Braised yearling goat with peas

Potato, rice, pasta… Potato, rice, pasta. And yet there are so many other combinations for meat. It is not a modern tendency not to rely on starches every day. It is the wisdom in all the traditional kitchens that maximizes nourishment at the family table utilizing the vegetables of the season and insisting on variety instead of commercial superfoods.

Here we have a delicious Greek recipe which is also a typical example. By using yarling goat, we broaden the variety of meats in our diet. If it’s pastured, grassfed meat like my suppler’s here, even better. Adding spring peas gives us fresh taste and color, for a nutritious and delicious result. It can be done with beef in which case dinner will be ready in half the time. Just braise the beef for one hour only, before adding with the peas and the tomato as per the recipe below. You can also replace the fresh mint, with dill or parsley.

• 1 kg yearling goat in large cubes
• 2 tbsps ghee or olive oil
• 3 onions, in thin slices
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 600 ml homemade stock, warm
• 500 gr. grated tomato
• 500 gr. fresh peas
• Salt and pepper
• Chopped leaves from 1/2 bunch of mint

Dry the meat thoroughly with a paper towel while warming a large heavy based pot over medium heat. Add the ghee, turn up the heat sauté the meat well on all sides. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, then add just enough warm stock to almost the meat. Bring to the boil then, lower immediately, cover and allow to simmer very gently for 1.5-2 hours until it the meat has softened. Check from time to time to see if you need to add a little more stock.

Once the meat is cooked and the juices have almost evaporated, add the tomato, salt, pepper and peas. Stir well and let it simmer uncovered for about 20 ‘ until the peas are done and the tomato sauce thickens. It requires a very low heat and regular stirring to ensure that the tomato doesn’t catch at the bottom of the pot. When done, stir through the mint and withdraw from the heat. Let the casserole stand for 5 ‘ and serve.