Cordero al Chilindrón (Braised Lamb with Peppers and Tomatoes)
Cordero al Chilindrón (Braised Lamb with Peppers and Tomatoes) is a traditional Spanish recipe for a classic slow-cooked stew of lamb in a tomato, onion, garlic and chilli sauce with roasted red bell peppers. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Spanish version of: Braised Lamb with Peppers and Tomatoes (Cordero al Chilindrón).
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This is a classic dish from the Aragon region of Spain that is traditionally made with choricero a fat dried chilli about 8cm in length that in mild in terms of heat, but has a sweet and rich flavour (this is the chilli used in traditional chorizo sausages).
Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 dried choricero (or other mild red chilli) soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes
1.5kg leg of lamb (remove the meat from the bone and slice into 3cm cubes)
290g roasted bell peppers (from a jar), coarsely chopped
440g tin of chopped tomatoes
leaves from a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
coarse sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Method:
Add 2 tbsp oil to a flame-proof casserole and when hot use to fry the onion and garlic for about 8 minutes, or until just golden. Scrape the flesh from the soaked chilli and mix this into the onions. Use a spoon to transfer the vegetables to a plate then wipe the casserole dish dry.
Heat the remaining oil in the casserole and use to fry the lamb, in batches, until well browned all over. Return the onion mixture to the casserole then mix in the bell peppers and tomatoes. Season to taste then bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a gentle simmer. Continue cooking, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is quite thick. However, if, by the end, the sauce looks so thick that it will prevent the meat from cooking add a little boiling water to thin it down.
Cover the pan and cook for a further 30 minutes (or until the meat is completely tender). Take off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes to rest. Sprinkle with parsley and serve straight from the casserole dish.
(If you do not have access to the right kind of dried chillies you can use a mix of 1 tsp hot paprika and 2 tsp sweet paprika instead.)
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