Happy Christmas! Lamb and Asparagus for Christmas Dinner

Happy Christmas, folks!

Nope, this recipe isn't vegan, but if y'all are not of a vegan persuasion we recommend this one as a hearty, easy recipe for your winter holiday get-togethers.

Most cooking blogs tell a person's entire life story before introducing the recipe, but as y'all know, we prefer our recipes short and sweet (also, we have no life). The long and short of this recipe: we invented this one day as we browsed supermarket shelves and found some delicious lamb and asparagus and wondered how we could cook it up in a very simple yet delicious fashion.

Lamb and Asparagus Sautee

Ingredients (quantities are up to you, we don't know how many people y'all are cooking for or how garlicky you like your food):

- Lamb

- Pork if you can't get lamb

- Beef if you're halal and can't get lamb

- Fresh asparagus (baby asparagus if you can get it)

- Spinach, komatsuna or water spinach if you can't get asparagus

- 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

- Extra virgin olive oil 

- Salt and pepper to taste (we recommend sea salt and fresh ground black pepper but whatever suits your sensibilities)

- Sesame seeds (for garnish, if desired)

Cookware Required:

- A skillet (cast iron if possible)

- A spatula

- A knife

(Please remember to cut your meat on a non-wooden cutting board, and wash your knife thoroughly in hot water between cutting meat and cutting veggies. If you will be handling meat directly, make sure to wash your hands in hot soapy water for hygiene.)

Preparation Time: 10-15 minutes

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How to Prepare:

1. If you can find thinly-sliced meat at your local market, that's ideal, but if you can't find thinly-sliced meat, slice the meat as thinly as you can. This is a stir-fry, not a roast.

2. Prepare the asparagus. Wash, then break off the tough bottoms of the stalks (should be about 1/3 of the stalk that you break off, saving about 2/3 of the stalk to cook). Chop the asparagus stalks into 1-cm segments, leaving the florets intact. If you are using spinach, komatsuna or water spinach instead, wash and chop finely.

3. Prepare the garlic. Peel, then mince, grate, or press as you prefer. Get all your ingredients ready before you cook - this recipe cooks FAST.

4. Set your skillet on LOW heat. This is an olive-oil based recipe. High heat will cause the oil to burn, so avoid high heat. Ideally use a cast iron skillet but any will do. Add a generous helping of olive oil. Wait until the oil is smiling, that is to say, moving toward the edges of the pan. This will happen a lot faster if you're using a cast iron skillet on a gas range vs. a non-stick pan on an electric range, so use your judgment (if you still have any lol).

5. Toss your meat into the pan and add the salt and pepper to taste. If you are using very thinly sliced meat, add the asparagus immediately (if you are using spinach, etc. wait about 30 seconds to 1 min before adding). If you're using thicker meat, you may want to let it cook 1-2 minutes before adding the asparagus or other veggies. Spinach generally has the shortest cooking time, while mature komatsuna and water spinach cook at about the same speed as baby asparagus.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chili powder optional if you like spicy, but we recommend going easy on the chilis in this one.

7. Add your garlic, if you like a nice spicy garlicky taste. If you prefer a more roasted garlic taste, add the garlic before you add the meat.

8. Sautee the meat until cooking through, stirring carefully with a spatula constantly to make sure that the meat doesn't stick to the pan. If anything looks in danger of sticking, add a very small splash of water to the pan (if you're using a non-stick pan, you won't need this, if you use a cast iron skillet, you might). Do not overcook. As soon as the dark coloring is gone from the lamb, you're done. Turn off the heat immediately.

9. Toss your yummy stir-fry out of the skillet onto a plate and serve with rice, bulgur wheat, pita bread, or any other side dish you prefer. We recommend Eastern European or Middle Eastern inflected side dishes with this dish.

10. Bon apetit and Merry Christmas!

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Love from Cayce's Kitchen. We promise we'll be back with the vegan food soon.

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