Bistro Eats | San Marzano Lamb Stew with Meyer Lemon Risotto

Meyer lemon tree at the RGB before a dark and stormy evening.

Date Nite. Every. Friday. Night. And can I make a confession?! It still gives me butterflies. Because last week was cold and stormy, Mr. RGBistro made a request to go someplace cozy. (Can you see why I love this man?!) We were about to head down to Britta’s Café (our usual haunt) when I suggested we try someplace new. So we ended up at Ecco, a little Naples-inspired pizzeria.

San Marzano tomatoes. We discovered these Italian gems over a year ago while making a pot of Spaghetti Brunelli for the family. They’re sweet and tangy in a way that you can’t duplicate in a stateside tomato. (Sorry locavores, sometimes the good stuff is worth getting, even if it is from far, far away.) So for the past year, San Marzanos are the only canned tomatoes we keep in the house, and they’re the perfect solution for wintertime tomatoes.

Glee. It’s what I felt when I discovered that San Marzano tomatoes were all over the Ecco menu; especially their pizzas. So we ordered one to split with our Chianti Classico. And because we were hungry, we also ordered the Chef’s Special for the night: a lamb stew.

I didn’t expect the stew to be as good as it was. It was more than a stew; it was served with a bright, lemony risotto. And it wasn’t heavy; it had eggplants and tomatoes… so much more than a pile of meat. We had no trouble finishing every last bite. The stew was so lovely we make a knockoff version for dinner at home two nights later… Disclaimer: This is NOT the Ecco version; it’s a cheap knockoff – not unlike the Louis Vuitton you buy in a parking lot on the Vegas Strip. But it’s still good because we used the San Marzano tomatoes. </End disclaimer>.

[K]

San Marzano Lamb Stew with Meyer Lemon Risotto

San Marzano Lamb Stew with Meyer Lemon Risotto

A cozy stew of lamb shoulder, eggplant and San Marzano tomatoes. To infuse flavor, the meat is braised on the stovetop for an hour with cabernet, cinnamon, allspice, oregano and bay leaf. Then finished with Meyer lemon zest and Meyer lemon risotto to brighten up a mid-winter meal.

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~ 4 Generous Servings ~

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• 1 medium white onion
• 1 Japanese eggplant
• 1 lamb New Zealand shoulder O-bone chop (yield approximately 12 oz. with bone in)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ cup red wine (we used a Kuleto Cabernet that happened to be open)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Risotto recipe: posted here
• 1 tablespoon rice flour
• 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 Meyer lemon

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~ Preparation ~

Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

1. Peel and chop an onion; set aside. No need to be too precise; this is all going into a stew where the form of the diced onion isn’t going to be scrutinized.
2. Dice the eggplant; set aside. Be more precise here because you can see the form of the eggplant in the stew.
3. Cut meat into small cubes; freeze bones for another use (like beef stock). Be precise here, too. Because you want your cubes to all brown at the same rate. Sprinkle cubes with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
4. In a Staub pot (or Dutch oven), melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add meat and let brown, turning to evenly brown all sides.
5. Remove meat and all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the pot. Add onions, eggplant, herbs and spices and cook until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Season with a little bit of kosher salt.
6. Add meat back in and deglaze pan with wine. Let wine reduce by ½, about a minute. Then add canned tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring up to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover pot and let simmer for 30 minutes.
7. Meanwhile: Make risotto, but skip the shiitake in this recipe.
8. In a small bowl, add rice flour. Ladle ½ cup of the stew broth and add into the small bowl. Stir with a fork to make a paste and add the paste back into the stew. Add soy sauce to taste. Simmer additional 10 minutes.
9. Zest one Meyer lemon. Add half of the zest to the risotto and the other half to the stew. Squeeze in about ½ tablespoon of lemon juice into the stew. Serve immediately.

Source: Rustic Garden Bistro; inspired by Chef’s Special at Ecco Pizza.

Tagged as: Eggplant, Lamb, Meyer lemon, San Marzano tomatoes