TLR's Favorite Lamb Dish

 Although lamb is one of the most widely eaten meats in the world, the US is not known as a lamb-centric community.  So naturally, to find the best recipes for lamb, it makes sense to look to the communities that have built a cuisine out of lamb, based on a long track record of high per capita lamb consumption.  One such country is Greece, which ranks 5th-highest per capita consumption of lamb in the world.

One of the most common lamb dishes in this lamb-loving country is Lamb and Tomato Sauce.  This rather bland name masks an incredible dish, with many layers of flavor, all blended beautifully, and completely complementary of one-another.  It's one of the most common dishes in Greece, and has a 400 year legacy.  Instead of a regional favorite, it can be found throughout the country of Greece, and once you taste it, you'll see why.  Ingredients listed with a * are essential to the dish.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

3 pounds of lamb, bone-in.  The cuts don't matter, but shoulder meat works very well for this dish.

2 cups of stock (flavor of your choice)

1 cup of red wine*

3 cloves of chopped garlic

2 onions, peeled and chopped

1 cup chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon of allspice*

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon*

1/2 teaspoon of oregano

2 cups of coarsely chopped tomatoes*

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Cube the lamb into bite-sized pieces, and brown the lamb in the olive oil.  Season it with salt and pepper.  Place into a medium to large pot, along with the broth and wine, but leave the oil in the pan.  Reheat the pan and oil and saute the garlic and unions.  Add the remaining ingredients, and saute just until the tomatoes cook down to a medium-soft texture.  Add this mixture with the lamb, and simmer it for about 1.5 hours, until the meat is very tender.