Politiki Lamb Kapama (Αρνί Καπαμάς Πολίτικος)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •heavy wide lidded braising pot, 28-30cm
• •sturdy tongs for turning lamb pieces
• •small square of cheesecloth or spice infuser, optional, for the whole spices

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the lamb

   Season the lamb pieces all over with the salt and pepper, then let them stand for 30 minutes while you chop the onions. Pat the meat dry before it meets the pot. Wet lamb browns badly, and kapama needs color before it needs sauce.

2. 2

   Brown in batches

   Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the lamb in two or three batches, 4-5 minutes per side, until you have deep dark patches on the meat. This is the step that decides the dish: crowded meat steams and gives you a flat tomato stew, but well-browned lamb makes the sauce taste of meat, oil, and spice. Set the browned pieces on a plate.

   Do not rush this with all the lamb in the pot at once. Give each piece room, and the sauce will repay you.
3. 3

   Soften the onions

   Lower the heat to medium. Add the onions to the same pot and cook for 8-10 minutes, scraping up the browned bits, until they are soft, sweet-smelling, and pale gold. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. If the bottom looks dry, add a spoonful of water, not more oil.

4. 4

   Build the sauce

   Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, until it darkens to brick red. Add the wine and let it bubble down by half, scraping the pot clean. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, hot water or stock, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, bay leaf, and the sugar if the tomatoes need it.

5. 5

   Braise covered

   Return the lamb and its juices to the pot. The sauce should come about halfway up the meat, not drown it. Cover tightly and cook on the lowest steady simmer for 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, turning the pieces once or twice, until a fork slides in easily and the meat loosens from the bone. Kapama means covered, and here the name still tells you the method.

6. 6

   Finish the sauce

   Uncover the pot. If the sauce is thin, simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until it thickens and shines around the lamb. Remove the cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, and bay leaf if you can find them. Taste for salt, then let the kapama rest for 15 minutes before serving.

7. 7

   Serve it

   Serve the lamb with rice pilaf or thick hilopites, spooning plenty of the red, spiced sauce over the top. Add parsley only if you like that fresh edge at the end. The dish wants the sauce caught, not admired from a distance.

Chef Tips

• •Use shoulder, forequarter, or shank, not lean boneless leg. Kapama needs bone and connective tissue so the sauce becomes full and the meat stays soft. Λίγα και καλά: good lamb matters more than a crowded spice shelf.
• •Easter comes before ripe tomato season in much of Greece, so use preserved summer tomato or good canned tomatoes without apology. A hard spring tomato will not become sweet because you wished it well.
• •Whole spices give a cleaner sauce than ground clove does. Count them going in, especially the cloves, and remove what you can before serving. One surprise clove under the tooth is not tradition, it's carelessness.
• •Kapama sits well. The sauce tastes deeper the next day, so rewarm it gently, covered, with a splash of water if it has tightened.

Advance Preparation

• •Salt the lamb up to 24 hours ahead and chill it uncovered. Bring it toward room temperature for 45 minutes before browning.
• •The kapama can be cooked 1 day ahead. Chill it, lift off any set fat if you like, and rewarm gently, covered, until the sauce loosens.
• •Measure the spices and crush the tomatoes before browning the lamb. Once the pot is hot, the first half hour moves quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)