It is difficult to find goat meat in UK supermarkets and butchers, which is a pity because it is a very popular meat in Greek cuisine. Luckily, I have discovered a local butcher who brings goat meat every now and then, so I grasped the chance to bring back childhood memories.
Although goat is classified as red meat, it is leaner and contains less cholesterol and fat than beef or lamb. This makes it a healthier alternative.
This particular recipe is a hearty, autumn dish, full of flavours and a great energy booster for those cold, rainy, hard working days. Typical of Mediterranean cuisine, it is very simple to make, using very few ingredients and allowing those ingredients to give their flavour without too much fussing about.
The only drawback is that, although very easy to make, it takes a long time to cook (to allow the meat to cook properly so that it melts in the mouth). However, it’s an ideal dish to make on a weekend when you plan to spend your day cleaning the house. You can just leave it to cook slowly while you clean, and you only need to check up on it every half an hour or so.
This particular recipe easily makes 6-8 portions (depending on how hungry you are), for a total calorie count of about 3400 calories (yes, I have counted them all for you!!!). That’s about 570 to 430 calories per portion, not at all bad for a full on casserole dish!
You will need:
1.5 kilos of goat meat, cut in large chunks (better ask your butcher to cut them up for you)
Half a wine glass of olive oil
1 large onion, chopped to small pieces
1 kilo of tomatoes, grated
5-6 large potatoes, cut in chunky pieces
In the photo above I used half a kilo of grated tomatoes and half a kilo of chopped cherry tomatoes. The only reason for that was that I run out of large tomatoes! (Cooking is all about innovation after all). I also prefer to grate the tomatoes when I use them for making a sauce (rather than chop them) because the sauce is smoother and doesn’t end up having little pieces of skin etc in it.
1. Put the meat in a casserole dish, cover with water and bring to the boil.
2. Let the meat cook until the water has been used up.
3. Add the olive oil and onions and brown the meat.
4. Add the tomatoes, salt pepper and cover with water.
5. Bring to the boil and lower heat.
6. Cook in low/medium heat until the meat is ready. This can take as much as two hours (sometimes even more, depending how tough the meat is). When the meat is ready, you should be able to easily cut pieces off the chunks with a fork. During the cooking process, make sure that you add water when necessary (i.e. make sure the meat is always covered in liquid).
7. When the meat is almost ready, move it to one side of the casserole and add the potatoes in the other. Taste the sauce and add more salt/pepper if required. Cover again with more water and bring to the boil again.
8. Cook further for a while until the potatoes are cooked and the sauce has reduced. By now the meat should really be soft enough to melt in your mouth (try it!)
9. Serve with fresh bread (which you should ideally dip into the sauce to eat like a true Greek!)
That looks bloody lovely - which butcher gets your goat? ;-) Mark
ReplyDelete