Lagman

[kirra]

Lagman
Uzbeki Lamb Stew

The foods of former USSR satellites such as Georgia, Armenia and Uzbekistan are fascinating and overlooked. Shurpa and lagman are actually two different Uzbek dishes, but both are variations on lamb and vegetable stew or soup, spiced with cumin and coriander. Lagman is typically served with thick, handmade noodles.

The shurpa lagman wasn’t exactly authentic—I left out some common ingredients, daikon—but it was still a great success. It turned out like a cross between stew and soup, with thick chunks of carrots, peppers and lamb in a spicy, rich broth. I even served it with homemade noodles (although dried pasta like fettuccine would work fine).

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
Salt & freshly ground pepper
1 pound boneless lamb in 1-inch chunks
1 large chopped onion
2 large chopped bell peppers, green & red are good
1 large diced carrot
1 teaspoon fresh ground cumin
1 teaspoon fresh ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 bay leafs
1 or 2 dried small hot chili peppers
kosher salt & ground pepper, yes I know it's more
4 cups beef or chicken stock
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cup cooked chick peas
1/2 eggplant, diced into about 1 inch pieces
1/2 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 or 2 minced garlic cloves
dash or two sugar to taste
handful chopped parsley
handful chopped cilantro

Preparation:

Heat some oil in a heavy skillet. Salt, pepper and brown the lamb, saute for about 10 minutes. Place in a bowl and put aside. Drain the fat from the skillet; heat some more oil and sauté the chopped onion until it’s soft and golden. Add to the lamb; then sauté the chopped bell peppers (I used green and red) and diced carrot. Add the freshly-ground cumin and coriander, the red pepper flakes, a couple of bay leaves, the hot chili peppers, and a healthy shake of kosher salt and ground pepper.

Place the lamb and vegetables in a Dutch oven, the beef (or chicken) stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to a simmer and cook 1 1/2 hours, until the lamb is soft. Toward the end of cooking time, add your chopped tomatoes, the cooked chickpeas, and your white vinegar. Taste for seasonings (I needed to add a bit of sugar). Add a minced garlic clove and a couple of handfuls chopped parsley and cilantro

Serve with noodles. I decided to make my own on a lark, and they turned out surprisingly well. I’ve never made fresh pasta before, and I half-expected a disaster in which the pasta dough falls apart or tears into useless bits.


Easy Rustic Homemade Noodles

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 slightly beaten egg
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil

Preparation:

For the noodles, my recipe had you put the flour and kosher salt in a large bowl. Then you make a well, and add your slightly beaten egg, the water and oil. Mix with your hands until the flour and liquids are combined. On a floured surface, knead the dough with the backs of your hands for at least five minutes.

Divide the dough in two rounds. Cover with a moist towel and let rest 30 minutes. Flour a rolling pin and roll out one of the rounds to a 1/8-inch thickness. Carefully roll up the dough like a jellyroll; check to make sure the layers doesn’t stick. With a sharp knife, slice the roll into 1/4-inch strips; unravel them; and let dry 10 minutes or so. (I froze the other dough round for future use.) Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the noodles 5 minutes. Serve the lagman over the noodles.