BRAISED LAMB SHANKS IN CLAY POT

Posted in clay pot cooking, Lamb by sallybr

They can be made in a regular pan in the oven, but the clay pot does a beautiful job in this type of braising, so if you own one, put it to use. I like to prepare it the day before we want to enjoy it, because lamb is very fatty. Storing it in the fridge overnight allows me to remove the fat that congeals on the surface. For us, it makes the meal a lot lighter and easier to digest, but you can omit that step if you prefer.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS IN CLAY POT
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

2 lamb shanks
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tsp oregano
2 shallots, thickly chopped
2 celery stalks, thickly chopped
1 can whole tomatoes with their liquid (28 oz)
3 large carrots, cut into large chunks
1/2c red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Soak clay pot in cold water according to the recommendations for your brand.

Rinse and pat dry lamb shanks, season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and brown the lamb shanks on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to the clay pot.

Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, brown the shallots and celery until fragrant. Add tomatoes, oregano, tomato paste and wine, cook for about 5 minutes, stirring every once in a while. Add cinnamon and balsamic vinegar, a little salt and pepper. Pour sauce over lamb shanks, add bay leaves. Arrange the carrots around the meat. If the liquid does not reach all the way up to the meat, add some water.

Place in a cold oven, turn to 375F and cook for 2 and a half to three hours. If after 2.5 hours the meat is not falling apart, and there is not enough liquid, add a little water, close the pot again and roast for another 30 minutes.

If serving next day, remove clay pot from the oven, cool it, and refrigerate overnight. Remove the congealed fat and warm the meat and sauce together.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was our first dinner of 2022, and let me tell you, it exorcized awful demons from a previous celebratory meal. I am talking Christmas Eve, in which yours truly cooked the worst duck ever made in the history of mankind. I am not proud. Everything went wrong and our dinner ended up as quinoa and roasted vegetables. Which is ok, but I was really hoping for a nice roast duck to go with it. Anyway, I digress. These lamb shanks would make angels sing, unless they are Vegan Angels.

Juicy, flavorful, tender. We enjoyed them with mashed sweet potatoes. My main advice is to load the clay pot with as many carrots as you can fit in there. They turn into carrot candy…

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23Jan2019

30-HOUR LEG OF LAMB WITH MASHED SWEET POTATOES

Posted in Lamb, Sous-Vide Cooking by sallybr

Let me just say upfront, the pictures do not do justice to how tasty this meal turned out. Ideally, this would be prepared using lamb shoulder, but it is very hard to find. So I used the upper part of the leg, boneless, tied with a net to keep its overall shape. You have two options for leg of lamb: cooking it rare to medium-rare (more traditional), or cooking a lot longer, so that the meat pretty much falls off the bone (when there’s a bone). I wanted to make it sous-vide, but while doing some research, found a wide range of temperature and cooking time listed in cookbooks and websites. After hyperventilating about it for a while, I settled on 30 hours at 160 F. I am thrilled to report that it was a successful experiment. If you don’t have a sous-vide gadget, please see my comments after the recipe.

30-HOUR LEG OF LAMB WITH MASHED SWEET POTATOES
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 boneless leg of lamb, butterflied and tied (2.5 to 3.0 pounds)
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
4 tablespoons mustard powder
2 tsp ground black pepper
5 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in large chunks
1 + 3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I used Aleppo pepper)
1/2 tsp Southwest Seasoning mix (I used Penzey’s)
3/4 cup light coconut milk
fresh parsley, minced (to taste)

Set your sous-vide to 160 F. Mix the salt, pepper and mustard together in a small bowl. Pat the meat dry and season all over with the spice mixture. Place inside a bag and vacuum-seal it. Place in the water-bath and cook for 30 hours. Cover the container with aluminum foil and check for water evaporation over that period of time. When 30 hours passed, remove the meat from the bag, and run under a broiler to get a nice brown roasted appearance to it. Serve immediately, the meat should be falling apart when you probe it with a fork.

For the mashed potatoes. Place the potatoes, water and seasonings in a crock pot. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Warm the coconut milk in a microwave (do not boil), add to the potatoes in the crock pot, and mash with a potato masher to the consistency you prefer. Add minced parsley, adjust seasoning, and serve with the lamb.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Some questions you might have: do I need a sous-vide for this? Well, you do if you want to come up with this exact result, but you can always follow this method to obtain a similar type of lamb, quite different from the way it is normally enjoyed. It is known as “Lamb you can eat with a spoon” and pretty much describes the meal we had. Another question could be, can I make it in 24 hours instead of 30? I’d say you probably could, but the meat would not be as tender. Sous-vide offers a real wide flexibility in terms of timing, but I would definitely go more towards 30 rather than 24 for this preparation. There are discussions on how much liquid the meat loses as you increase the temperature and the timing, so higher temperatures can be problematic for some cuts of meat. I heard of a fantastic recipe for lamb shoulder from a restaurant that cooks it at 170F for 36 hours, but keep in mind that lamb shoulder is a bit different in terms of texture. All things considered, I think the way we made it turned out pretty good. I would like to come up with a sauce to serve with it, but was unsure about using the liquid accumulated in the bag as a starting point. Will re-visit this issue soon.

The sweet potatoes were quite delicious, and paired well with the lamb. We also had green beans and almonds as another side dish, forming a fun and colorful dinner plate. Leftovers can be shredded and come back as part of a lamb ragu, coupled with a hearty tomato sauce, or part of a curry with some garbanzo beans added to the party.

If you prefer a more traditional leg of lamb, you can use 135 to 140F for 24 hours for a bone-in piece. That will give you tender meat, pink all the way through, perfect to cut in slices. I like to keep seasoning simple, but you can of course use all kinds of dry rubs or marinades before placing it in the bag.

Sous-vide is a perfect gadget for entertaining. Since timing is so flexible and after sous-vide all you need is a last-minute browning or searing, it works wonders when you have guests for dinner.

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31Oct2018

LAMB MEATBALLS, SLOW-COOKER VERSION

Posted in Lamb by sallybr

One of the things I don’t like to do in the kitchen is peeling hazelnuts. The other is frying stuff. Not for concerns with fat intake, which don’t bother me even slightly, but for the mess it makes on the stove and the lingering smell in the kitchen. It probably explains why I ended up getting an air-fryer. Wait, who am I trying to fool? I have a weak spot for cooking gadgets… Anyway, whenever I find a method that circumvents the need for frying stuff, I am on it. Most recipes for meatballs insist you must brown them on a frying pan. Not this one. And the result is a super tender lamb meatball, that seems to soak the flavor of the tomato sauce better than traditional versions. Plus, the fact that it cooks unattended in the crock pot is a bonus. After forming the meatballs, your work is pretty much done.

SLOW-COOKER LAMB MEATBALLS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 pound ground lamb
1/3 cup almond flour
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, beaten
grated zest or 1/2 large lemon
½ teaspoon ground cumin
fresh parsley leaves, to taste (about 1/4 cup)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 + 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
28-ounce can whole tomatoes
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Gently combine the lamb, almond flour, beaten egg and yolk, cumin, cinnamon, parsley, lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl.

Put the tomatoes and red pepper flakes into slow cooker. Break up the tomatoes with a potato masher. Season it with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Form the meat mixture into meatballs, make them slightly bigger than golf-ball size. Drop them gently in the tomato sauce.

Cook on LOW for 4 hours, serve with any side dish you like.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This recipe works better with larger meatballs, so they don’t turn into mush through the long cooking. Two make a very nice portion for dinner, so by cooking a full batch we can have either a repeat dinner later in the week, or… my favorite thing: leftovers for lunch!

You can use breadcrumbs instead of almond flour if you prefer. I tend to go with almond flour because it’s lower in carbs and I like the slightly nutty taste it gives to the meatballs. On my second time making this recipe, I added Sriracha to the ground lamb mixture. If you like some extra heat, give it a try. I bet gojuchang sauce could be a winner too.

But, before I leave you….

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

(October 2009)

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26Sep2018

GRILLED LAMB-STUFFED PITA BREAD

Posted in Lamb by sallybr

Amazing recipe. Ground lamb and grill take your mind to hamburger or koftas, right? But by enclosing it all inside a pita bread, you’ll have something totally different and incredibly tasty. I first saw the recipe on a TV show by America’s Test Kitchen, then noticed variations of it in several Middle Eastern cookbooks. If you enjoy the flavor of lamb, give it a try. It’s a real keeper.

GRILLED GROUND LAMB PITAS
(adapted from The Splendid Table)

2 pounds ground lamb
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons juice
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 (8-inch) pita breads

Mince cilantro very well. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in oil, lemon zest and juice, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, and cinnamon. Add lamb and knead gently with your hands until thoroughly combined.

Using kitchen shears, cut around perimeter of each pita and separate into 2 halves. Place 4 thicker halves on counter with interiors facing up. Divide lamb mixture into 4 equal portions and place 1 portion in center of each pita half. Using spatula, gently spread lamb mixture into even layer, leaving 1/2-inch border around edge. Top each with thinner pita half. Press each sandwich firmly until lamb mixture spreads to ¼ inch from edge of pita. Transfer sandwiches to large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

Place sandwiches on hot grill, cover, and cook until bottoms are evenly browned and edges are starting to crisp, 7 to 10 minutes, moving sandwiches as needed to ensure even cooking. Flip sandwiches, cover grill, and continue to cook until second sides are evenly browned and edges are crisp, 7 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer sandwiches to cutting board and cut each in half crosswise. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: If you look at the original recipe, you’ll see that I considerably reduced the amount of spices (and also the amount of olive oil, as lamb has enough fat). I tend to do that very often. In my opinion many recipes use too heavy a hand with spices, so that the flavor of the food itself becomes secondary. In this particular preparation, I prefer to let the taste of the meat shine a bit more. Do as you must to suit your taste. We loved these pitas, they were a complete meal with just the right amount of carbs to satisfy, and the lamb nicely seasoned.

You can adapt this method to ground turkey, ground beef, or even go vegetarian and make some type of garbanzo bean, mushroom concoction inside. That would be wonderful too, I am sure.

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11Jul2017

RACK OF LAMB SOUS-VIDE WITH COUSCOUS SALAD

Posted in Lamb, Sous-Vide Cooking by sallybr

Mid-July, and here I am to share with you a recipe we enjoyed on the first week of January. No particular reason for dragging my feet for so long, it was a memorable dinner, probably the juiciest lamb we’ve had at home. It was prepared sous-vide, but of course you can use any method you are comfortable with. The thing is, rack of lamb is such a special cut, I always get a bit nervous when I have to prepare it. It must be medium-rare, or you’ll have a disaster on your plate. Of course, meat thermometers are there to help us out, but the option of using sous-vide takes the stress completely out of it. I love that. For the same dinner, I made Potatoes Anna, but that is still a work in progress. Read on…

RACK OF LAMB SOUS-VIDE WITH COUSCOUS SALAD
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, adapted from several sources)

for the meat:
1 rack of lamb
1 teaspoon oregano (I used Mexican)
1 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and pepper
for the salad:
2 cups cooked couscous
1 cucumber, diced
2 large Roma tomatoes, diced
dried mint to taste (use fresh when available)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
to glaze:
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat the water bath to 130 ° F.

Season the lamb lightly with salt and pepper all over. Mix the oregano, paprika and coriander in a small bowl. Rub the mixture over the meat, place it in a sous-vide type bag and seal it. Submerge in the heated water-bath and cook for 4 hours.

For the salad, heat the olive oil on a small pan, just to raise its temperature, no need to have it smoking. Remove from heat, add the dried mint, and let it cool to room temperature. Whisk the lemon juice. Mix the cooked couscous, cucumber, and tomatoes in a bowl. Add the prepared dressing. If using fresh mint, simply add it to the olive oil and lemon juice, no need to warm the oil up. Season with salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasoning.

When the lamb is almost ready to leave the water-bath, make a glaze mixing the honey with lemon juice. Remove the lamb from the bag, brush some of the glaze all over and sear the surface either on a very hot skillet, or on a hot grill. You can also run it under the broiler, watching it carefully. Slice the lamb in individual ribs, and serve with the cool couscous salad.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was superb! You can double the recipe, cook two racks of lamb and invite a couple of special friends over. But in this particular dinner, it was just the two of us. And three pups absolutely mesmerized by the smell wafting through the kitchen. Now, to the Potatoes Anna, one of my favorite ways to enjoy potatoes, a bit of an indulgence, of course. Potatoes and butter in proportions to make those two little entities show up, one on each side of your head. The evil one tells you not to worry about a thing, life is short. The other one asks if you noticed how much butter went into that innocent looking platter of food… Tell them both to leave you alone, enjoy the meal and be a bit more austere for a couple of days. There. You’ve got this!

But, I digress. I told you the Potatoes Anna are a work in progress, and you might be wondering why. Here it is…

A bit too brown, I think. I used the method by America’s Test Kitchen, but I think it calls for too long on top of the stove. Maybe the flame in our stove is stronger than the one they used. That could explain, it’s hard to believe they would have made a mistake. Next time I intend to cut the time a bit shorter or use one of the weaker flames on the back of our Supernova. At any rate, the inside was very creamy, perfectly cooked.