Paul Mercurio is a dancer, actor, TV presenter and author of three cookbooks – he says he is not a trained chef but “just a bloke who likes to cook”.
In his latest cookbook, Kitchen Mojo, he writes: “This book is not aimed at teaching you how to cook … my aim is to help you find your kitchen mojo so you can embrace your inner chef – yes, we all have one – to take that leap of faith into the kitchen and give it a go.”
Featuring more than 120 easy recipes presented in Mercurio’s casual and colourful style, Kitchen Mojo is “a call to the stoves”. Here he shares his recipe for Rich Spiced Lamb Stew.
Recipe and image from ‘Kitchen Mojo’ by Paul Mercurio, $39.99, Murdoch Books.
Rich Spiced Lamb Stew
“I first made this stew when I was filming my TV show in Kenya,” writes Mercurio. “Of course, being in a different country meant there were different customs and ingredients. The gentleman I was cooking with who was the head chef at the lodge we were staying at gave me some chillies to use in the stew which I assumed would be the same as the ones I use in Australia—they were not, they were quite a bit hotter and let’s just say there was much sweating going on around the table at tasting time!”
Ingredients
80ml olive oil
1 large red onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon chilli powder
600g deboned lamb leg, cut into roughly 2cm cubes
250ml Belgian double ale
1 red bird’s-eye chilli, sliced (or to taste; I use up to 4 chillies to make this really quite hot!)
45g sultanas (golden raisins)
6 semi-dried dates (such as Medjool)
1 cinnamon stick
¼ cup chopped coriander (cilantro)
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
3 Roma (plum) tomatoes, cut into 6 wedges each
1 cup sliced kale
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large deep-sided frying pan or flameproof casserole dish that has a lid over medium-high heat, then add the onion and garlic, and fry, stirring often, for 8–10 minutes.
Add the cumin, paprika and chilli powder, stirring to combine, and continue to fry for a couple of minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the lamb and stir well to coat with the spice mix, then brown for about 10 minutes.
Stir in the beer and 150ml of water, then stir in the sliced chillies, sultanas, dates and cinnamon. Season, then add the fresh herbs. Turn down to a simmer, cover with the lid and cook for about 1½ hours or until the meat is quite tender. Check the meat after an hour or so.
Add the tomato wedges and kale to the stew, stirring to combine, and simmer for a further 10 minutes. You may need to add a little extra water as the stew can become a little dry. It is meant to be a thick-dry style stew though, not a wet stew with lots of liquid.
Serve on mashed potato or with boiled potatoes on the side or some couscous.
Serves 4
