Olive Lamb And Red Pepper Casserole Recipes

OLIVE, LAMB, AND RED PEPPER CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Poke holes in the skin of the squash, and place onto the baking sheet cut-side down. Bake in the preheated oven until soft, about 1 hour. Turn the squash cut-side up, and allow to cool until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the ground lamb, and cook until browned and crumbly, about 7 minutes. Once browned, remove the lamb from the skillet and set aside. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and bell peppers, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, basil, rosemary, and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper (remember that the ricotta salata is very salty). Continue cooking and stirring until the flavor of the garlic has mellowed, about 3 minutes more.
• Scrape the flesh of the warm spaghetti squash into a large bowl. Separate the strands of the squash with a fork, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place half of the squash into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread with half of the lamb, half of the red pepper mixture, half of the olives, sprinkle with half of the cheese, and spread with half of the tomato sauce. Repeat the layers using the remaining squash, lamb, red pepper mixture, olives, cheese, and tomato sauce.
• Bake the casserole in the preheated oven until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

LAMB AND RED PEPPER STEW

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large high-sided frying pan over medium heat. Add about three quarters of the onion and all of the garlic. Gently fry for about 5 minutes until soft.
• Meanwhile, lightly dust the lamb with flour. Heat a little more olive oil in another pan over high heat. Add the lamb chunks in batches and cook, turning, until evenly browned. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Using the pan in which you've just cooked the lamb, turn up the heat, add one third of the wine, stirring and scraping the meat residue from the bottom of the pan. Allow to reduce for a minute or two.
• Stir the lamb and the reduced wine into the onions. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
• Add the remaining wine to the lamb pan and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Then add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
• Cover the pan and gently braise the lamb over very low heat for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes or so.
• When the lamb has been cooking for about an hour, heat a little more oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the peppers and the remaining onion. Cover and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes until soft.
• Check the lamb seasoning before serving.
• Place the peppers on individual serving plates and spoon the lamb on top. Finish with the cooking sauce and a touch of olive oil.

OLIVE-CRUSTED RACK OF LAMB

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Sprinkle lamb bones with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add lamb bones and sauté until dark brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer lamb bones to bowl. Add leek, carrot, and onion to same pot. Sauté until golden, about 12 minutes. Add tomato, red wine, garlic, bay leaves, and rosemary; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add 4 cups water and lamb bones with any accumulated juices. Bring to boil. Cover partially, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened and reduced, about 2 hours. Using tongs, discard lamb bones. Press vegetables and liquid through sieve into large bowl. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated.)
• For lamb:
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and rosemary; sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Add breadcrumbs and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add olives and stir until moist clumps form, adding more breadcrumbs if mixture is loose. Season crumb topping with salt and pepper. Cool.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Working in batches, add lamb racks to skillet, rounded side down. Sear until brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to large rimmed baking sheet, seared side up. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard over each. Press crumb topping into mustard. Roast lamb to desired doneness, about 25 minutes for medium.
• Rewarm sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally. Cut lamb between bones and serve with sauce.

SPANISH LAMB WITH SHERRY, HONEY & PEPPERS

Steps:

• Make sure your lamb isn't too damp - pat it dry with kitchen paper if you need to, otherwise it won't colour well. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large casserole dish and brown the lamb over a high heat in batches (if you crowd the pan the meat will sweat and not brown). Remove with a slotted spoon as you go. When all the lamb is browned, add the remaining oil and cook the onion and peppers over a medium heat until the onion is golden and the vegetables are softened. Add the garlic and paprika, and cook for a further 1 min, then add the sherry and bring to a simmer.
• Put all the lamb back in the pan, along with the stock, saffron, sherry vinegar and honey. Season and bring to just under the boil. Turn the heat down, cover the pan and leave to cook very gently for 2 hrs, turning the meat every so often.
• In the last half hour of cooking time, remove the lid so that the sherry and stock can reduce. You want to end up with completely tender meat in a flavoursome gravy - how long this takes will depend on how wide your pan is so you may need to give it longer than 30 mins. Check the seasoning. You're unlikely to need to adjust the vinegar or honey but you might want to sweeten the dish slightly. Scatter the parsley or almonds on top (or use both). Serve with the couscous.

NICKEY'S PASTA AND LAMB CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta until barely al dente (see pasta packaging for timing). Then drain and return to the pot.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil until shimmering in a large saucepan. Add the lamb, onion, oregano, cinnamon, cloves and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stirring frequently, cook until lamb is no longer pink and liquid is gone.
• Add the marinara sauce and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occassionally for about 5 minutes.
• In blender, combine 2 cups of ricotta with the egg yolks, nutmeg and 1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse as you add the remaining ricotta.
• Add the lamb mixture to the pasta; stir to thoroughly combine ingredients. Transfer to a 9x13 casserole.
• Cover the pasta with the ricotta mixture, then top with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• Bake for 20 minutes until heated through; then turn on the broiler until the top is golden brown. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
• FRENCH BREAD: This is how my sister taught me to prepare a delicious crusty French bread -- Place whole (unsliced) french bread loaf in oven at 325 degrees F for 5-10 minutes; remove and slice. Serve with butter or garlic butter on the side).