Cumin Lamb Stir-Fry

My favorite Chinese restaurant in the area is owned by people from Chengdu, in the Szechuan province. It has opened my eyes to the variety in Chinese food, bringing in ingredients like homemade pickled bamboo, the increasingly present and always numbing Szechuan peppercorn, and the use of lamb, often with cumin. The first time I had lamb in a stir-fry was at P.F. Chang's, which shouldn't even really count, but it at least helped me realize that Chinese food shouldn't always just be about what sauce you want your chicken or beef swimming in. Savory, wild, and bursting with a rustic flavor that had nothing to do with General Tso or his counterparts, Pork Lo Mein and Wonton Soup, Chinese lamb dishes point out that there's something familiar and "country" about this part of China. So when I saw this cumin lamb stir-fry recipe on the NYT website, I was immediately ready to make it, and went out in search of lamb that same day.  

Naturally, this was a disaster. Somehow, despite watching Melissa Clark's video and following it verbatim, her magic did not translate into my kitchen. The resultant dish tasted almost right, but lacked body, and was a choking hazard when I just threw in a bunch of cilantro because it didn't call for chopping anything. So I had to modify the process to suit the average cook's home stove, which by no means can handle cooking a full pound of meat properly in one go. The second attempt was notably different, with properly seared and juicy lamb, and no choking hazards. It was every bit as good as food from the Szechuan restaurant, and if metering one's oil usage carefully, I would say it's probably more healthy as well. A definite win against the evils of professional recipes made in professional kitchens by people who can be snobby on a professional level.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Saffron and Candied Orange Peel

Thailand is done.  Time to start thinking about our next travels.  We were toying with Morocco, so we decided to check out a book on Moroccan food and make a few things, to see if we liked the flavors.  In the end, despite the library book being free, the resulting trip will probably cost us thousands.  If the food is similar to this, it's totally going to be worth it.  This stew falls under the "meats and sweets" category (sorry, Kevin), which is what I think of for Moroccan food in the first place.  Salty, slightly gamey meat browned thoroughly, served with some kind of preserved fruit and perfumed with the heady aromas of desert spices, like ras el hanout and saffron.  By the way, we found our ras el hanout at Williams-Sonoma, and I would recommend it, rather than making your own blend of 15-30 spices that you might not have, or that probably are none too fresh.

I think I have this dish figured out, except for the part where they say to cut a bone-in leg of lamb into 8 pieces.  What do they want me to do here?  We gave up and went with blade chops, which were already portion-sized, although they didn't look as attractive once finished.  But this was totally worth the effort, and if you already have an actual tagine, you should probably try this (although you probably have already).

A traditional Moroccan spice assortment: ras el hanout (Arabic for "head of the shop"), saffron, turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger

Lamb Tagine with Oranges, Saffron, and Candied Orange Peel

Modified slightly from Morocco, by Jeff Koehler

Serves 4

Total prep and cook time: 2.5-3 hours

• 1 tsp butter, softened
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ras el hanout
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp freshly ground white pepper
• Generous pinch saffron threads
• Salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2.25 lb / 1 kg bone-in leg of lamb, cut into ~8 pieces (we used lamb blade chops)
• 1 small cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 Valencia orange, scrubbed
• ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
• 8 cloves
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds for garnishing

In a tagine, dutch oven, or pressure cooker, add the butter, ginger, ras el hanout, cinnamon, turmeric, white pepper, and saffron.  Season with salt.  Moisten with the olive oil and blend well.  One by one, place the pieces of lamb in the spice mixture, and turn to coat.  Add half of the cinnamon stick and scatter the onion across the top.

Place the pot over medium heat, cover, and cook, turning the lamb from time to time, until the meat is browned and the onion is softened but not scorched, about 15 minutes.  Add 1 cup water, loosely cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 45 minutes, stirring from time to time.  If using a pressure cooker (PC), go with 30 minutes at pressure, and if using a dutch oven (DO), go to 60 minutes - the tagine is somewhere in between these in terms of cook time, and I'm basing that entirely on my guess based on how things came out, and how I know meat cooks in my pressure cooker.  During this step, deal with the oranges.

We went with 4 lamb shoulder blade chops, already cut into single serving pieces

Meanwhile, peel the orange, reserving the fruit.  Take two of the orange slices and set them aside to get your 2 tbsp juice.  With a knife, scrape away some – but not all – of the white pith from the peel.  Cut the peel into long, very thin strips about 1/8” wide.  In a small pan, bring 1 cup water to a boil.  Add strips of peel and a pinch of salt, simmer for 2 minutes, and drain.  Repeat one more time, then drain, rinse out pan, and return strips to pan with ¾ cup water.  Bring to a boil, then stir in sugar and add remaining cinnamon stick half and cloves.  Simmer until the liquid is syrupy and the strips of peel are tender but still a touch al dente, about 20 minutes.  Stir in 1 tbsp orange juice, remove from the heat, and let cool.

Try to peel the orange into one whole skin, then slice into long strips

After blanching once

Back to the lamb pot, add ½ cup water and remaining 1 tbsp orange juice and cook until the meat is tender, about 45 minutes (30 for PC, 60 for DO).  Add a bit more water if necessary to keep the sauce loose, or remove the lid to evaporate and thicken it.  Stir in the honey and cook the lamb uncovered for a final 5 minutes.

With a sharp knife, cut away any white pith from the reserved orange.  Carefully cut along the membranes separating the segments and remove them.  Lay the segments in a shallow bowl, spoon the syrup from the pan over the segments, and let soak until ready to serve.

To serve, divide lamb among four plates, and top with the sauce, orange segments, and strips of peel.  Lightly sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Moroccan Lamb and Chickpea Stew

I've been on a chickpea (garbanzo) kick recently, since they're high in protein and flavor, and low in fat and cost.  But I can't quite kick the habit of including a delicious meat with the chickpeas yet, so those tasty legumes are still more of an additive than a replacement.  But whether you're on the garbanzo wagon or not, this stew was incredibly hearty and delicious despite being a fairly low-fat dish, and it came together easily.

Invest in a good dutch oven to make this, and definitely start with dried chickpeas, not canned.  There's a huge difference in flavor.  And read the directions thoroughly before you start - you need to soak the chickpeas overnight and then boil them for an hour, and since the rest of the dish comes together very quickly, that needs to be done pretty much first thing.

Moroccan-Style Lamb and Chickpeas
Cooking Light, December 2011

Yield: Serves 4 (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

• 1 pound lean ground lamb
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups vertically sliced onion
• 1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diagonally cut carrot
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight OR 1 (15 1/2-ounce can) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• plain yogurt, to garnish

The day before, soak your chickpeas in a bowl of water and cover.  Approximately 1/2 cup of dried chickpeas will swell up to the same amount you'd find in a 15-oz can.  Before cooking, drain and rinse the chickpeas, and place in a pot of boiling, lightly salted water for an hour.  Drain, rinse, and have at the ready while you're getting the rest of this together.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add lamb to pan and cook for 6 minutes, stirring to crumble.  Remove the lamb from pan with a slotted spoon, and discard the drippings. Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat.  Add onion and carrot to pan and sauté 4 minutes.  Add cumin, cinnamon, coriander, and pepper; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add reserved lamb, broth, and next 5 ingredients (through chickpeas); bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until mixture thickens.  Remove from heat.

Saute the meat, then add the vegetables, then aromatics for 30 seconds, then everything else.  Pretty easy.

You don't cook this for very long - it's not a full braise, since the meat starts off ground and doesn't benefit from long cooking times.  Start to finish is less than 20 minutes after the chickpeas are ready.

Just before serving, stir in cilantro and lemon juice.  Garnish with a spoon of plain yogurt, and serve over long-grain rice.  In the picture we used a saffron-infused rice, which was delicious here, but you could probably manage basmati or just plain ol' white rice.

Braised Lamb Shanks with White Beans

I've always wanted to master lamb shanks.  Filling, complex, rich with collagen, and easily portioned into undisputable gargantuan helpings you just can't argue with, they are far too underappreciated in this country.  I only know a few cultures that cook lamb shanks well - the Greeks, and the Irish.  I suppose the French can do it to, and that's what I had a run at with this recipe, kind of a take on a cassoulet but without a variety of different meats (or as many beans).

I made this recipe a few months ago and as a result have forgotten exactly where I found it, but I believe I scavenged it mostly from Williams-Sonoma and then modified the spice blend slightly, to produce more of an herbes de provence blend than just the original thyme and bay leaf mix.  My version had an overly thick sauce which would have benefitted from slightly more broth, but otherwise the flavor was so incredible that I almost phoned the last French bistro I ate in and asked for my money back.  Rest assured that I won't be ordering this out at a pricey restaurant any time soon - this probably cost me $30 out the door for two people, including meat from a top-end butcher and a bottle of wine, most of which ended up being drunk at dinner, as was the chef.

Braised Lamb Shanks with White Beans
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration Series, Autumn, by Joanne Weir (Time-Life Books, 1997)

• 3/4 cup dried small white, white kidney or cannellini beans (or 2 15 ounce cans if you’re lazy)
• 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 lamb shanks, each 1/2 to 3/4 lb.
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced
• 1 large carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup dry red wine such as Côtes-du-Rhône, Cabernet Sauvignon or Chianti
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• ¾ tsp chopped fresh rosemary, or ¼ tsp dried
• 1-2 leaves chopped fresh sage, or ½ tsp dried
• ½ tsp dried marjoram
• ¼ tsp dried basil
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

If using dried, pick over the beans and discard any misshapen beans and stones. Rinse the beans, place in a bowl and add water to cover generously. Let stand for about 3 hours.  Drain the beans and place in a saucepan with water to cover by 2 inches. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until nearly tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Drain well.  Or, if using canned beans, ignore that whole process and open 2 cans, rinse, and drain.

While beans are cooking (or being opened), prepare the herbes de provence by combining thyme, rosemary, sage, marjoram, basil, fennel, and oregano in a small bowl.

Meanwhile, in a deep, heavy stock pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the lamb shanks and brown on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the shanks to a plate. Add the onion, celery and carrots to the pan and sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine, broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, herbes de provence mix, bay leaf, and lamb shanks. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the shanks can be easily pierced with a skewer, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Add the beans, stir well, cover and simmer gently until the lamb begins to fall from the bone and the beans are tender, about 30 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf and discard.

Transfer the lamb shanks and beans to individual plates and garnish with chopped parsley.

Kokkinisto (Greek Braised Red Lamb with Tomatoes)

This year, Christmas Eve was spent cooking, taking pictures, and frantically trying to scribble down a surprise recipe that I would be proud to call the best lamb recipe I have ever made.  I think I need to just start following my brother around and taking notes on everything he does.  When I showed up yesterday to help make dinner, he was making two boneless legs of lamb into a dish that didn't sound quite my style.  So I asked if I could set one aside to do something different.  And while I'm rummaging around in my recipe folder for a lamb recipe, he just busts this one out off the top of his head, rivaling the best Greek restaurant lamb dish I've ever tried.  After thinking about it for the duration of the cooking process, he finally goes, "it's called kokonisto or something".  So we looked it up, and sure enough, there's a dish called kokkinisto, and even without a recipe he basically nailed it.  It's a braised meat dish (kokkinisto means "reddened" in Greek, I believe) cooked in tomato, and often with red wine, and just a tiny hint of cinnamon to accentuate the spiced flavors.  Usually lamb is used, but I found recipes for beef and chicken on the web as well.

Kokkinisto - braised lamb in a tomato sauce.  OMG.

I present the recipe as I will make it moving forward, just adding some red wine and serving over orzo, a rice-shaped pasta that really helps hold the sauce and is a traditional accompaniment in Greek restaurants.  But this was excellent on its own, and I devoured every bite, excited to make this again at my house.  And you should make it in yours.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Potatoes and Onions

If you haven't tried cooking lamb, you're missing out.  A good leg of lamb is moist, rich, tender, with just a hint of a wild game flavor, and it takes to garlic and rosemary with dignity.  I made this dish years ago and it was so mouthwatering that I ate it out of the tupperware with my bare hands, like an animal, for probably a solid week afterwards.  Not that this is the raving endorsement you should be looking for, but I thought it was a pretty good story.  Cheers to my housemate for taking some very artistic shots this time, but jeers to him for making me realize that I need a better camera.

Ready to be sliced and served

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Potatoes and Onions
(Gigot D'Agneau Aux Pommes De Terre Et Oignons) 
Bon Appétit, May 1999

Serves 6 to 8

• 1 6- to 7-pound bone-in leg of lamb, excess fat trimmed 
• 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh savory or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or 3/4 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• butter for roasting pan
• 3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
• 2 1/2 pounds onions, thinly sliced (about 8 cups)
• 1 3/4 cups beef stock or canned beef broth 

If you have a food processor, I highly recommend using it to slice the potatoes and onions.  It gives you a perfectly even cut and saves 10 minutes of manual labor.

Ready your root vegetables.  A bed of potatoes and onions serve to cushion the lamb against burning, and absorb the drippings

Preheat oven to 400°F. Using small sharp knife, cut 1-inch-deep, 1/2-inch-long slits all over lamb. Cut up the garlic into thin slices and insert garlic into slits in the lamb. Rub oil all over lamb. Mix thyme, savory, rosemary, salt and pepper in small bowl. Rub herb mixture all over lamb. Set aside. 

Get the garlic deep down into the slits in the meat

Fresh thyme and rosemary really make this dish.  If you don't have fresh rosemary, don't even bother this time.

  

Grease up that lamb!

Rub the herb mixture all over the surface of the lamb

Generously butter large roasting pan. Combine potatoes, onions and stock in large pot (stock will not cover vegetables). Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are halfway tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer potato mixture to prepared pan; spread evenly in pan.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Place lamb in roasting pan atop potato mixture. Roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of lamb registers 130°F. for medium-rare, about 1 hour 50 minutes. Remove from oven. Tent with foil and let stand 15 minutes. 

Thinly slice lamb. Arrange lamb on large platter. Surround with potato mixture and any juices from pan and serve.