Seasonal Recipe of the Week
I seem to be in a lamb mood lately, and when I stumbled upon the lamb and black bean recipe in Bold American Food by Bobby Flay, I just had to make it.
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds lamb meat from the leg, boned and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup olive oil
1 1/2 onions, finely diced
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, diced
3/4 cup dark beer
1 16 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and pureed
1 1/2 chipotles from the can, pureed
3/4 cup ancho Chile powder
1/2 cup Pasillo Chile powder
1 tablespoon ground Cumin
2 cups chicken stock
3 cups cooked black beans, drained
6 tablespoons lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup Avocado relish (recipe to follow)
Procedure
In a large frying pan over high heat, heat the oil till almost smoking. Add the cubed lamb and sear off on all sides. Add onions and garlic and cook 3 minutes — don’t let them burn. Add beer and reduce till beer has completely evaporated. Now add tomatoes, chipotles, cumin, and Chile powders. Stir well and cook 10 minutes. Now reduce heat and add stock. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add beans and simmer 15 minutes more. Skim grease off the top. Add lime juice, salt, and pepper and taste. Serve piping hot with avocado relish on the side.
To make avocado relish, simply dice up one avocado and mix with 1 tablespoon diced red onion, 1 tablespoon minced Jalapeno, 2 tablespoons lime juice and 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro. Taste and add salt and pepper. Best made moments before using. I also like plain old sour cream on the side. Okay, it's not kosher, but it's good!
