Wednesday, September 28, 2011

A Nontraditional Sloppy Joe, Using Lamb

I've been threatening to make sloppy joes for dinner for over a year but haven't managed to get around to it. Last night, though, without even thinking, I made a variation.

I was sautéing some ground lamb in a pan with eggplant, leeks, sweet potato leaves, broccoli and kale. I looked in my refrigerator for anything else I could add and saw a half-used jar of tomato paste.

I added the paste, plus a little water to thin it out; the concentrated tomatoes added great color, flavor and texture to the mixture. The fat in the lamb also helped everything come together, plus I added some ground cumin, unrefined sea salt and fresh ground pepper for additional flavor.

A traditional sloppy joe is comprised of ground beef, onions, tomato paste (or some variation) and seasonings, so I'll consider my lamb-veggie-tomato paste concoction a worthy cousin.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This sounds good, and I would suggest adding some sliced okra for even more healthy vegetables.

Chef Rob said...

I had okra in my fridge and completely forgot to use them!

Anonymous said...

How long do you think okra lasts in the fridge? I have sometimes forgotten to use it right away and don't know if it can still be used.

Chef Rob said...

When I store fresh okra in the fridge (in an unsealed plastic bag), they last a little less than a week.