Greek Lamb Neck Stew with Skordalia -

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 180 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 4 people

Meal course: Dinner
Posted by: oneandonly
Posted on: August 22, 2014

8 Lamb Neck Chops - thick cut around 1 inch
1 Brown Onion - finely chopped
3 cloves Garlic - finely chopped
1 Carrot - diced
1 tsp Fennel seeds
2 tsp dried Oregano
1 cup good quality Beef stock
400gm can of crushed Tomatoes
1 small bunch of fresh Lemon Thyme - or regular Thyme if that’s all you can find
1 small bunch of fresh Oregano
1 Lemon - zested and juice reserved
1/2 cup of Pitted Kalamata Olives
100gm Greek Fetta
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Skordalia
4 large Potatoes - use a floury type good for mashing like Coliban
1 - 2 cloves minced Garlic - if you like it super garlicy use the 2…
best quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil - about 1/4 cup
Salt and White pepper

Kitchen String

Pre-heat your oven to 160c.
Using kitchen string, tie the fresh oregano and fresh thyme into tight bouquet garnis - this will facilitate easy removal later.
Season the chops and rub with 1tbs of oil. Heat a heavy based casserole pan or a fry-pan over a medium-high heat and sear the chops until well browned. remove and set aside.
In the same pan, add the finely chopped onion, garlic and carrots. Fry, stirring occasionally until the veg starts to cook and colour. Season well and add the fennel seeds and dried oregano. Cook stirring for another minute until you can smell the fennel and herbs, then add the stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil, add the bouquet garni's and lemon zest, then replace the chops making sure they are well covered in the sauce.
Wrap the top of the dish well with foil and place the lid on the casserole (or transfer to a baking dish and triple wrap with foil) and place into the oven for 3 hours. Make sure you check halfway through cooking and add more stock if neccessary. Before serving, remove the chops from the sauce and stir through the olives. Serve the chops and sauce with a scattering of fetta & fresh thyme and the Skordalia.
Skordalia - Peel and chop the potatoes. Put into a pot of cold water and place onto the heat. Bring to the boil and cook the potatoes until soft and ready to mash. Drain well, then mash the potatoes. Add the minced garlic (use only 1 clove if you prefer a lighter garlic flavour) and then add the reserved lemon juice. Stir through the olive oil until a smooth mash has formed and season well.