Ah, lamb. I must admit, I haven’t eaten a lot of lamb in my life. My grandpa was a sheep farmer before he passed away, and my parents ate quite a bit of mutton meals in their home during the early years of marriage. My mom always thought mutton (and lamb) smelled funny, so we never ate it while I was growing up. Never. Ever.

Occasionally I’d take a few bites of my husband’s lamb curry when we’d eat out, but that is the whole of my experience with lamb. And with all of the lamb recipes buzzing around this past month, I got curious. These Lamb Tostadas from TK member rbrasher (Rebecca) were a successful attempt at recreating a dish she ate at a restaurant. I thought that would be a good way to ease myself into a new meat.

And it would be awfully hard to mess up a tostada.

So after making the very first lamb purchase of my life, I gathered the rest of the ingredients: black beans, tostada shells, sour cream, yogurt, chipotle peppers, tomatoes, a jalapeno, Mexican cotija cheese, salad greens, and the seasonings: salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and cocoa.

(See notes below for the adjustments I made in this recipe.)

First get the beans started. Dump the drained beans into a medium saucepan.

Add some smoked paprika. Smoked paprika is pretty easy to find these days, in the spice section of your grocery store. If you don’t have (or can’t find) smoked paprika, cumin would be a better substitute than regular paprika.

And some water. Simmer the beans on the stove over medium-low heat while you prepare the rest.

Next, combine the yogurt, sour cream, and pureed (or minced) chipotle peppers in a small bowl and let it hang out.

By the way, I’d recommend removing the seeds before you puree the peppers. They’re pretty spicy without the seeds. And if you’re wondering what to do with the leftovers, you can always spoon it into an ice cube tray. Once they’re frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag and store them in the freezer. You can find canned chipotles in adobo sauce in the Latin/ethnic aisles of most grocery stores.

Now for the lamb. Get a large skillet heated to medium-high heat and add the lamb and the cocoa, cinnamon, and smoked paprika. Stir it around a bit.

Now add some water.

Stir it around. Although the lamb already looks browned, it’s really the cocoa playing tricks on you. Let it simmer uncovered over medium heat for 15 minutes or so until the lamb is fully cooked, the water has cooked off, and the flavors have mingled.

Once the lamb has finished cooking, the beans should be nice and flavorful as well. Taste both and add salt and/or pepper as needed.

Chop the tomatoes and jalapenos and get ready to assemble!

Layer the tostada shell, salad greens, lamb, beans, tomatoes, chipotle cream, cotija, and jalapenos.

I really don’t need to tell you what to do next, do I? Just make sure you have napkins handy. Tostadas don’t make for very graceful eating.

These were great. I loved the combination of the flavors—the pungent meat, smoky beans, salty cheese, and spicy chipotle cream. The meat, alone, had a very strong flavor. I don’t know if it was my preconceived notions of lamb’s funky smell or the unusual spice combination, but I’m going to be honest with you. I didn’t enjoy eating the lamb alone. Assembled in the tostada? Yes. Please. If you’re a fan of lamb, you probably won’t have my weird issues.

I also want to call attention to this ah-mazing chipotle cream. It’s really the bomb. Rebecca recommends storing it in a squirt bottle (mine’s in storage. I almost cried.) and using it on salads, tacos, quesadillas, or any of your Mexican favorites.

My girls and I happily ate these for lunch three days in a row. Thanks so much Rebecca for a unique twist on a Mexican favorite! Visit her blog, Revising Rebecca, where she writes about finding balance in life (something we all need!).

 
Recipe adjustments: I omitted the rice (out of personal preference), and substituted sour cream for the mayo in the chipotle cream. If you omit the rice as well, I would cut the amount of cocoa and smoked paprika (in the lamb) in half to tone down the flavor of the meat. I also used queso cotija instead of queso blanco because that’s what I had on hand. Feta or goat cheese would also work well.

Printable Recipe

Lamb Tostadas

by rbrasher on October 13, 2010 in Lamb, Main Courses October 13, 2010 LambMain Courses

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

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Description

We stopped into a little restaurant for the first time a few weeks ago and I tried this dish on a whim. Seemed like a good idea since almost everyone else in the restaurant were ordering it and raving about it. Loved it. Came home and tried to recreate it. This is really close, if not it!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cooked Rice
• 1 can (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
• 1 cup Water, Divided
• 2 teaspoons Smoked Paprika, Divided
• 1 pound Ground Lamb
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons Dutch Processed Chocolate
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 pinch Pepper
• ½ cups Mayonnaise
• ½ cups Plain Yogurt
• 2 teaspoons Pureed Chipotle In Adobo Sauce
• 8 whole Tostada Shells
• 1 cup Queso Blanco, Crumbled Or Pepper Jack, Shredded
• 2 cups Shredded Lettuce
• 1 whole Tomato, Diced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Diced

Preparation Instructions

Cook rice according to directions.

Place black beans in a small sauce pan. Add half the water and half the smoked paprika. Stir and heat on low while you make the rest of the dish.

In a large skillet, combine the ground lamb, remaining smoked paprika, cinnamon, Dutch processed chocolate, salt, pepper, and remaining water and allow meat to brown. Stir often to break up meat and mix flavors. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.

Combine mayonnaise, yogurt, and chipotle peppers and put in a squeeze jar. (You won’t use it all on this recipe but it makes for great burritos, quesadillas, and tacos!)

When meat is cooked, assemble tostadas on a thin bed of rice. First layer is black beans, then meat, then cheese, lettuce, tomato, and jalapeno. Drizzle with the chipotle sauce and enjoy!

 
 
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Be sure to check out Natalie’s own beautiful food blog, Perrys’ Plate, where you can see her growing collection of lovely recipes. There’s always something new to see there. Go visit now!