Balkan summer lamb stew

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
3 pounds Lamb shoulder with bones; cut in chunks
2 mediums Onions; peeled and coarsely chopped
3 larges Bell peppers; trimmed and seeded
12 smalls Red new potatoes; scrubbed and eyes removed
2 larges Tomatoes; cut into eighths
1 bunch Green onions and tops; roots trimmed & sliced into 1 1/2\" lengths
8 Cloves garlic; crushed and peeled
1 cup Snipped fresh dill or 3 tablespoons dried dill
1 tablespoon Hot Hungarian paprika; or to taste or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper; to taste
¼ cup Olive oil
⅓ cup Water
3 Yellow summer squash or yellow zucchini; ends trimmed and thickly sliced
¼ cup Green beans; ends trimmed and cut in 1 1/2\" lengths
2 tablespoons Lemon juice; or to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Place lamb in a large (6-quart or more) ovenproof casserole or Dutch oven and add onion, bell pepper, potatoes, tomatoes, green onion, garlic, dill, paprika, salt, and black pepper.Pour on olive oil and then the water. Cover and bake 2½ hours.Scatter squash and green beans on top of other ingredients and add a little more water (about half a cup) if the stew looks dry. Bake 30 minutes longer. Remove casserole from oven, leaving oven turned on if serving stew the same night. Pour off (or tilt casserole and spoon off) most of the liquid into a bowl. To liquid add lemon juice, tasting carefully and correcting seasonings.

NOTES : To serve the same night, spoon off all visible fat from liquid or, better yet, place bowl in freezer until fat congeals on top (about 20 minutes).To serve the next day, refrigerate liquid separately from remaining ingredients. Remove and discard fat from top of liquid. Whichever technique is used, before serving pour remaining degreased liquid back into casserole. Cover casserole and reheat in oven until liquid is bubbling slightly (about 20 minutes if chilled, 5 minutes if unchilled). Serve in large soup bowls with French bread on the side or on large plates over a bed of Pilaf. For a thicker, creamy sauce, stir ¾ cup yogurt into liquid just before reheating. Yield: 4 servings.

Recipe by: Cole Publishing Group Recipe Collection Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by "Mega-bytes" <mega-bytes@...> on Apr 5, 1998

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