Lamb stew with Jerusalem artichoke and peas

I celebrated the start of Spring with the first dinner party in my new appartment.

It was a beautiful day and I went to butcher Frank in St-Gillis by bike. The friend who had tipped us on this butcher was there and gave me good purchasing advice and recommended me to the butcher. I took delicious meat home.

The dish I chose comes from the book of Jewish food by Claudia Roden and was inspired by a gift I received from a friend's garden.

Serves 6

1-1.5 kg lamb

3 garlic cloves, chopped finely

4 tbsp oil e.g. sunflower

500 g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled

juice of 1/2 lemon

500 g peas (I used frozen)

Fry the meat in oil until it's brown and add the garlic in the end. Add pepper and salt and cover with hot water. Bring to the boil, then cook on low heat for 1.5 hr.

Add big slices of Jerusalem artichoke, pepper and salt, lemon juice and more water if necessary.

Cook for 15 min and add peas.

Cook for another 5 min.

I served this with steamed potatoes.

Before we had a beef broth with finely cut vegetables and Hungarian soup pasta.

The dessert was baked apples.

The whole menu met with success.

Spicy lamb and coconut stew

This delicious stew is an Indian recipe from Claudia Roden's 'The book of Jewish food'. It just has a hint of coconut flavour, very delicate.


Serves 4

500 g onions
3-4 tbsp oil (e.g. sunflower)
1 kg lamb
3-5 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1,5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves (or 2 whole cloves)
3-5 small dried chilli peppers
750 g small potatoes, peeled or washed and cut in big pieces
50 g santen (creamed coconut) or 125 g coconut milk
1,5 tbsp tamarind paste or lemon juice
1,5 tbsp sugar

Cut the onions in rings and halve these. Fry them on low heat in 1-2 tbsp oil until they are soft and golden. Cover the pan and stir regularly to prevent them from burning. This can take 15-20 min.
Clean the meat: cut the skin off and big pieces of fat. Cut the meat in pieces of 4 cm. Fry it on high heat in 1-2 tbsp oil until it's brown on all sides.
Add crushed garlic, cumin and coriander to the onions and cook for a few minutes while stirring. Add the meat to the onions and add hot water until everything is covered. Let this boil.
Skim off the foam and add cinnamon, cloves and chilli peppers.
Cook this on very low heat in a covered pan for 1,5-2 hrs. Remove the chilli peppers.
Add potatoes, santen (cut into pieces) or coconut milk, tamarind and sugar. If necessary add more hot water until everything is just covered. Cook for another 30-40 min. until the potatoes are done. There should be plenty of sauce left.
Serve with rice, chapati's or bread.

Lamb with chestnuts and pumpkin

Last weekend I went to my mother's house in the countryside with some friends. We picked chestnuts and walnuts and my mother also gave me apples and a pumpkin and home made quince jelly, all from the garden.
All of this tastes fantastic and I wondered what I could cook with it. So I checked my cooking bible, Claudia Roden's 'The book of Jewish food' and I found a recipe of lamb with chestnuts. I also found a recipe with pumpkin and chestnuts as a side dish for couscous, so I decided to combine things.
Peeling chestnuts is a real pain and it takes ages, but the result is worth it!



Lamb with chestnuts and pumpkin

Serves 3-4

600 g lamb meat
1 onion, chopped
sunflower oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 chilli, chopped
20 chestnuts
500 g pumpkin, chopped

Cut the meat in cubes of around 3 cm.
Fry onion and chilli in oil on low heat until golden.
Raise the heat, add the meat and add pepper and salt. Fry the meat until brown on all sides.
Add boiling water and cinnamon. Let the mixture boil, then let it simmer for 1,5-2 h until the meat is very soft.
Make a cut in the form of a cross in each chestnut on top and boil them for 5 min. Peel them while they're still hot.
Add chestnuts and pumpkin to the meat and simmer for 10 min. until they are cooked.