Italian lamb goulash with eggplant

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 750 g lamb shoulder(s), stripped
• 2 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot(s)
• 8 tomatoes, fully ripe, in winter also from the can
• 300 g eggplant(s)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 liter lamb stock
• 1 tsp sautéed oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• n. B. Salt
• n. B. Pepper, black, from the mill
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• some water

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 5 minutes

Spalla d’agnello con melanzane – Calabria

Cut the lamb into cubes. The cubes should be slightly smaller than for regular goulash. Peel and roughly dice the onions, garlic, and carrot. Cut the tomatoes crosswise and place them in boiling water for about 20 seconds, then plunge them into ice water and remove the skins. Halve the tomatoes, press out the seeds, and cut into small cubes. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a roasting pan and brown the lamb cubes in batches until browned all over. Remove the browned meat from the roasting pan and brown the next batch. Don’t add too much meat at once, as it will absorb liquid too quickly. Reduce the heat slightly. Brown the onion and carrot cubes in the cooking fat, then return the garlic and meat cubes to the roasting pan. Add the tomato cubes and sugar and sauté everything. Deglaze with the lamb stock and add the oregano and bay leaf. Cover and simmer the meat over low heat for about 90 minutes. Meanwhile, wash the eggplants and cut into approximately 1 cm thick slices. Sprinkle the slices generously with salt and let them stand for 10 minutes. Then rinse off the salt with cold water and pat the slices dry with kitchen paper. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the eggplant slices on both sides. Season with pepper and let them drain on kitchen paper until ready to use. After the 90 minutes of braising time, place the eggplant slices on the meat and braise for a further 5 minutes. Mix the cornstarch with a little water to thicken the sauce slightly. Lightly fold in the slices, season with salt and pepper, and bring back to the boil. Fish out the bay leaf. Serve the dish with fried polenta slices or boiled potatoes.