Curried Leg of Lamb Pot Pie
This recipe for Curried Leg of Lamb Potpie gets five stars in my book. It’s full of flavor and a very tender cut of lamb.
I went the non-traditional route and served this as my Thanksgiving meal this year instead of turkey. Give it a try this holiday season. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Ingredients:
For the Pastry Dough:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup ice-cold water
For the Potpie Filling:
- 3 TBSP olive oil
- 2 lbs. leg of lamb roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 white onion, diced
- 5 small turnips, diced
- 2 cups peeled butternut squash, cubed
- 2 cups Tuscan kale, chopped
- 1 cup crimini mushrooms, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 tsps curry powder
- 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 1/2 TBSP all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 large egg (beaten with 1 tsp of water)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
For the Pastry Dough:
- In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt.
- Add the butter and pulse to the size of peas.
- Sprinkle in the ice water and pulse until a dough starts to come together.
- On a work surface, knead the dough a few times then shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for at least 90 minutes.
For the Potpie:
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- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil.
Tender leg of lamb is combined with vegetables and coconut milk to make this delicious Curried Leg of Lamb Pot Pie.
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper and add half to the Dutch oven. Cook over high heat until browned on 2 sides, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lamb to a bowl; repeat with 1 more tablespoon of oil and the remaining lamb.
- Add the first half of the lamb (in the bowl) back to the Dutch oven.
- Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Stir in the flour, then gradually stir in the wine until smooth. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lamb is very tender, about 1 hour.
- Add the squash, kale, carrot, turnips, mushrooms and coconut milk to the casserole and simmer over moderately low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon the curry into a buttered 8-by-11-inch casserole or baking dish. Brush the dish rim with beaten egg.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a rectangle or oval large enough to cover your dish. Fold the pastry in half, unfold it over the curry, and gently press onto the edge of the dish.
- Brush with beaten egg then cut 4 small steam vents in the top.
- Bake the potpie for 30 minutes. Raise the heat to 450°; bake for 20 minutes longer, until the pastry is browned and cooked through. Let rest for 20 minutes, then serve.
The lamb in this Curried Leg of Lamb Potpie cooks to a nice tenderness and goes well with the curry and root vegetables. It’s a perfect filling for potpie.
So, this holiday season, forget about chicken, beef and even turkey pot pie and do yourself a favor by trying lamb in your pot pie. It may be the best gift you give yourself this year.
Tags: Butternut Squash, Carrots, Coconut Milk, Curry, Dutch Oven, Hearty Meal, Kale, Lamb, Lamb Recipe, Leg of Lamb, Mushrooms, One Pot Meal, Potpie, Potpie Recipe, Recipe, Turnips, Winter Recipe
Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce over Mushrooms and Red Pepper
If you’ve never had chimichurri, you’re missing out. It’s an Argentinian condiment, similar to pesto, that contains parsley, garlic, oregano, garlic and onion.
Chimichurri pairs very well with red meat so this recipe combines one of my favorite cuts of steak, the flank. While it’s no filet, flank steak is still a nice cut that’s very versatile. I decided to turn the flank steak I had into Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce.
For the chimichurri:
Ingredients:
Directions:
- Finely chop the parsley, fresh oregano, and garlic (or process in a food processor several pulses). Place in a small bowl.
- Stir in the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Adjust seasonings to your preferences.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate. If chilled, return to room temperature before serving. Can keep for a day or two.
For the Flank Steak:
Ingredients:
- 1 to 2 lbs. flank steak
- 1 red bell pepper (julienned)
- 1/2 cup mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 TBSP butter
Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
- Preheat a charcoal or electric grill.
- Cook steak to desired temperature. I went with medium-rare.
- In a medium pan, saute the red pepper and mushrooms in butter and olive oil until cooked.
- Once steak and vegetables are cooked, make a bed of vegetables on a large serving platter then top with steak.
- Spread sauce over steak and serve.
This dish is great served cold or warm, it’s up to you. Feel free to add other vegetables to accompany the Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce.
Since I didn’t want to bother with going outside to grill, I used a George Foreman Grill and the steak still turned out perfectly (even it was missing some char).
Tags: Argentinian Food, Argentinian Recipe, Beef, Chimichurri, Flank Steak, Latin Food, Latin Recipe, Mushrooms, Parsley, Recipe, Red Pepper, Steak
Pappardelle with Eggplant and Mushroom Ragu
I always enjoy the “challenge” of cooking vegetarian. I use challenge in quotation marks, because it’s pretty damn easy, but I find it scares most people.
Using the fresh eggplants and mushrooms I had on hand, I decided to make a Pappardell with Eggplant and Mushroom Ragu. There are a lot of simple flavors in the dish, but what really sends it over the top for me are the fresh garnishes of orange zest, parsley and ricotta cheese.
Ingredients:
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Put the olive oil in a large skillet (I used a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. When oil is heated, saute the onion and garlic for 1 minute, careful not to let the garlic to burn.
- Add the eggplant, chili flakes and Kosher salt. Lower the heat to medium. Saute, stirring occasionally until the eggplant is nearly tender.
- Add the red pepper and mushrooms then cook for 3 or 4 more minutes. Pour in the red wine, and continue to cook until the eggplant is fully tender. Reduce heat to very low so ragu comes to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Simmering the Veggies in a Dutch Oven
- Boil the pasta according to package directions (usually about 5 minutes). Drain the pasta, but reserve 1 cup of the water. Toss the noodles with the ragu, gradually mixi in some or all of the pasta water to achieve a light glaze on the noodles.
- Plate the pasta then divide the ricotta, placing a few dabs on each plate. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, orange zest, parsley and black pepper then serve.
This is a delicious vegetarian dish full of some classic flavors. The veggies, garnishes, cheeses and pasta work together in perfect harmony.
If you can’t find or make pappardelle, I would suggest boiling lasagna then cutting it into strips. Make sure you use all of the garnishes, they really elevate this Pappardelle with Eggplant and Mushroom Ragu.
Tags: Eggplant, Garlic, Italian, Italian Recipe, Mushrooms, Pappardelle, Pasta, Ragu, Recipe, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Recipe
Wasabi Salmon with Bok Choy, Purple Cabbage and Oyster Mushrooms
Salmon is one of my favorite fishes. For this recipe, I wanted to make something healthy and this recipe definitely fits that bill.
I highly recommend using wild-caught Pacific salmon. Beware of Atlantic salmon — it’s most likely farmed-raised.
Ingredients:
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450F and heat a large baking sheet for 15 minutes.
Wasabi Mayo
- In a small bowl, mix mayo and wasabi paste then stir in half of ginger and half of garlic. Set aside.
- Season salmon with salt and pepper.
- Place bok choy, purple cabbage and oyster mushrooms in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and add remaining ginger and garlic. Toss to coat then season with salt and pepper.
- Remove baking sheet from oven. Spread vegetables across one side and arrange salmon on the other.
- Roast, stirring vegetables occasionally, until salmon is cooked through — roughly 12 to 15 minutes.</li.
- Divide vegetables among plates, making a bed for the salmon fillets. Serve with wasabi mayo.
This is a healthy dish that’s full of flavor from ginger, garlic and wasabi. Salmon is very versatile so feel free to experiment with other vegetables and/or mushrooms.
However, I want to stress again just how important it is to by wild-caught salmon versus the farmed stuff. Enjoy!
Tags: Asian, Asian Recipe, Bok Choy, Cabbage, Mushrooms, Oyster Mushrooms, Pacific Salmon, Purple Cabbage, Recipe, Salmon
Pecan-Mushroom Terrine
Traditionally, a terrine is a loaf of meat and fat (similar to pâté) with more coarsely chopped ingredients. This recipe for Mushroom-Pecan Terrine takes out the meat and most of the fat to create a vegetarian alternative.
It’s perfect accompanying cheeses, crackers, fruits and other nuts. It’s also very simple to make.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound mushrooms (I used button)
- 4 TBSP olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1 TBSP fresh thyme (about 10 sprigs), finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
- 4 eggs, beaten
Mushroom, Garlic and Red Onion Add Great Flavors to this Terrine
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease a small loaf pan, line it with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt 2 TBSP butter.
- In two batches, pulse the mushrooms in a food processor until finely chopped (3 to 4 pulses). Be careful not to overprocess as mushrooms will turn to mush.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent (about 8 minutes). Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the sherry and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated. Mix in the salt, pepper and thyme and set aside to cool.
- Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl and, once cooled, fold in pecans, eggs and cheese. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until inserted knife comes out relatively clean. While it bakes, the eggs may cause it to rise, but it will settle while cooling.
- Cool in the pan then transfer (in the pan) to refrigerator. Remove when the terrine has completely cooled to prevent breaking and/or crumbling.
The Mushroom-Pecan Terrine packs a ton of flavor into a small loaf. In fact, you really won’t miss the meat at all.
Additionally, this terrine would probably work as a meatloaf alternative if you wanted to double the ingredients to create a larger loaf.
Tags: Meatless Dish, Mushrooms, Pate, Pecan, Terrine, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Recipe
Rainbow-Stuffed Chicken
No, it’s not chicken stuffed with Skittles. Bell peppers are the inspiration and filling in Rainbow-Stuffed Chicken. Bell peppers are awesome to cook with since they virtually come in all colors of the rainbow (except maybe blue).
I also add red onion (which is, let’s face it, really purple), mushrooms and cheese to the multicolor bell pepper blend. The whole blend is really versatile and can be used to complement any dish.
Ingredients:
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400F and grease a large baking sheet or pan.
- In a large bowl, combine bell peppers, mushrooms, onion and cheese.
- Half the chicken breasts horizontally, but don’t cut all the way through, making a envelope for the bell pepper blend. Season chicken with salt and pepper or seasonings of your choice.
- Stuff the chicken breasts with bell pepper blend. And press down to seal in stuffing. You can also tie with twine if you have any handy.
Prepped Rainbow-Stuffed Chicken
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until chicken temperature registers between 170F and 180F.
- Remove chicken from oven, let cool for a couple minutes, then serve.
Not only is this a colorful dish, it’s full of flavor and healthy nutrients from the veggies in the bell pepper blend. I don’t have a kid, but I imagine this is a fairly kid-friendly recipe.
Feel free to add any other veggies you have on hand to the bell pepper blend. If you have any of the bell pepper blend left over, it goes great with eggs to make a quiche or quick scramble.
Tags: Bell Peppers, Chicken, Chicken Breast, Entree, Kid-Friendly, Mushrooms, Recipe
Po' Boy Livin' Rich 