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.

Sour cranberry applesauce

I think this tart applesauce is absolutely delicious. It's also very easy and you can use old apples for it. I'm planning on serving it with sweet potato latkes and sour cream. A variation I'd like to try is to use fresh rhubarb in addition to, or in place of, the cranberries. If you do that, compensate with extra lemon juice; rhubarb, though tart, is not as sour as cranberries.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 lbs. apples, peeled and cored (firm, crunchy apples like Granny Smith and Golden Delicious are good)
• 12 oz. package fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. whole allspice (or 1/2 tsp. ground)
  
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup water
• Granulated sugar to taste (I used about half a cup)

RECIPE:

1. Cut the apples into quarters. Combine all ingredients except white sugar in a pot.
2. Heat until water is boiling, then reduce heat to a simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes.
3. Mash with a potato masher, then begin adding granulated sugar and tasting until you've reached the desired level of sweetness. (Warning: this is going to be REALLY SOUR before you start adding the granulated sugar!)

Greek lemon-chicken soup (κοτόσουπα αυγολέμονο)

This incredibly delicious, beautiful soup requires a bit of practice to make right. The trick is to put in the eggs when the broth is at a high enough temperature to custardize them, but not so high that they would congeal into little bits of egg in the soup. This recipe is not authentic; "real" avgolemono uses boiled chicken instead of sautéed, much less onion, no mushrooms, and is generally much lighter. I like the additional body that the vegetables provide, making this into a dinner éntree proper.

Serve with a salad of bitter greens and vinaigrette.

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 cups chicken broth (preferably fresh)
  
• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken
• Olive oil for sautéing
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 yellow onions
• 12 oz. sliced mushrooms
• lemon juice (how much? a lot, in my opinion)
• garlic (ditto)
• freshly ground black pepper
• salt to taste
  
• cooked rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown, but do not cook, the chicken in a bit of olive oil. (i.e., sauté it until the outside turns brown, and then stop.) Set the chicken aside.
2. In your soup pot, begin sautéing the mushrooms over high heat until they soften.
3. Add in the onions and sauté until the onions begin to soften.
4. Add in the garlic and continue to sauté until onion and garlic is golden.
   
5. Add in the chicken and broth; bring to a boil.
6. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for about 30 minutes or until chicken is very tender.
7. While you're waiting, beat the eggs thoroughly with the lemon juice.
8. Once the chicken is cooked, turn down the heat to extremely low. You want the soup to be hot enough to custardize an egg, but not hot enough to fully congeal it.
9. Take a small amount of the broth and slowly add it into the egg mixture, beating vigorously with a whisk. (This helps to equalize the temperatures.)
10. Here's the scary part: beating as fast as you can, slowly add the egg mixture to the soup. (It may be easier to remove the chicken first.) The egg will begin to custardize instantly due to the heat of the soup.
    
11. Stir in black pepper and salt to taste. Serve with the rice immediately.
    

PAIRINGS: Enjoy with an deeply chilled shot of ouzo or sambuca and a cup of hot mint tea.