Slow Cooked Lamb with Potatoes – Kuzi de Pesah

I always liked lamb and when looking for a great recipe that uses it, what better place to find it than in a Sephardic cookbook?

From Stella’s Sephardic Kitchen (page 157) by Stella Cohen:

Detail of photo by: Marc Hoberman, on page 156

An easy one-pan lamb and potato dish which is perfect as a family meal and a chilly night. The lamb is gently simmered on the stovetop then briefly browned in the oven. Traditionally this flavorsome dish is served on the Passover dinner, paired with a green spring salad or braised green beans.

3 1/4 lb shoulder of lamb, cut through the bone into even chunks *
5 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 fresh bay leaves
2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3-4 cups hot chicken soup
2 1/4 lb waxy potatoes, peeled and quartered lengthways
3 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley (use leaves and tender stems)

You will need:
An enameled, cast-iron, shallow oven-to-table casserole

TRIM excess fat from the lamb.

HEAT 4 tbsp olive oil in the casserole over medium-high heat. Add the lamb and cook to batches on all sides until lightly browned. Remove the lamb with long tongs and keep in a heatproof dish.

ADD the onions to the casserole and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Return the browned meat to the pan. Add the bay leaves, rosemary sprigs, and season with salt and pepper. Pour in enough hot stock to just cover the lamb. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer foe 3-4 hours or until the meat is tender, adding more hot stock as necessary. Skim the fat off the cooking juices in the pan.

MEANWHILE boil the potatoes until just tender and drain.

SCATTER the potatoes over the lamb and sprinkle with half the parsley over the lamb and sprinkle with half the parsley,. Drizzle the remaining olive over the potatoes and season with salt and pepper.

PREHEAT the oven to grill/broil 15 minutes before serving. Place in under the grill for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown. Serve at once with the remaining parsley sprinkled on top.

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STELLA’S HINTS:

• * Ask your butcher to cut the shoulder into roughly 2- 2 1/2 inch chunks.
• Lamb chops can be used instead of shoulder, which will save cooking time.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS