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Anogeia Lamb With Macaronia

IMG_7308This dish is inspired by a recipe I’ve seen in a few Greek cookbooks and the recipe involves lamb (or goat), boiling the pasta in meat stock and the result is a meal that tastes way more complex than the ingredient list would lead you to believe.

The village of Anogeia is located over 700 metres atop of the north face of Mount Psiloritis. According to mythology, Zeus grew up here and in more recent times, it was burned by the Turks and then by the Germans, who during the War, as a reprisal for kidnapping a German general, rounded-up and shot all the men they could find in the village.

Stock-breeding is the main source of wealth here and if you fancy lamb or goat…this is the place to be. This dish has four main components; the lamb, the pasta, the stock and the herbs.IMG_7312

You can go the old school way and use a shoulder of lamb where you boil it to create your stock. Simply place a lamb shoulder in a stock pot and cover with enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer the lamb for about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for about an hour. Skim the fat and discard. Strain your stock and reserve the meat.

Us Greeks usually have lamb stock on hand but a veal or beef stock works just as as well. If you’re really in a pinch, you could buy cans of low-sodium broth from your local grocer. Either way, boil the pasta in the stock…you’ll taste the difference!

For a nice presentation, I’ve used lamb chops which can be grilled, pan-seared on a skillet and finished in the oven or simply place the lamb chops under your broiler.IMG_7309

My marinade for grilled lamb chops works wonderfully for this dish and they will come-out tender each and every time.

The final components of this dish are the herbs and cheeses. The pasta gets tossed in an amalgam of fresh chopped sage, fresh mint and I’ve spiked the mixture with some Boukovo (dried red chillis) to give the dish a kick.

Some crumbled Feta cheese is added into the mix along with some pasta water to help transfer the herbs and spice throughout all the pasta. The dish is finished with some grated Kefalotyri cheese and a Greek bottle of red is fitting for this easy and very flavourful dish.

Anogeia Lamb With MacaroniaIMG_7313

(serves 4)

2 racks of lamb (or 1 kg of lamb shoulder)

salt and pepper

1 recipe of lamb marinade

500 gr. package of spaghetti

Approx. 8 cups of lamb (or veal or beef stock)

1/2 cup  of crumbled Feta cheese

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. of Boukovo (dry red chillis)

2 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped

3 Tbsp. of chopped fresh mint

2 Tsp. of lemon zest

4 Tbsp. of unsalted butter (or equivalent in olive oil)

reserved lamb stock

grated Kefalotyri cheese (or Romano)

  1. Ensure your lamb chops have been marinating for 2-4 hours. Bring back to room temperature, season with salt and pepper and then grill for 3 minutes/side and reserve in a warm oven. If cooking indoors, you can pan-sear the the lamb chops in an oven-safe skillet and them finish off in an pre-heated 375F oven for 10 minutes. Again, reserve and keep warm.
  2. In the meantime, bring your lamb stock to a boil and then add your spaghetti. Bring back to a boil and cook to “al dente” as per the package instructions.
  3. In a bowl, add the crumbled Feta, chopped sage, chopped mint, Boukovo (chilli flakes), minced garlic and lemon zest. Stir to mix well and set aside.
  4. Just when your pasta is cooked to “al dente”, add the butter (or olive oil into a large skillet and transfer the boiled pasta into the skillet. Add the bowl with the Feta, sage and mint mixture and toss to coat.
  5. Add a ladle of stock and continue to toss to coat (add more stock if the sauce is too dry).
  6. Divide the pasta among four plates, divide and arrange your warm lamb chops over the pasta. Squeeze some lemon juice over each serving along with some  grated  Kefalotyri cheese.
  7. Serve with a dry Greek wine, like a Pavlou P62 Xinomavro/Syrah.

NOTE: The remaining stock and lamb meat can be used to make Lamb Giouvetsi.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at  https://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis

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33 Responses

  1. I definitely agree with you regarding the complex taste Peter. It would bring the spaghetti up to a new level. Nice cutlets and a very modern take on “makariona me kreas”..beautiful!

  2. wow! i love the idea of boiling the pasta in stock. did you use low sodium stock or anything to counteract the additional saltiness in the pasta? or did it not taste salty?

  3. the technique of boiling pasta instead of rice in meat stock is often used in village weddings in crete (but never in hania – this is an eastern cretan tradition)

  4. I do tend to like dishes with less ingredients better. Somehow the tastes comes out better and this is a perfect example of one such dish! I still have to convince Tom that lamb is actually quite good in taste, but one of these days I am gonna succeed! (he doesn’t like the particular taste of lamb…)

  5. that piece of bone certainly lends itself to picking up the hunk of meat and gnawing away like a caveman, does it not? great dish, peter. :)

  6. Great idea to boil the pasta in the stock. I think I’d rather use a lighter stock, because I am afraid I would find the whole lamb taste a tad overwhelming.

  7. Peter, this is one wonderful-looking dish. I love lamb and I’ll bet the lamb stock has so much more flavor than veal or beef. Mmmm I can taste this dish now. Mmmm!

  8. I bet the taste difference will be phenomenal! I’ve never tried it before, though. (Hmm, maybe I like the bland noodles, haha.) I think I should!

  9. I’ve done this for years with a leg of lamb or lamb shanks, roasted; then after the lamb is roasted, remove the meat from the roaster, add the stock and seasoning, a little bit of tomato paste, juice of one lemon to the roaster. Return the roaster to the oven till the stock boils. Add spaghetti to the stock…make sure it continues to boil in oven. Stir every 4-5 minutes till the spaghetti is cooked and absorbs the stock…lots of work, bot the best Greek comfort food you will ever have…absolutely heavenly!! Well worth the effort!! :-) mmmmmmmmmmm!

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