The ingredients of this stew are not particularly spring-ly but it is nearing the end of cold weather and time to squeeze in one more hearty dish before all the delights of spring vegetables make their way into the farmer's market and our plates. (By the way I dreadfully miss the LR farmer's market; we have no river nearby ours and not a single fiddle player). This dish comes straight out of an Italian cookbook called The Silver Spoon. Both the cookbook and the dish were introduced to us by way of one of Ben's fellow grad students. Her endless bottles of Pellegrino have helped us drink less diet cokes; sparkling water is our "transition drink," sadly. The cookbook was recently translated into English and the directions are sometimes rather vague, but the stew is forgiving and worth the guesswork.
Vodka alla Agnollo (lamb with vodka)
Ingredients:
meat stock (I used beef)
1 3/4 lb leg of lamb cut into pieces
12 prunes pitted
2 tbs strained tomatoes
1 onion chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
1 celery heart sliced
bay leaf
paprika
1/4 cup vodka
1 cup arborio rice
Directions:
boil stock. add mutton (lamb) and simmer for 40 minutes. Place prunes in a bowl, add warm water to cover and soak for 30 minutes, then drain. Melt 1 tbs butter in a pot; stir in strained tomatoes, onion, garlic, celery, and a bay leaf. Cook 5 minutes. Pour in vodka, add salt paprika, cook for a few minutes more. Stir constantly. Add hot stock, a little at a time, stir constantly, then add lamb, rice, and prunes. Stir constantly for 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Yum! (my addition). Goes well with yeast rolls.
2 comments:
I had a Pavlovian reaction to "The Silver Spoon" - not to mention those lovely green bottles! Miss you bunches!
sparkling water is our transition as well. we can't find our stuff here though! the parent had to bring us back 6 cases from SD! ridiculous!
Post a Comment