One Great . . . lamb stew for a winter night

The rest of you might be happy about our unusually warm winter, but not me. I love winter, the more bracing the better. Give me a couple of good snow storms, at least one ice event and enough cold Saturday nights to get through the whole canon of great cold-weather cooking.

We haven't had that many good, cold weekends to trot out the heavy-duty comfort food this year. So a burst of chill this weekend is a cooking excuse you don't want to miss.

Lamb, Fig & Olive Stew

From "EatingWell One-Pot Meals," from Jessie Price and EatingWell magazine (Countryman Press, 2011). If you can't find lean ground lamb, pick a lean cut, such as leg or loin, trim the fat, cut it into bite-size pieces and pulse it in a food processor just until ground but not turned into paste. Or ask the meat department to grind it for you - some stores will do it.

1 pound lean ground lamb
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons herbes de Provence (see note)
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 (14-ounce) cans reduced-sodium beef broth (3 1/2 cups if you have homemade beef broth)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 plum tomatoes, cored and diced
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
1/4 cup finely chopped pitted green olives
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add lamb and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a sieve set over a bowl to drain. Discard the fat.

Wipe out the pot. Add the oil and heat over medium-high. Add 1/4 cup garlic and herbs and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until slightly reduced, 1 to 2 minutes.

Combine broth and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to the pot, increase the heat to high and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, figs, olives and pepper. Return to simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the reserved lamb and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Combine the remaining 2 teaspoons garlic, parsley and lemon zest and sprinkle over servings of stew.

NOTE: It's not exactly the same, but if you don't have herbes de Provence, add 1/4 teaspoon each dried thyme, oregano, rosemary and marjoram.

Cookbook Giveaway: "EatingWell on a Budget"

In Wednesday's Food section, Andrea Weigl will make the case that eating healthfully can be just as cheap as eating junk.

In honor of her story, we'll give one person a little budget break by giving away a copy of the book "EatingWell on a Budget," by Jessie Price and the EatingWell test kitchen. The book promises that all the meals can be made for less than $3 a serving.

If you're not a regular reader of EatingWell magazine and its other books, the editors are clever innovators who focus on recipes that are delicious, doable and healthful. Here's an example, to add to the great recipes you'll find in Weigl's story.

Enter the drawing for the book by posting your name (or a name I can use to identify you) in the comments here. Check back on Friday when we'll announce the winner.

Zucchini, Fennel & White Bean Pasta

From "Eating Well on a Budget." You can trim even more money by cooking your own cannellini beans, but canned beans are convenient and are still a good value, especially if you stock up at sales.

1 large fennel bulb, frond and root ends trimmed

2 medium zucchini

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounces whole-wheat penne or similar short, tubular pasta

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup cooked cannellini beans or rinsed, canned beans

1/2 cup bean-cooking liquid, pasta-cooking liquid or water

2 plum tomatoes, diced

3/4 cup crumbled hard, aged goat cheese or fresh goat cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut fennel bulb in half lengthwise, then slice lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Quarter zucchini lengthwise. Toss fennel and zucchini with 1 tablespoon oil and salt. Arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Roast, turning once, until soft and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to boil while the vegetables roast. Add pasta; cook until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

Coarsely chop the roasted vegetables into bite-size pieces. Add the vegetables, beans and bean- or pasta-cooking liquid to the pan with the garlic and place over medium-low heat. Drain the pasta and immediately add to the pan. Toss thoroughly and add tomatoes. Toss until just warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese and mint. Season with pepper and serve.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 515 calories, 20g protein; 63g carbohydrate; 22g fat (7g saturated); 22mg cholesterol; 12g fiber; 350mg sodium.