lamb | The Paleo Mom

Middle Eastern-Inspired (Dukkah) Pepita-Crusted Lamb Chops

December 5, 2012 in Meat and Poultry

This is now one of our favorite meals. Just typing up this recipe is making my mouth water. I used pepitas to crust the lamb chops because I made these for the first time while my mother-in-law was visiting and she’s allergic to nuts. Pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) actually work really well in terms of flavor and texture, but this is also delicious made with pistachios or hazelnuts (which is more traditional) as a substitute.

Red palm oil (also called virgin palm oil) is one of the healthiest oils available, high in medium chain triglycerides (similar to coconut oil). It is also ridiculously high in tocotrienols, a very potent form of vitamin E, and vitamin A. It has a very distinctive flavor which works delightfully well with warm spices like coriander and cumin. If you can’t find red palm oil, then you can substitute your favorite cooking fat.

This is my second recipe using pomegranate molasses (see my Pomegranate Molasses-Glazed Salmon recipe here), which is quickly becoming one of my favorite new ingredients. It has a delightful tang that just can’t be replicated with anything else. Even though it’s a little drizzle over the top, this dish just wouldn’t be the same without it. If you don’t live near a Lebanese grocery store, you can buy pomegranate molasses from amazon (much cheaper per bottle if you buy 4).

Serves 4-5.

Ingredients:

4 lbs of lamb chops (rib or loin)
2 ½ Tbsp sesame seeds
½ cup raw unsalted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
1 Tbsp coriander
2 tsp cumin
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 Tbsp honey
1-3 Tbsp red palm oil (available from Tropical Traditions)

Combine honey and pomegranate molasses. Set aside (and this is some tasty stuff, so you might actually want to double it).
Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add pepitas and sesame seeds to the pan. Toast the seeds, shaking or stirring occasionally, until fragrant and starting to brown. Remove from heat and let cool. Grind in a food processor or Magic Bullet until the consistency of coarse sand.
Combine ground toasted pepitas and sesame seeds with coriander cumin and salt. Place on a plate (for lamb chop coating) and set aside.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp of palm oil to the pan. Fry the lamb chops in the palm oil in batches, 2 minutes per side (mine had were thick enough that they really had 4 sides) for medium-rare (more like 3 minutes per side for medium). You can adjust cooking time for the thickness of your chops and your desired doneness.
As chops are cooked, set aside and cover with tinfoil or place in a warm oven to keep warm.
Take each cooked lamb chop and dip into the ground pepita mixture on each side to give it a nice coating. Drizzle with the pomegranate molasses mixture and serve.

Tags: chop, crusted, dukkah, eastern, egyptian, hazelnut, inspired, lamb, loin, middle, molasses, pepitas, pistachio, pomegranate, Recipe, rib, sesame
2 Comments »

Nightshade-Free Paleo Lamb Curry

November 21, 2012 in Soups and Stews, Stir Fries and One-Pot Meals

I have been experimenting with nightshade-free spice blends lately. Because my family all enjoys anything seasoned with curry powder, it became and important priority to recreate the curry flavor without the nightshades that are typically included in curry spices. This curry, while milk, is absolutely delicious. If you buy lamb stew meat pre-butchered into cubes, this also makes this meal quite easy to put together. The longer you cook this curry, the more tender the meat will be, so you can easily extend the cooking time if you wish. This would also work in a slow cooker.

This is delicious served with plain cauliflower rice or spaghetti squash. You could also substitute another meat very easily into this meal (dare I suggest leftover turkey since Thanksgiving is tomorrow?). Serves 5-6.

Ingredients:

3 lbs lamb stew meat, cubed
3 Tbsp red palm oil (or substitute tallow, lard or coconut oil)
2 medium yellow onions, diced
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp mustard powder
½ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp anise
¼ tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
¼ tsp caraway seed
½ tsp salt, to taste
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup coconut cream concentrate (aka creamed coconut, aka coconut butter)
4 cups fresh spinach

If you are using any whole seeds (anise and caraway would be typical), grind in a food processor or spice grinder to a powder.
In a large stock pot, heat 2 Tbsp red palm oil over medium-high heat. Brown meat in 2-3 batches, setting browned meat aside in a large bowl.
Add 1 Tbsp of red palm oil to the pot. Cook onion and carrot until onion is starting to turn translucent, about 7-8 minutes.
Add meat back to the pot and all of the spices.
Add chicken broth and lemon juice to the pot. Cover, reduce temperature to medium and simmer for 1 hour (or more).
Remove lid and continue to simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes.
Stir in coconut cream and spinach. Once spinach has wilted (about 1 minute), serve.
Enjoy!

Tags: crock pot, curry, Dairy-free, easy, ethnic, Gluten-Free, Indian, lamb, leftover, leftovers, nightshade-free, Recipe, red palm oil, slow cooker, stew, thanksgiving, turkey
3 Comments »

Beef Tongue with Rosemary Mustard Reduction

November 5, 2012 in Organ Meat

If you haven’t tried beef tongue, you are missing out. It is the most tender and delicious meat and can be prepared in a variety of ways (tongue tacos being especially popular). Although it is a muscle, it is more nutrient dense than other muscles, and like the heart, is really considered an organ meat. It’s also typically quite inexpensive. I buy 2.5-3lb grass-fed beef tongues for $6 each from my local farmer. You can also buy them from US Wellness Meats (although, they are considerably more expensive).

It can be a little strange cooking something that looks so much like exactly what it is (and I think we’re all a little used to being very dissociated from the animal our meat comes from). But, if you can come to terms with handling a giant tongue, then this recipe is absolutely exquisite. (Note: the whole tongue appearance thing doesn’t bother me at all. But if it does bother you, you could slice the tongue very thin, cube it, or even shred it before eating.)

Tongue is delicious but this sauce is crazy awesome. My only big mistake the first night we had this meal was that I didn’t make a side dish that could absorb all that extra sauce. I highly recommend serving with something like mashed cauliflower or cauliflower rice or even paleo biscuits just to mop up all that tasty goodness.

Variation: If you’re lucky enough to get lamb tongue, you can use several in place of the cow tongue. They only needs to be boiled for about 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients (Beef Tongue):

2.5-3 lbs beef tongue
1 large sprig fresh rosemary (about 1½ Tbsp dried rosemary)
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme (about 2 tsp dried thyme)
8 whole garlic cloves
2 carrots, roughly chopped
3 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, quartered
1 tsp salt
Water to cover, about 6 cups

Ingredients (Rosemary Mustard Reduction):

Cooking liquid from beef tongue
2 Tbsp brown or Dijon-style mustard (something grainy is especially good)
2 tsp lemon juice (wine could be substituted)
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
4 Tbsp unsalted butter

Place the whole beef tongue in a large stock pot. Place vegetables and herbs around the tongue (ideally, it should be a pretty tight fit in your pot). You don’t even need to bother peeling the garlic or onions here. They are just in the pot to give flavor to the broth. Pour water over the top, just enough to cover the tongue.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer uncovered for 3-3½ hours. Check the level of the water every half hour or so and top up as required.
Remove the tongue from the pot and let cool. Pour the broth through a fine mesh sieve (or a few layers of cheesecloth) into a smaller pot and discard all of the vegetables and any other bits.
Bring broth to a boil and maintain a rolling boil until it has reduced to 1½ cups or less (about 10-15 minutes, depending on how much liquid you started with).
Add rosemary to broth and boil another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, mustard and lemon juice. Wisk to combine.
Meanwhile, as soon as beef tongue is cool enough to touch, peel off the white leathery skin on the outside (you might need a knife to get it started, but then it should come off very easily) and discard. Slice as you like it (if your reduction is still going to be a few minutes, cover with tin foil to keep warm).
Pour rosemary mustard reduction over the tongue and serve!

Tags: beef, boil, cook, dense, Diet, Healthy, How To, lamb, low-carb, mustard, nutrient, organ, paleo, Paleolithic, peel, primal, Recipe, reduction, rosemary, sauce, simmer, tongue
10 Comments »

Moroccan-Inspired Lamb (Heart) Stew

October 1, 2012 in Organ Meat, Soups and Stews

The recipe for this stew came out of my desire to create something really yummy out of a half dozen lamb hears that my local grass-fed beef and lamb farmer gave me. However, you could just as easily follow the exact same recipe with lamb stew meat if either lamb heart meat is hard for you to find or intimidating.

Part of the unique Moroccan flavor of this stew comes from the use of red palm oil. I buy ethical red/virgin palm oil from Tropical Traditions. It’s crazy high in vitamin E and other antioxidants and has an amazing flavor that works so well with warm spices. If you can’t find red palm oil, you could substitute extra virgin coconut oil or tallow instead.

This recipe is nightshade-free but does contain seed-based spices for those on the autoimmune protocol.

US Wellness Meats sells grass-fed lamb heart. You’ll need about 6 hearts for this recipe. If you want to use stew meat, you could buy chops or leg and cut into chunks yourself. US Wellness Meats sells kabob pieces which would work very well. GrassFed Traditions sells actual lamb stew meat, already butchered.

This stew is perfect served over a bed of cauliflower rice/couscous (so perfect, I’m including directions to make it!). And even though it isn’t depicted in the photo, it is delightful with chopped fresh cilantro sprinkled on top. Serves 5-6.

Ingredients (Cauliflower Couscous):

1 head of cauliflower (about 6 cups after being processed)
2 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

Pulse cauliflower florets and stems in a Food Processor until it resembles small rice grains or large couscous grains (depending on your food processor, you might want to do this in batches). Note that this does not work very well with frozen cauliflower.
Heat coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cauliflower is cooked al dente, about 6-7 minutes.

Ingredients (Lamb Stew):

2.5-3lbs lamb heart (about 6 hears) or substitute 3lbs lamb stew meat
½ cup red palm oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp turmeric
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
½ tsp salt, to taste
½ tsp pepper, to taste
½ cup dried apricots
4 small sweet potatoes
2 medium yellow onions
1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
2 cups bone broth (beef, lamb or chicken)

Cut lamb hearts into 1-2” cubes (up to you how big or small). The only trimming you need to do with these hearts is to remove any large vessels (and even those will be tender enough to eat at the end). Place in a bowl or re-sealable plastic bag.
Grind fennel seed (and any other whole spices you might be using) in a spice grinder or Magic Bullet (you could also grind with a mortar and pestle). Combine with cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric garlic, red palm oil and lemon juice. Wisk to combine.
Pour palm oil mixture over lamb and stir to coat. Cover/close bag and marinate in the refrigerator 4-6 hours or overnight (up to 24 hours).
Slice onions in half and then into ½” semicircles. Slice olives if not already sliced. Finely chop apricots. Wash sweet potatoes (peel if desired) and slice into 1” pieces.
Preheat oven to 300F.
Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Brown lamb pieces in batches (I did 3 batches). There should be enough oil on the lamb to brown without sticking, but if your pieces start to stick add an extra 1-2 Tbsp of palm oil (or marinade). It should only take 3-4 minutes to brown each batch. Remove lamb to a bowl.
Add onion to the pot and cook until soft and caramelized, about 10 minutes (if you do not have enough fat in the pot left from browning the lamb, you may wish to add 1-2 Tbsp of palm oil).
Place all the lamb and any leftover marinade back in the pot. Add sweet potato, olives, apricots, broth, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, salt and pepper (if your broth is very well seasoned, you might not need any salt).
Cook uncovered in the oven for 2 hours. Enjoy!