Turkish Lamb Casserole
Turkish lamb casserole is perfect for family gatherings. Lamb pieces are stewed and combined with potatoes, mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes.
About Turkish Lamb Casserole
With its sautéed vegetables and diced meat, Turkish lamb casserole is a firm favourite of ours. Not only it is easy to make, but it is full of flavour as well as eye-catching. All of these qualities make this recipe very appealing – it gets 10 out of 10 from me in every way.
SERVES 4
PREP TIME: 15 MINS
COOK TIME: 55 MINS
It is served in earthenware pots (a type of casserole) called ‘güveç’. You can get them family sized as well as small and individual sizes. Because the ingredients absorb the unique flavour of these pots, it’s said that the food cooked in güveç, tastes more flavoursome. I couldn’t agree more. I have bought mine from Turkey, but if you can’t get hold of güveç, you can serve them in ramekins, too.
I absolutely love this dish. Since I ate it for the first time at my sister’s, it’s become one of my favourite recipes. Every time I serve this meal for our guests, I always get a compliment from them. So if you want to cook to impress, Turkish lamb casserole dish might do the trick. You won’t regret it. I hope you try it.
Enjoy!
SOME TIPS & SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING GREAT TURKISH LAMB CASSEROLE
- If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can braise the meat in a casserole or a normal saucepan. This will increase the cooking time from 25 minutes to 40 minutes or slightly more.
- If you don’t have individual güveçs or ramekins don’t despair. Once the meat and vegetables are cooked, you can combine them in an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese on top and bake it in the oven until the cheese melts.
- Although I have used diced lamb in this recipe, feel free to swap it with diced chicken if you want.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp oil
- 200 g diced lamb, roughly chopped in 2 cm cubes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste (double concentrated tomato purée) (see note)
- 1 tsp hot pepper paste (see note)
- 480 ml (2 cups) of water
- 2 medium-size potatoes, roughly chopped in 2 cm cubes
- 1 charleston or small bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 150 g (1 1/2 cup) mushrooms, sliced
- 1 big tomato, sliced in circles
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (see note)
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 50 g (1/2 cup) grated cheddar cheese
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Heat up the pressure cooker on the hob without adding any of the ingredients. When it’s hot, add the meat and cook it until it’s brown. Once all the lamb is sealed, carry on cooking until it absorbs all the water it releases.
Step 2
Add 1 tbsp oil and mix it with meat.
Step 3
Add tomato and hot pepper paste and mix them well with the meat. Cook it for 5 minutes until it turns a deep maroon and becomes concentrated. By doing so, you get rid of the tart flavour of tomato paste.
Step 4
Pour over 2 cups or just enough water to cover the meat and close the lid. Wait until the pressure is built up inside the pot. When it starts cooking under pressure, turn down the heat and cook it for 25 minutes. This duration may slightly change according to your pressure cooker or size of your meat.
Step 5
In the meantime, heat the remaining oil in a big size pan. Sauté the potato cubes for 15 minutes.
Step 6
Add the peppers to the potatoes and sauté for a further 5 minutes.
Step 7
Add the mushrooms along with the herbs and spices to this mix. Season well and cook for 10 more minutes.
Step 8
Add the meat with its juice from the pressure cooker to this vegetable mixture. Divide all the ingredients equally into 4 güveçs (earthenware pots).
Step 9
Put a slice of tomato on top of each pot.
Step 10
Grate some cheddar cheese over each ramekin and bake them in a preheated oven at 200°C/ 400°F /gas 4 until the cheese is melted.
Step 11
Serve it hot with rice and salad.
Goes Well With
Turkish Rice Pilaf
Salad
Notes
Hot pepper paste: It is available in Waitrose, online as well as in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. Hot pepper paste is a thick deep red paste made by blending together cooked red peppers, chillies, olive oil and salt. Then to desiccate all the juices, they are dried in the sun. This deepens the colour and intensifies the flavour. A small amount is enough to give a spicy, rich texture to dishes. It is used mainly in the southeast of Turkey. There is no substitute but you can omit it.
Tomato paste: It is available online as well as in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. Tomato paste is basically cooked down and concentrated tomatoes. It is used mainly in the southeast of Turkey. Having roots in Urfa and Gaziantep, admittedly I do use it quite a lot in my cooking. You can substitute with double concentrated tomato purée which is widely available in supermarkets.
Red pepper flakes: These flakes have a moderate heat. You can find them in Turkish or Middle Eastern shops. Ground cayenne powder can be used as a substitute. Use half as much ground cayenne to achieve the same level of heat. You can find more information about this here.
Love This Recipe? Share It With Your Friends!
You May Also Like
Chicken Pilaf
Turkish Meatballs
I’ve tried this recipe and it comes highly recommended!
I’m glad you have tried it. Thank you so much.
Çok güzel görünüyor,eminim tadı da çok güzeldir
Evet, tadi da goruntusu kadar guzel. Cok tesekkurler. Umarim denersiniz.