A great Ottoman classic: a melting, tomatoey, and fragrant lamb stew, served over a smoked eggplant purée thickened with milk, butter, and cheese. It is rich, silky, slightly smoky, and perfect with warm bread.
Ingredients
- 800 g boneless lamb shoulder
- 4 pieces eggplant
- 1 piece yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 400 g canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 80 g unsalted butter
- 30 g T45 wheat flour
- 400 ml whole milk
- 80 g grated kaşar cheese
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
- 0.25 bunches flat-leaf parsley
Method
- Cut the lamb into even pieces, pat dry, then brown in a Dutch oven with hot oil until all sides are well colored and the bottom smells like roasted meat.
- Add the sliced onion and sauté until soft and golden, then add the garlic, tomato paste, and paprika; stir until the paste darkens slightly and sticks fragrantly to the bottom.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, add the bay leaf, salt, and pepper, then simmer covered until the lamb is fork-tender and the sauce is thick and glossy.
- While simmering, char the eggplants directly over a flame, under the broiler, or in a very hot skillet, turning them until the skin is black and the flesh collapses completely.
- Let the eggplants cool slightly, open them, scoop out the smoky flesh, and remove any bits of charred skin; chop the flesh with the lemon juice until you get a soft but still textured purée.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, and whisk until you get a pale paste that smells like a warm biscuit, without letting it brown.
- Pour in the milk gradually while whisking until you get a smooth, coating sauce, then fold in the eggplant purée and let it thicken gently until it reaches a creamy, spoonable texture.
- Off the heat, add the grated kaşar cheese, adjust the salt and pepper, and stir until the purée becomes glossy and stringy in places.
- Remove the bay leaf from the stew, check that the sauce coats the meat well, then serve the hot eggplant purée in a shallow dish with the lamb in the center and chopped flat-leaf parsley on top.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 754.7 kcal
- Protein
- 47.64 g
- Carbohydrate
- 19.32 g
- Fat
- 54.68 g
- Fibre
- 2.97 g
- Calcium
- 254.77 mg
- Iron
- 0.94 mg
- Magnesium
- 38.6 mg
