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Baked Lamb and Vegetables (Turkish Inspired, One Pan)
This is a comforting, hands-off lamb dinner that relies on the cooking technique to add layers of flavour. Bite-sized boneless lamb stew meat is tossed in a Turkish inspired tomato paste marinade, then buried under eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, onions and peppers. You don’t need broth or water – just seal it tightly and bake. The vegetables and lamb make their own sauce as everything is slowly braised together until fork tender. Serve it over rice!
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Why This Recipe Is Flavorful With Minimal Effort!
Lamb is known for dishes like lamb mandi (that’s when you want to impress) or lamb shanks. But this is a recipe I developed inspired by what our Arab grandmothers would do when searching for an everyday “seeniya” recipe they can whip up quickly. And although it looks like a simple dump and bake, there are a few key things that make the final result extremely flavorful. I’ll walk you through each one!
Small pieces of lamb or veal shoulder. Usually boneless because its easier to eat, but bone-in will work (and it works even better actually, as the bones add more flavour). There’s no whole shoulder or leg in this recipe. The smaller sized pieces means it’ll be baked to fork tender in 1.5 to 2 hours, rather than take 4-5 hours.
It’s a self-saucing dish if you seal it shut. This recipe is meant to be sealed (which is why I use a cast iron braiser) and forgotten about in the oven. Sealing is important so the moisture released by all the vegetables is locked in and becomes the sauce! If you don’t have a braiser/dutch oven, use a glass oven dish but seal it twice with foil.
The seasoning is simple, the vegetables are varied. The lamb is seasoned with a few Turkish inspired spices and some tomato paste, which helps to form a rich sauce. But this dish gets its flavour from all of the vegetables. Make sure you use as many of them as you can, especially the eggplant and onions. And the vegetables will bake until very soft.
Here’s How To Dump And Bake It
My go-to cut is lamb or veal shoulder, but lamb leg will work as well (and I recommend the leg for anyone who likes their lamb less gamey). Grab the meat already cut by your butcher – that’s the time saver.
Wash all of the vegetables, and peel the potatoes. For the eggplant, peel it every other stripe (like a zebra pattern). That’s how my mom does it – trust the process.
The parchment helps contain the splattering as it bakes. If you don’t have a lid for your oven dish, use at least two layers of foil. Check on it at the 1.5 hour mark. If the lamb is fork tender, you can remove it from the oven. Otherwise, continue baking until the 2 to 2.5 hour mark.
The vegetables will be very soft, so spoon it gently as you serve to avoid mushing them all up. I love it spooned over rice along with the sauce that forms on the bottom of the dish. The leftovers also get even better with time!
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Baked Lamb And Vegetables (One Pan)
Ingredients
For The Vegetables And Lamb:
- 1 globe eggplant, large, peeled in zebra stripes, chopped into 1 inch chunks
- 2 green zucchini, chopped into 1 inch chunks
- 3 yellow potatoes, peeled, chopped into 1/2 inch
- 1 red pepper, 1/4 inch dice
- 1 red onion, 1/4 inch dice
- 3 lb boneless lamb or veal, cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks (see notes)
For The Marinade:
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F on the bake setting.
- Start by prepping all the vegetables. Peel the 3 yellow potatoes and chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Peel the 1 globe eggplant in a zebra patter and chop into 1-inch cubes. Chop the 2 green zucchini into 1-inch cubes. Dice the 1 red pepper and 1 red onion. Set aside.
- In a large baking dish (see notes) with a lid (at least 2 inches deep), whisk together the 4 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 of the 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, 3/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, 1 teaspoon dried mint, and 1 out of the 2 teaspoons salt. Place the 3 lb boneless lamb or veal into the marinade and work the marinade into the lamb using your hands.
- Add all the chopped vegetables on top. Drizzle with the rest of the olive oil and season with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Cover with parchment, then a lid. Bake at 350F for 1.5 to 2.5 hours. It's ready when the lamb is fork tender. Check at the 1.5 hour mark and add more time as needed. Garnish with parsley and serve over rice!
Notes
- You can use boneless lamb shoulder, or boneless veal shoulder. Bone-in works too, but the pieces have to be around 1-2 inches in size.
- I use a cast iron braiser with a heavy lid. If you don’t have one, you can use a large 9×18 inch glass oven dish, then seal it tightly with at least two layers of foil.