Braised lamb chops with stewed okra
0Monday, 11 February 2013
Lamb shoulder slices were on sale so I decided to give them a try. I wanted to go to yoga before dinner so I started them off in the slow-cooker and finished them in the oven. For complete oven cooking see the note below.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours (2.5 in oven alone)
Serves: 2
Ingredients
2 lamb shoulder chops
1 carrot, thickly sliced
1 celery rib, thickly sliced
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup beef stock
4 cloves garlic, pressed
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp flour
pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Stewed okra
2 cups of okra
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 can tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tbsp olive oil
Directions
1. Grind rosemary and thyme with a mortar and pestle. Add to a small
bowl with garlic, lemon zest, half the lemon juice and half the oil. Add
salt and pepper and mix well. Rub the mixture on both sides of the
lamb chops.
meat, about 5-7 minutes per side, until a slight crust forms. Set chops
aside.
3. Turn down the heat to medium and add onions. Sauté until
translucent, about 4 minutes. Add stock to the skillet and scrape off
brown bits.
4. Add meat, onion mixture, remaining lemon juice, carrots and celery to
the slow-cooker, over high heat. Cook for 2 hours.
5. Meanwhile, cut off the tops of the okra and slice lengthwise. Soak in
cold water for 10 minutes.
6. Sauté onions and garlic with 1/2 tsp of olive oil over medium heat for 5
minutes. Add cumin and cinnamon. Add drained okra and cook for 10
minutes, stirring frequently.
7. Add tomato paste and 1/2 cup of water and simmer over medium-low
for 15 minutes. Add additional water if necessary.
8. Remove lamb from the slow-cooker and place in a small pyrex dish with
1/2 of the liquid. Bake at 300 °F for 1 hour.
9. To make gravy, add the remaining liquid and vegetables from the slow
cooker to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add balsamic vinegar and
allow the liquid to reduce for 10 minutes. Add flour and whisk until
smooth. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until sauce thickens.
10. Remove lamb from oven and plate with gravy and okra.
11. Savour it!
Note: If you only want to use the oven, place chops, onion mixture and stock to a roasting pan and bake with a lid on for 2 hours at 300 °F. Increase heat to 350 °F, remove the lid and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
