Lamb is such a beautiful meat and is rare in some countries. We are very lucky in Australia to always have a good supply of lamb throughout the year. Many recipes involve lamb and it tastes delicious in many cuisines, it’s unique flavour makes any dish flavourful. Stews are one of my favourite and one of my specialties, I am grateful to my old greek boss who made this dish in front of me (4 years ago) while I was working in his chicken shop’s kitchen.
He often made this on my day off and I often got to have it the next day, I used to wonder how he made this stew so thick and so tasty, but I never asked him how he makes it. One day I was about to go on my break and he asked me what do I want to eat, I told him I can just have one of the burgers. Because he wasn’t sure what to eat himself and didn’t really want to eat any of the fast food he sold he told me to take my break later because he was going to make some stew.
I’ve been interested in making food from a very young age, mum always told me to watch her cook to learn and I’ve always wanted to learn how to make new dishes, while doing my work I also watched him make the stew. From watching him I learned to make this beautiful greek stew.
Note: I’ve made this stew a lot in the past and have gained a lot of experience with the ingredients. From my experience, I’ve learned to keep in mind not to use too much okra as it will make the stew slimy (making this stew has taught me how to use Okra in cooking).
The stew will thicken once the vegetables break down and like all stews and slow cooked dishes, it tastes even better the next day. Nothing beats natural ingredients and flavours.
GREEK LAMB STEW
Prep-Time: 15 mins Serve: 6
Cooking Time: 1-1.5 hrs
Ingredients
1.3kg lamb, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
3 potatoes, diced small
1 small eggplant, diced small
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ginger powder
10 okras, chopped
4 garlic cloves mince
4 tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste
3L water
Chopped coriander
Lemon
Method
Heat the oil in a pot over high heat, add in the lamb pieces and brown all sides for 2-4 minutes. Add in the onion and garlic and then cook until the onion turns transparent and then add in paprika, ginger powder, salt and pepper to taste (be generous with the salt, you can adjust the saltiness laster as well). Pour in the water and bring the pot to a boil with the lid on.
Once boiled add in all of the chopped vegetables and allow the pot to boil again. Cover with the lid and leave it to cook for 1-1.5hrs or until the lamb is tender and the soup has thickened. Transfer into serving bowls and top with a squeeze of lemon and chopped coriander, serve with bread or on it’s own. The stew will taste even better the next day.
