Lamb and Tomatillo Stew

I invented this stew for my mother's birthday when I was an undergraduate. Since then, I have made a few variations on it: one involving tender cactus, another involving mixed beans. This time I decided to use potatoes and green tomatoes; I think it worked very nicely.

One thing to note is that it's very, very easy to heat the lamb too hot while stewing; if you do, it will end up tough. Bringing to a boil is the kiss of death. I haven't gotten this exactly right in quite a long time; if anyone has a trick, please do share.

This dish seems far and away best suited to the spring, when the early-season tomatoes are still green. But a close second is fall--cold enough at night to justify a soul-warming stew, but warm enough during the day that a cilantro-and-lemon combination would still be welcome.

An awful lot of chopping needs to go into this stew. Indeed, by the end, I broke down and used a mini-prep to prepare the herbs and the hot pepper.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 lbs green tomatoes, diced into 1/2" cubes
• 1 lb fresh tomatillos, husked and diced into 1/2" cubes
• 1 1/2 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 3/4" cubes
  
• 1 1/2 lbs lamb, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup cilantro, finely minced
• 1 bunch scallions, finely minced
• 1 Annaheim pepper (or other chili), minced
  
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
  
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
  
• Olive oil
• Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large soup pot, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add lamb and brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.
2. Remove lamb and set aside. Add more olive oil if necessary; reduce heat to medium-low. Sauté onions and garlic, stirring constantly until beginning to turn golden, about 5-6 minutes.
3. Add the minced pepper and sauté for 2 minutes more.
4. Add the tomatoes, tomatillos, lemon juice and herbs; increase the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a just under a simmer, then reduce heat to very low (just below a simmer) and let cook, covered, for 1 hour.

NOTE: if your stew should accidentally reach a boil, quickly shut off heat and uncover. You may find that the lamb is already cooked through (it will cook through after only a couple of minutes at a boil); in that case, shut off the heat and allow to rest, covered, for another 30 minutes. This will tenderize the lamb somewhat.

Serve with a slice of avocado. Makes excellent leftovers.

Ratatouille Channa

This chickpea and eggplant curry started out as a recipe for ratatouille from "Cooking for Engineers." But I don't like sweet peppers, so I decided to substitute finely diced carrots to achieve an alternative sweet crunch. And then I didn't have any zucchinni. And then I decided to add a pound of chickpeas to make it into a meal. So it basically has no resemblance to the original. But it'd delicious!

NOTE: You will be deglazing the pot in this recipe, so do not use a non-stick pot!

If you substitute vegetable broth or white wine for the chicken stock, this recipe is vegan and kosher parve.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 1/2 lbs eggplant, cut into 1/2 cubes
  
• 1 lb. cooked chickpeas (about 8 oz. dry)
  
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3/4 cup chicken stock or white wine
• 4 carrots, diced into very small (<>
• 10 oz. crimini mushrooms, quartered
  
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
  
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• 4 sprigs basil, minced
• 5 sprigs parsely, minced
• Olive oil for sauteing
• Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula.
2. Add onion and continue to sauté until soft, another 4-6 minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste and combine, continuing to sauté until the tomato paste begins to darken, 1-2 minutes.
   
4. Deglaze the pot with the broth, scraping the bottom with the wooden spatula to free all the onion and tomato drippings.
5. Once the broth begins to simmer, add the mushrooms eggplant and carrots. Cook for 12 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Add diced tomatoes, chickpeas and minced herbs. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for a couple more minutes.

Serve with white rice. Makes excellent leftovers.