Potatoes Archives - My Halal Kitchen

Pan Roasted Lamb and Potatoes

by Yvonne Maffei | May 27, 2015 | Iftar, Lamb, Ramadan, Recipes, Spring

Each Spring I wait with anticipation to make my favorite lamb dishes. I’m not sure why I don’t crave it as much in the Winter season, but I think it has to do with the perfect pairing lamb makes with fresh herbs, garlic, potatoes and carrots. What’s nice is that combination can go on to make roasts, stews and more. In this recipe for Pan Roasted Lamb with Potatoes and Carrots, you can actually use the base recipe as a foundation to do other things with it- for example, you can add more water to make it a stew; less water to make it more of a dry roast; you can leave the meat uncut and roast it whole or cut it even smaller than what I’ve done here if you need to extend it to fee more people. It’s all really up to you, but I hope this serves as inspiration to make the freshest of spring lamb dishes this season.

I like lamb that comes in netting because it holds a whole roast together during the cooking process and you can even stick cloves of garlic into it as it cooks, just like I did in this recipe.

Or, you can cut it into chunks, big or small, depending on how you like to eat it. Lamb cooked with the fat on it like here (which can be cut off after cooking), actually makes the meat juicier, it seems to shrink less during cooking and there ends up being more broth/liquids at the bottom of the pan.

I like to buy the whole shoulder, boneless and then cut it up into pieces the size I need for my recipe. It’s more economical than buying a smaller portions and you can always freeze the raw meat you don’t use.

What’s also great about this recipe is that it’s a one-pan meal that can also be added to a slow cooker, but you would have to bring the meat to a high temperature first before doing that, just to be safe.
After cooking, it’s so easy to scoop out and plate. In this case, there was a lot of liquid left in the pan so we enjoyed it like a stew. You could thicken the liquids with some flour to make it more of a gravy or simply continue to roast the pan in the oven, uncovered, to cook them all out altogether.

See how versatile this can me? It should be a base recipe, a foundational dish you keep in your back pocket for chilly Spring days, entertaining and/or cooking a large quantity of food for the week ahead.

What are your favorite lamb or Spring meat dishes? Please share in the comments below.

For more information on cooking lamb and sourcing halal options throughout the United States, check out the wonderfully resourceful American Lamb Board’s website. It’s got great tips on how to cook lamb, FREE dvds (Lamb Carcass, Cuts and Fabrication) and infographics like this one on preparation of different cuts, and a page on where to source halal vendors. They’re materials are great in schools, restaurants, and for the cooking aficionado to keep at home for reference.

For a list of halal vendors recommended by the American Lamb Board see below:

http://superiorfarms.com/
http://www.mountainstatesrosen.com/
http://www.wolverinepacking.com/
http://straussbrands.com/
http://www.barakatfoods.com/
http://www.enameatpacking.com/

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Creamy Mashed Potatoes

by Yvonne Maffei | Nov 28, 2014 | Fall, Potato Dishes, Side Dishes, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian, Winter

I can’t remember the last time we had mashed potatoes from a box. Just the thought of it brings to mind the empty feeling I get from any foods that are simply a semblance of real food. I know it’s convenient, economical and sometimes the only option for people, but perhaps if we looked to our grandparents and those before them and how not everything they made from scratch in their kitchens was difficult, messy and unworthy of our time. In fact, a recipe for mashed potatoes is one of those things that you learn how to make once or twice and you’re good for life. Never be intimidated by the process of boiling, peeling and mixing- and there definitely is no need for fancy gadgets like the one I’ve used below- a simple hand masher will do the trick just as well.

Here goes…

Maybe the most difficult part is peeling the potatoes. If that is too cumbersome, make it a rustic mashed potatoes dish and leave the peels on (just make sure you scrub the surfaces very clean before boiling). I also add a couple parsnips to the mix just because I like the added texture they give to the potatoes, but if you don’t have them or don’t want to use them, just leave them out altogether.

For 3-5 pounds of potatoes, I place peeled and quartered potatoes in a large Dutch oven of salted boiling water and cook on medium-high for about 30 minutes.

Simply stick a knife or fork into the potatoes to test their softness.

Drain immediately and let them cool a bit.

*At this point, you can even leave them in the fridge, covered, overnight and work on the next part when you’re ready. The only difference here is that you should reheat the potatoes (i.e. in the microwave) before making additions and mixing it all together.

Next, either place the potatoes in a large bowl or in your stand mixer (you can do this in parts if you have a large amount here like I did. Add salt and pepper generously but if you’re also going to top with gravy, you may want to hold back a little on the salt.

Next add the sour cream. I use whole milk sour cream, just my preference as any other type makes the potatoes watery, in my opinion.

And the whole milk (for the same reason). I always warm up the milk because I don’t like cold milk in warm potatoes. Also add softened butter, unsalted so you can control the amount of salt overall.

Use the paddle attachment for the stand mixer if you’re using that appliance.

With the stand mixer, you should be able to reach a desired consistency within 30 seconds on medium-high. Always be careful not to over mix, as the potatoes will become gluey.

Top with fresh or dried herbs and/or your favorite recipe for gravy.

Now you can tweak, enjoy, and make it over and over again!

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