket tops with a bit of extra virgin olive oil.
  9. Bake in the heated oven for 15, then carefully turn the pitas over and cook on the other side another 5 to 10 minutes until the meat is fully cooked and the pita is crispy on both sides.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Suzy Karadsheh

Lebanese Baked Kafta with Potatoes and Tomatoes

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“It’s easy to see why kafta bil sanieh, a casserole, if you will, of sliced potatoes, rounds of tomatoes and flavorful kafta (seasoned meatballs or meat patties), is Lebanese comfort food. The ingredients are shingled into a baking dish and baked until the flavors meld and the textures become deliciously succulent and tender.”

This Milk Street rendition, based on a recipe from “The Palestinian Table” by Reem Kassis, starts with a simple no-cook tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking dish, where juices collect during baking and form a delicious sauce. To ensure the potatoes cook evenly and thoroughly, precook them by roasting them for about 10-15 minutes, enough time to begin making the kafta. If you are squeamish about lamb, use 80 percent lean ground beef instead. You can serve it with rice pilaf, but we did not.

I doubled the garlic, putting half of it in the meat mixture, the other half in the tomato sauce. To press the meat balls into 1/4″ thick discs, I used a flat-bottomed glass that was dipped into cool water between each smashing. Then I put the entire tray into the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm up while the potatoes cooled. This made it easier for assembly.

Speaking of assembly, it helps to start with uniform sizes for the potatoes, tomatoes and peppers. In the end, there was not enough ingredients to make 3 full rows from front to back in the baking dish, but any left over slices of veggies were just positioned in the back. Unable to buy a small can of crushed tomatoes, we chose whole peeled tomatoes and crushed them with an immersion blender.

Lebanese Baked Kafta with Potatoes and Tomatoes

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, not peeled, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
  • 2 Tbsp. plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 lb. ground lamb or 80 percent lean ground beef
  • 1 medium yellow onion, halved and grated on the large holes of a box grater
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 14 ½ oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, minced, divided
  • 1 lb. plum tomatoes, cored and sliced into ¼-inch rounds
  • 2 small green bell peppers or Anaheim chili, stemmed, seeded and sliced into thin rings

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the middle position.
  2. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Distribute in a single layer and roast without stirring just until a skewer inserted into the potatoes meets no resistance, 10 to 13 minutes (ours took 16 min). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Leave the oven on.
  3. While the potatoes cook, line a second baking sheet with kitchen parchment. In a medium bowl, combine the lamb, onion, half the minced garlic, parsley, allspice, cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Using your hands, mix gently until just combined; do not over-mix.
  4. Divide the mixture into about 20 golf ball-size portions (1½ to 1¾ inches in diameter) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten each ball into a patty about 2½ inches wide and ¼ inch thick (it’s fine the patties are not perfectly round); set aside until ready to assemble.
  5. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, combine the crushed tomatoes, garlic, the ¼ cup oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Stir well, then distribute in an even layer.
  6. Shingle the potatoes, tomato slices, green pepper rings and meat patties in 3 or 4 rows down the length of the baking dish, alternating the ingredients. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with pepper.
  7. Bake, uncovered, until the kafta and potatoes are browned and the juices are bubbling, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Courtney Hill for Milk Street

Harissa-Spiced Lamb with Dates and Couscous

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Harissa is a North African spice paste whichis used as the flavor base for this simple skillet-cooked meat sauce, as well as to season the couscous that’s served alongside. Scallions play a dual role in this dish—the whites are caramelized to lend depth of flavor to the sauce and the greens are sprinkled on as a garnish.

Dates (or golden raisins) lend sweetness that play off the spicy, savory notes. Neither of us are huge fans of raisins/dates in our savory dishes, so we only incorporated one ounce of golden raisins and to us, it was the perfect amount of sweetness.

While the directions were followed as written, the next time we prepare this dish, we’ll brown the meat in the skillet first, remove it to a dish, wipe out the grease, and then cook the scallions as directed, adding back the cooked lamb afterwards. The original way leaves all of the fat in the pan.

The chopped pistachios, lemon wedge and cilantro all added welcome pops of flavor as garnishes.

Harissa-Spiced Lamb with Dates and Couscous

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1¼ cups couscous
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 3 Tbsp. harissa, divided, plus more to serve
  • 1¼ cups boiling water
  • 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens reserved separately
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 lb. 80 percent lean ground lamb (OR ground beef)
  • ¾ cup pitted dates/golden raisins, roughly chopped
  • Optional garnish: Chopped fresh cilantro, chopped pistachios, chopped pitted green olives and/or lemon wedges

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, stir together the couscous, ¾ teaspoon salt and 1½ tablespoons each oil and harissa. Stir in the boiling water; cover and let stand while you prepare the beef.
  2. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook the remaining 1½ tablespoons oil, the scallion whites and cumin, stirring, until the scallions brown.
  3. Add the lamb (or beef), the remaining 1½ tablespoons harissa, the dates, ¾ cup water and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Simmer and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally while breaking up the meat, until the mixture is saucy.
  4. Stir in the scallion greens and season with salt and pepper. Serve over the couscous.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe from Courtney Hill for Milk Street