Lamb, quince, and aubergine

I love aubergines, and there were some great aubergines in the shop the other day, so I was inspired enough to order some quinces from Real Foods, a wholefood supplier in Edinburgh.  I nearly didn’t post this recipe, because quinces aren’t something that is readily available, but it was excellent. The recipe is from one of my favourite recipe books, Nightingales and Roses. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly because the weather was nasty, time was of the essence and I discovered I didn’t have enough onions. 

I used a bit of leg of mutton to make this, and cooked it quite slowly. I did it in two stages as I was cooking for others after work. The stew itself is very easy, everything is layered into one pot and simmered. I find that preparing stews in the evening, and then finishing the cooking the next evening works well for developing the flavours. I should imagine it would work well in a slow cooker.  

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 onions, peeled and thickly sliced (should have been 6 – see above)
• 600g thick slices of mutton or lamb
• 1 1/2 tbsp sumac (this gives the stew a wonderful dark colour)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 large aubergines, thickly sliced and salted
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 large quince, peeled and chopped, core removed
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 60ml water
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 large potatoes, thickly sliced. (I added these on the next day when I heated the stew up and finished the cooking.)

METHOD:

• Pour half the oil into the bottom of a casserole dish or large saucepan, and arrange half of the onion slices on the bottom. Next, layer in the meat slices. 
• Mix the sumac, turmeric, salt and pepper, and sprinkle a third of this over the meat, and then add the rest of the onions. 
• Rinse any salt off the aubergines and arrange them on top, then the garlic slices and another third of the spice mix. 
• Add the sliced quince, then top this with the rest of the spice mix and the chopped tomatoes.
• Mix the water with the tomato paste and the rest of the oil, whisk to combine, and pour over the top. 
• Cover tightly and cook on a low heat for an hour and a half (I cooked for two hours on account of using mutton). (At this point I turned off the heat and went to bed.)
• Remove the lid and add the potato slices, and spoon some of the gravy over the top. Continue to simmer for a further half hour until the potatoes are tender and most of the gravy has cooked down. 
• Sprinkle with a pinch of sumac, and serve with bread and a little light salad.