Lamb Chilli Tacos

This is such a fun family meal - there is something really enjoyable about using your hands to eat. 

I always have to make two separate batches of the lamb chilli - as Glen and I like a fiery chilli kick, whereas the girls like a milder version and I've given the advise below for the spicy one - but if you prefer a milder version, take out the jalopeno chillies from the chilli, and leave out the ancho chilli paste.

I always serve with a spicy tomato salsa (3 tomatoes, 1 red onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2 chillies, heaps of coriander, juice of 1 lime, dash of white wine vinegar, dash of honey, sea salt - all roughly chopped and blitzed in the Nutribullet). For the girls, they have just chopped tomatoes so they don't feel left out!

I use my homemade guacamole too which is 1 large (ripe) avocado, 1 red onion and 1 tomato both diced, minced garlic, lime juice, coriander, coarse sea salt - I smush this up with a pestle and mortar. 

I also always serve with sour cream, lots of grated cheese (combination of Cheddar and Red Leicester) and some tortilla chips - which go down well with the children.

Lamb Chilli Tacos

Here's how:

For the lamb chilli:

• 400g lamb mince
• 1 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 red pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
•  1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 heaped tsp chipotle paste
• 1.5 tsp ancho chilli paste
• 1 drained tin of red kidney beans
• 2 green chillies
• 60g dried sultanas
• 4 small squares of dark chocolate
• Salt
• White pepper
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 250ml chicken stock
• Juice of 1 lime

To assemble:

• Small tortilla wraps (I use the Rowan Hill ones from Lidl)
• Fry Light Spray
• 40g each Cheddar and Red Leicester
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• Guacamole (recipe above or shop bought is fine)
• Tomato Salsa (recipe above or shop bought)
• 1 big pack of tortilla chips

To make the chilli, firstly add a little olive oil into a large frying pan (I actually use a wok) and place on a medium heat. Dice the onion and red pepper and mince the garlic and add to the pan to saute.

Once this has begun to soften, add the lamb mince and season generously with salt and white pepper. Use a wooden spatula or spoon to break up the mince a little so it doesn't clump together as it cooks. I add the cumin and dried cinnamon to the lamb mince here too. 

Once the mince has browned off a little, add the tomatoes, the remaining spices, the oregano, tomato puree, chipotle paste, ancho chilli paste, the chillies, red kidney beans, sultanas, chicken stock, and the cinnamon stick. Give a good stir and then cook for about an hour on low. 

Once the chicken stock has reduced down a lot add the chocolate and the juice of the lime. You can either cook this ahead of time, or just as you need. Cooking for an hour helps to intensify the flavour and thicken up the chilli, but if you are short for time, 30 minutes will do nicely, just reduce the chicken stock by half.

To assemble, I add some Fry Light to a large frying pan and place on high then quickly fry off each tortilla wrap on both side. Then I use an empty egg box to place each tortilla in between two sections, which helps it to get it's taco shape. 

To dish up, I spoon in 1-2 tbsp of the lamb chilli into each chilli then scatter over some grated cheese and spoon over a little guacamole and leave the rest on a platter for everyone to tuck into. I keep all of the limes used throughout for the chilli, the salsa and the guacamole  and help to prop up the end tacos if they start to lose their shape. 

The amount should leave enough for another portion (the above serves 4) which is fab on a jacket potato, with rice, over tortilla chips for great nachos or with some salad.   

Lamb Kleftiko

Lamb Kleftiko is a joyous dish, it takes just a little effort to make something truly spectacular and utterly delicious; you just have to be prepared to have the oven on all day. 

The marinade that is rubbed into the meat, helps to give a beautiful flavour, and cooking low and slow in the oven, means the meat will literally fall or pull apart at the slightest touch of a fork.

I make the lamb on a bed of potatoes and tomatoes with a few other seasonings, and then served with a Greek Salad and some Tzatziki.

I've used the cheaper cut of half a shoulder of lamb here, but many recipes call for the more expensive leg; which would be great if you are feeding a bigger crowd.

The below serves 4-5

Lamb Kleftiko

Here's how:

1/2 shoulder of lamb

For the meat rub/marinade:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp capers
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• Juice of 1 lemon

The vegetable base:

• 6 potatoes
• 4 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp Kalamata or other black olives
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1 lemon
• 1 large red onion
• Handful bay leafs
• Pinch salt
• Pinch black pepper
• 1 glass white wine
• 1 glass water

You will also need:

• Grease proof/baking paper or tin foil
• Large roasting tin or casserole dish
• 1/2 glass water
• Small corner of feta cheese (optional)

Firstly make the meat rub by either placing all of the ingredients into a Nutribullet or blender, or simply pulsing with a pestle and mortar. You should get a dark brown paste.

Take the lamb shoulder and rub it all over with the paste using either your hands or the back of a spoon. Make sure every piece of lamb has a flavourful coating and leave to stand for an hour. 

At this point you can pre-heat the oven to a low 160 degrees.

Now get a large roasting tin or dish, and firstly cover with lots of excess with a sheet of grease proof paper or tin foil length-ways. Now do the same width-ways so you have one piece over another; so once everything is in the dish, you can cover it up well and loosely.

In the meantime you can prepare the vegetables. Firstly peel the potatoes and cut into large wedges; if you cut them too small, they may turn to mush in the long cooking process. Scatter them all over in the roasting tin.

For the red onion, peel it and cut into wedges and scatter about. For the garlic you can either peel or leave in the skins and scatter all over. Throw in the olives (as I have two small girls, I tend to remove the stones first and throw them in). Now cut the lemon into quarters and add to the dish. Season at this point with salt and pepper.

The vegetable base for the Kleftiko

Now you can place the lamb shoulder on top of the vegetables. At this point pour over the dish a full glass of white wine (any open bottle will do it) and then re-fill with water from the tap and pour over this too. 

Lamb Kleftiko before it is wrapped and popped into the oven

Now is the wrapping process; you want it sealed up, but not too tightly. Grease proof paper lends itself really well to this. I've tried to show pictures of how I do this; you can also use kitchen string, but I find you can fold and scrunch it easy enough. So firstly take the length ways piece of paper, fold each end over towards each other, and then take the corners and kind of knot or scrunch around each other so the dish is loosely covered. 

How to wrap the first layer of paper around the Kleftiko

The second bit is easier, you just fold over and then to seal, I pour over about half a glass more water, which stops the liquid inside escaping and helps to keep the lamb moist and tender.

Fully wrapped Kleftiko with a little water over to keep it sealed

Now place into the oven and cook for a minimum of 5 hours; but for perfect, pull-apart at the touch lamb, cook for 7 hours. Remove from the oven, and serve at the table with your choice of accompaniments and unwrap at the table for the big reveal. As an optional extra, you could crumble over a little feta cheese before serving for one final Greek flourish. Enjoy!

Lamb Kleftiko

If you love Greek dishes like us, you may enjoy some of the below recipes:

Moussaka
Chicken Souvlaki
Prawn Saganaki
Pastitsio - The Greek Lasagna
Briam
Gemistes - Greek Stuffed Tomatoes
Feta and Spinach Open Tart
Greek Chicken Traybake
Beef Stamna 
Spanakopita - Greek Cheese and Spinach Pie
Soutzoukakia - Greek Meatball Bake
Greek Chicken One Pot