Slow Braised Leg of Lamb with Greek Salad, Raita, and Whole-Wheat Flatbread

Lamb, raita, Greek salad, and whole-wheat flatbread.  

Boneless lamb roast resting before carving. 

This fantastic combination of tender, flavorful lamb, refreshing raita, crisp, fresh salad and warm homemade flat bread isn't an easy weeknight dinner. It should be saved for a special occasion, and only undertaken if you're the kind of person who loves the process of cooking nearly as much as you adore the pleasure of eating at home.

In retrospect, I ought to have left this for a Sunday, but it was a really special occasion--the finale of The Bachelor! For the last couple years, some coworkers and my sister and I have gathered every Tuesday to mock the worst television event in America, drink wine and hang out. This is a great opportunity for me to practice my favorite pastime--cooking for a crowd.
Right after Christmas, I was in the grocery store and saw enormous legs of American lamb, reduced to scandalously low prices. A 13-lb leg was a mere sixteen dollars (the last, smaller one I bought was $80, albeit from Oliver's, who sells high-quality local meat). I couldn't pass up the bargain--I bought it and waited for an special occasion like the finale of a TV show that is everything wrong with America.
I decided to do a boneless, braised / slow roasted preparation for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the bone-in leg wouldn't fit into my biggest roasting pot. Secondly, even though I usually prefer a medium-rare preparation on any lamb (such as here), this lamb had dark-red flesh and was unusually large, so my guess was this was an older lamb. It's meat would be distinctly gamy. Having been frozen for months wouldn't help the flavor and texture, either. So braising in wine would tenderize the meat, and smearing the roast with copious garlic, rosemary and lemon zest would counteract the gaminess.
Seeing as the lamb came on the bone, my first step was to butterfly it--myself. I watched a few youtube videos, then started hacking away.
I based the rest of general cooking background knowledge and how I personally like lamb to taste. I didn't follow a recipe, so this post doesn't read like one.

Messily home-butterflied lamb

Then, I chopped a head and a half of garlic, four sprigs of rosemary, the zest of two lemons, and some salt and black pepper.

Rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon zest. 

Then, I rubbed half of this onto the inside of the leg, then rolled it up, and rubbed the other half onto the outside. 

Then, I placed this into my dutch oven, poured half a bottle of chardonnay around the outside, and covered it. I cooked it at 225 degrees for six hours. 

This is not going to be done for six more hours, and lamb, though it cooks best in white, really eats best with red. Feel free to enjoy the rest of that bottle while you clean the lamb viscera off your kitchen ceiling. 

Then, I removed it, cranked the heat up to 550, and blasted it for about 10 minutes to get a crisp, bronze finish on the outer layer of fat. 

Roasty-toasty brown and smelling phenomenal. 

 Crunchy burnished fat crust

I then allowed the lamb to rest for 25 minutes. During that time, I took all the liquid that had accumulated in the pot while the lamb was cooking. I skimmed as much fat off the top as I could (there was quite a bit--lambs are fatty), then I pour the liquid into a sauce pan, put it over the gas, and let it boil and boil to reduce. 

I spooned a bit of the reduction over the resting lamb to make it glossy and juicy-looking, then put it in a bowl for people to spoon over their meat as they served themselves. 

To go with this, I made whole-wheat flatbreads (I cooked on our cast-iron, stovetop grill), cucumber mint raita, and Greek salad. 

Greek salad.

To make the Greek salad, I combined two clamshells of little red grape tomatoes (the only tomatoes that tasted good this time of year), two cucumbers chopped into rough chunks, two chopped red onions, a quarter cup of drained capers, a few tablespoons red wine vinegar, and a quarter-ish cup of olive oil, some black pepper, then mixed everything together. 

This was a FABULOUS DINNER

Soon it will be Easter, and soon after that, you too can find a discount leg of lamb in your neighborhood Albertson's or Safeway's. I cannot recommend this "recipe" enough--it is fantastic. 

Enjoy!

Lamb Shanks with White Bean and Tomato Ragout

Braised lamb shank, bean and tomato ragout, garnished with some fresh mint. 

Absolutely fantastic.

Last month, Adam and I drove up to Vail for a long weekend to celebrate my birthday and our 3 month anniversary. We stayed at the hotel where we stayed for our wedding, the Vail Cascade. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and I ordered the pork shank with tomato and white bean ragout--it was unbelievably fabulous. The beans were silky and creamy and rich and the braised pork was just insane. One of the best things I've ordered in a restaurant in a really long time.

So I had to recreate it! Yesterday I went for a long run and worked out the recipe in my head. I used lamb shanks instead of pork shanks--I've never seen pork shanks for sale anywhere, and I had lamb shanks in the freezer. Plus, I had the last of the garden's tomatoes that needed to be used up. 

This recipe is a fair amount of work but so, so worth it. These were absolutely perfect.

Ingredients

For the shanks 

4 lamb shanks, about a pound each 

olive oil

salt

3 shallots, diced

2 carrots, diced 

7 cloves of garlic, minced

2/3 a bottle of red wine (no need to go fancy. I used the bottle that was on sale for $4.99 at Santa Fe liquors--our local shop specialized in $1 pocket shots and flavored blunts)

2 cups plus 1 cup chopped tomatoes 

2 sprigs rosemary 

2 bay leaves

For the beans 

1 bag of dried large lima beans 

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large white onion, chopped

1 slice smoked bacon 

2 bay leaves 

Garnishes 

chopped mint

slices of lemon

What to do 

Start by soaking the beans. Cover the beans with cool water and set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 

Salt the shanks. 

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a large, heavy pot with a lid. The burner should be on high. Brown the shanks thoroughly in the oil, about 5 minutes per side. Work in batches--the shanks should not be touching. Place shanks on a plate and and set aside. 

Lower heat to medium. Add the carrot and shallot to the leftover oil and rendered lamb fat. Saute for a few minutes, then add the garlic. Cook for a minute more. 

Add the wine. Bring to a boil and cook for 5-10 minutes until reduced by about a third. 

Add the 2 cups tomatoes and cook for another 4 minutes. 

Add the shanks back into the pot and nestle into the sauce. The sauce should just cover the lamb--if there isn't enough sauce, add some water or stock until shanks are barely covered. Cover the pot and place in the oven. Cook at 325 for two hours. 

Meanwhile, make the beans. 

Melt the butter in the bottom of a pot. Add the onions and garlic and a big dash of salt. Cook for a few minutes, then fill the pot with water. Add the slice of bacon (whole is fine) and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. 

Add the beans and reduce heat. 

Simmer, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. Beans should be tender but not mushy. It's ok if they're slightly undercooked--you will cook them again when you put them into the ragout sauce. When they're done, remove from heat and wait till it's time to add them to the lamb. 

When the lamb has been braising for two hours, remove the shanks from the sauce using tongs. Place shanks onto a cookie sheet or other oven-safe tray. 

Put the pot of sauce back on the burner and bring to a boil. Reduce the sauce for about 20 minutes. Drain the beans. Remove the bacon and bay leaves and add the beans to the pot of reducing sauce. 

Add the remaining cup of chopped tomatoes. 

Cook the sauce for about 5 more minutes. 

The sauce should now be rich and thick and amazing. Taste for salt. 

Lovely reduced ragout with beans and tomatoes. 

While the sauce is reducing, crank your oven up to broil and put the shanks back in for about 3 minutes, turn them, and cook for 3 more minutes. You want them to get a nice brown sear and crisp some of the other fat. (This step set my smoke alarm off about 3 times).

Turn the heat off under the sauce and add the shanks back in, turning to coat in the sauce. 

Serve by scooping a ladle of beans and sauce onto a plate, then adding a shank on top, then drippling some extra sauce over the shank. Scatter with chopper mint and a few drops of fresh lemon juice. 

I baked some bread to go with. You will want some to mop up the sauce. 

This was just fabulous.

Enjoy!

Leg of Lamb Provençal

This is an Ina Garten recipe---I absolutely love Ina Garten and want to be her.

I love you.

I want to be all pop-collar in capri pants and bare feet, planning dinner parties in the Hamptons for the middle-aged gay couple next door. Or surprising Jeffrey with a cake. She's always like "I can't wait until Jeffrey gets home--I think he'll be so surprised!" about the Italian cream cake or whatever. And unless Jeffrey is retarded, he is NOT surprised--you bake him a cake every day! Plus the camera-crew truck is in the driveway. He is obviously just pretending so you keep baking him more timelessly elegant cakes!

Barefoot Contessa is the benevolent fairy in a soothing, rosemary-scented WASP dreamworld of lemon and ricotta, "good" olive oil, shabby-chic down comforters and  rum cookies. Nobody says mean things about being fat and nobody ever gets divorced. 

I often leave Ina on in the background when I'm grading or planning because her voice makes me happy and calm. And her recipes are the BEST. Simple and no hard-to-find ingredients. Every time I make one of her recipes it turns out exactly right, down to the amount of salt. I usually add more flavor elements to any recipe I make (double the garlic, triple the crushed red pepper), but Ina's I follow exactly.

I had friends over for my sister's birthday, and I knew exactly what I wanted to make: leg of lamb. I had two gift certificates to Oliver's anyway, so I felt somewhat better about blowing 90 bucks on a single, if enormous, piece of meat. (What does it say about you if people get you gift certificates to the meat store as a wedding present? Something good or bad?) 

This is the second time I've made this recipe, and both times it turned out mind-blowingly delicious. Absolutely fabulous, wonderful and perfect. 

It's really great having a dinner party on a weeknight, too. You feel like a real adult with a life, not just a work monkey. Must do this more often.

Perfect medium rare!

I copied this recipe directly from epicurious.

ingredients

• 1 (6- to 7-pound) bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed and tied
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves), divided
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 pounds ripe red tomatoes, cored and 1-inch diced
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 cup good honey (see note), divided
• 1 large Spanish onion, sliced
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

• Note: You'll want to use a liquid—rather than a solid—honey for this recipe so it can be drizzled on the lamb.

what to do 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Place the leg of lamb in a large roasting pan fat side up and pat it dry with paper towels. Combine the mustard, 1 tablespoon of garlic, the rosemary, balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in a mini food processor and pulse until the garlic and rosemary are minced. Spread the mixture on the lamb.

Place the tomatoes, olive oil, 1/4 cup of the honey, the onion, the remaining 1 tablespoons garlic, 2 tablespoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper in a bowl and toss well. Pour the tomato mixture around the lamb and tuck in the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Drizzle the lamb with the remaining 1/4 cup of honey.

Roast for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and roast for another 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until a meat thermometer registers 130 to 135 degrees for medium-rare. Place the lamb on a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Discard the herb stems and return the tomatoes to the oven to keep warm. Slice the lamb, arrange on a platter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve with the tomatoes and pan juices spooned on top.

I also made salad with anchovy vinaigrette and homemade sourdough bread with parsley-lemon butter. 

Consuela loves dinner parties. 

My sister loved it, which I knew she would.
This is a recipe I know I'll be making for special occasions forever, or for at least as long as there are still lambs roaming an un-destroyed earth or until a doctor specifically forbids me to keep feeding Adam this much red meat or until toxic gasses clog the sun and everyone dies, and the earth is one stretch of blackened debris, except for a tiny corner where a single TV is still plugged in, playing Barefoot Contessa reruns into the abyss.

Enjoy!

Lamb Korma

YUM.

To be fair, I've never made a lamb dish that wasn't fabulous. I've made leg of lamb, lamb ragu, lamb chops, and 6-hour lamb shoulder: all of these were to die.
And so was this fantastic lamb korma! The spice combination tasted warm and complex, while not overwhelming the rich gaminess of the lamb. It was simply delicious--better than any version I've ordered in a restaurant.
I made this dish for an Indian dinner party, along with chicken tikka masala and fiery veggie masala with cucumber-mint raita. I also made a cardamon-orange-vanilla rice pudding for dessert.
People came over and we ate in the backyard--it was a really fun night, and the Food. Was. Amazing. It was exactly my idea of a great Saturday night.

Not a photogenic dish--but the taste makes up for it. 

I invited my English department to the party--and several of them can't eat gluten, which is how I struck upon the idea of having an Indian food party--it's all naturally gluten-free.
I bought my lamb at Oliver's, which is the only place I ever buy lamb and my favorite butcher's shop of all time.
Finding a Lamb Korma recipe online isn't easy--and each one I found had a slightly different combination of spices--some included chile powder, others bay leaves; some included poppy seeds or raisins, one had almond powder. But all of them started with sauteed onions, tons of spices, ginger and garlic, tomatoes, and yogurt--the lamb is then braised slowly in this sauce. Most call for whole spices to be ground in a mortar--I skipped this and just used regular ground spices for the sake of simplicity. My recipe is an amalgam of several I read.

Ingredients
2 red onions, chopped
4 TB salted butter
1 TB ground cloves
1 TB ground cinnamon
1 TB ground cardamon
1 TB ground coriander
1 TB ground tumeric
1 TB smoked paprika
1 TB cumin
5 garlic cloves, minced
4 TB minced fresh ginger
5 big, rip tomatoes, blended up
2 TB sugar
3 lbs boneless lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 cups plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
water
salt

What to do: 

Melt the butter in the pan you'll be cooking in. You should use a deep pan with a well-fitting lid that can go in the oven. Add the onions and saute for about five minutes. Add all of the spices--cloves, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, tumeric, paprika. Basically throw in anything powdered. 

Stir the spiced around, allowing the to fry just a bit in the butter for about a minute. Then add the ginger and garlic and stir that around, too. 

Add the blended tomatoes and allow everything to come to a boil. Scrap the bottom of the pot, getting up any spices which may have stuck. Add the sugar and a dash of salt and stir in. 

Add the lamb and yogurt. It's fine to put the lam in raw (I was worried about not searing before braising, but it turned out totally fine). Stir around until the yogurt is well mixed in. Add about a cup of water if it looks too dry for a good braise.

Cover the pot and place into the oven at 280 degree for 3 hours or more. 

Before serving, skim as much of the fat off of the top as you can. 

Taste for salt and serve with rice! 

The recipe had the most individual spices of anything I've cooked. 

\

Onions and spices.

Adding lamb to the bubbling, tomato-ey mix. 

Someone's delicious plate.

Grilled Lamb Chops

Garlic and rosemary marinated lamb chops.

Lamb chops are fancy, easy, and delicious. They look like tiny T-bone steaks! You feel like the giant in the 80"s version on Jack and the Beanstock, feasting like a tyrant. I sometimes make these for special occasions--but in this case, the special occasion was It's Monday and Lambchops Were on Sale. 

When considering how many to buy, I think 3 per person is a good amount, especially if you're serving sides. We made ten--that was dinner for two plus lunch for one. 

Making lamb chops is super simple. 

Ingredients

Ingredients:  
Lamb chops (any amount)
A few garlic cloves, minced
A few twigs of rosemary, chopped
salt
pepper
olive oil

What to do: 
Salt and pepper the chops lightly on both sides. Scatter the garlic and rosemary over the chops, then pour olive oil over each. The chops don't need to be drowning in oil--I used about half a cup for 10 chops.
Let the chops marinate for a couple hours.
Then, grill the chops on a very hot barbecue. For medium rare, we  grilled each on for about 2 min per side--but the cooking time depends on how hot your grill is.
Let the chops rest for about 5 minutes before eating. Yummm!

Lamb chops marinating

Two lobbyists in favor of lamb chops

Fire!

This smells of garlic, rosemary, and bubbling lamb fat.

Yummmm....

Lamb chops resting.

Lamb chops, corn and squash casserole, green beans and arugula, and homebrew. Perfect  summer dinner!

Enjoy!