Lamb Dishes

GRILLED LAMB STEAK, RATATOUILLE

AND CRACKED WHEAT

Ingredients for 4 servings:

Lamb:

1 leg of lamb steak (1 1/2 pounds)

1 teaspoon dried herbs to Provence

Kosher salt and pepper

Spray olive oil

Ratatouille

1 medium eggplant, peeled

2 small zucchini, seeded

1 small onion, peeled

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced

2 large tomatoes, diced

3 tablesspoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

Cracked Wheat:

1 cup coarse cracked wheat (bulgar)

Garlic Oil

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup flat leave parsley, chopped

Directions:

Lamb: Remove the lamb from the refrigerator 1 hour in advance.  Lightly season both sides with the herbs,  salt and pepper.   Cover it lightly with plastic and reserve.  Preheat a panini grill. Pat the meat pieces dry.  Lightly oil with the spray, place on the grill and close the cover.  Cook until the interior temperature registers 135 degrees to 140 (145 degrees for medium).  Place meat on a cutting board, cover with foil and allow to rest at least 10 minutes.

Ratatouille:  Chop the eggplant, zucchini, onion, bell peppers evenly.  Dice the garlic and tomatoes.

Coat the bottom of a heavy 10-12" skillet with 2 tablespoons oil and heat it until the oil starts to smoke. Add a single layer of eggplant and zucchini pieces and saute until they begin to brown lightly, about 5 minutes.  Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon.  Lightly oil the skillet and saute the onion and bell pepper pieces until they soften, about 3 minutes.  Return the eggplant and zucchini to the pan, mix well.

Open a space in the middle of the skillet, lower the heat to medium, add remaining oil and saute the garlic for 30 seconds; then stir in the tomatoes and cook the mixture over medium high heat for 1 minutes.  Cover the skillet, turn the heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes.  Uncover the pan, stir and cook over medium high heat until the juices have concentrated and the pan is almost dry.

Drizzle the vinegar around the edge of the pan and stir it into the vegetables loosening vegetable bits still sticking to the pan.  Off the heat, season to taste with salt and pepper.  Fold in the fresh herbs.

Cracked Wheat:  Cover a small bowl with a piece of cheesecloth large enough to line it and extend 2" over the side.  Pour in the wheat.  Bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil and pour it over the grain.  Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.  Gather the edges of the cheesecloth together and squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the grain.

Turn the cracked wheat out into a shallow dish and fluff with a fork.  When the grain has cooled to warm, season to taste first with garlic oil, then lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste.  Fold in the parsley when the cracked wheat salad is at room temperature.

BROILED LAMB CHOPS WITH POTATO GALETTE

Ingredients for 4 servings:

Galette:

3 russet potatoes

Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper

4 ounces unsalted butter, clarified

Lamb:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 rack of lamb, trimmed of fat, cut into 4 double rib portions

Directions:

Galette: Steam the potatoes until tender to the center, 15-20 minutes.  Cool, peel, and coarsely grate.  Toss the potatoes in a bowl with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate if desired.

Heat a thin layer of clarified butter in a heavy skillet.  Arrange several ½ cup mounds of grated potatoes on the hot skillet.  Flatten gently and brown on both sides.  Hold on a plate in a 250 degree oven while you process the remaining galettes.  Serve immediately upon completion or cover and refrigerate on a sheet pan.  Reheat to sizzling in a 350 degree oven.

Lamb:  Preheat the broiler and place a rack 6" from the heating element.

Line a sheet cake pan with heavy aluminum foil.  Drizzle on the olive oil.  Stir the seasonings together in a pie plate.  Coat both sides of each chop with the seasonings then lightly oil them by pressing them into the oiled foil.

Broil the chops for 5 minutes, remove and turn them.  Return to the broiler for another 2 minutes.  Check to see if they have reached the internal temperature of 165 degrees.  If not, return to the oven for another minute.  Remove and allow to rest.

LAMB TAGINE WITH LEMONS AND OLIVES

Ingredients:

3 pounds lamb shoulder meat, boned-out

Pinch of pulverized saffron

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon sharp paprika

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt to taste

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup grated onion

1/4 cup mixed fresh parsley and cilantro, minced

2 cups finely minced onions

1 cup green-ripe or "red-brown" olives (Greek, Kalamata, Italian Gaetas)

2 preserved lemons, quartered and rinsed

Juice of one lemon

Directions:

Cut the meat into 1 1/2 inch chunks removing fat and connective tissue as needed.  Set aside.  Soak the saffron in a small amount of hot water in the bottom of a casserole.  Add the spices,  1 teaspoon salt, oil and grated onion to the casserole.  Toss the lamb pieces in this mixture to coat thoroughly.

Gently saute the lamb until lightly browned turning the pieces frequently.  Add one cup of water, cover and cook slowly for one hour, adding water as needed to keep the meat pieces from sticking.  Add the minced herbs and onions, cover the pot and cook until the meat is quite tender.

While the lamb is simmering, rinse and pit the olives.  Remove the pulp from two lemons, quarter and rinse the skin.  Set this aside.

Ten minutes before serving time, remove the meat from the pan to a serving dish.  Add the lemon juice, lemon peel and olives to the liquids in the casserole and reduce over high heat to 1 1/2 cups.  Season to taste and pour the juices over the lamb arranging the olives and lemon pieces as garnish.

Serve immediately with couscous.

ROASTED WHOLE LEG OF LAMB

POTATO, ARTICHOKE AND CARROT GARNISH

Ingredients:

1 - 6 pound leg of lamb, bone in, completely trimmed of fat

1 pound lamb bone trimmings, neck stew meat

1 tablespoon soft butter

Sea salt and white pepper, freshly ground

2 heads garlic, split horizontally

1 stalk leek greens

1 small bunch each: parsley stems, celery leaves, thyme

1 - 1/4 cup water

Coating:

3 slices white bread, crusts trimmed

1/4 cup flat parsley leaves

Vegetables:

18 fingerling potatoes

1 bunch carrots

6 artichokes

1 lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

Remove the lamb from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly oil a large roasting pan.  Scatter the bones over the bottom.  Place the cut garlic in the pan, cut sides up.  Rinse the leek leaves and place the herbs in the leaves, then bind them up with kitchen twine.  Add to the pan.  Smear the outside of the lamb leg with butter and set it on the meat and vegetables.  Roast for 10 minutes per pound, about 1 hour, turning the meat every 15 minutes.

Remove the lamb from the pan.  Set it with the shank bone up on an inverted pan, placed on a bake sheet.  Cover loosely with foil and place in the turned-off oven with the door ajar for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Vegetables:

Rinse off the potatoes and submerge them in water by 1".  Bring water to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until a knife pierces them easily.  Drain and cool quickly with cold water.

Peel the carrots and cut into 2" lengths on the diagonal.  Steam until just tender.

Fill a bowl with cool water.  Add the juice of 1/2 lemon.  Trim 1/2 of the outer leaves off the artichokes.  Use a potato peeler to trim the stems and ends of the artichokes.  Dip them in the acidulated water.  With a large, sharp knife, cut the remaining leaves off the choke 3/4" above the base.  Quarter the trimmed choke in quarter and place the pieces in the acidulated water.  Proceed with the remaining artichokes.

Bring 1 quart of water to a simmer  in a saucepan.  Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon.  Use a paring knife to trim the bristly portion out of each choke quarter.  Simmer the quarters in the acidulated water until they are tender, 10-15 minutes.  Drain and cool quickly in cold water.

Fifteen minutes before finishing the lamb in the broiler, heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet.  Add the potatoes, carrots, and artichoke quarters.  Reheat them, and lightly toast the surface of the potatoes over medium-low heat, covered.  Shake the pan occasionally, and season with salt and freshly ground white pepper just before placing the lamb under the broiler.

Sauce:

Heat the roasting pan to caramelize the juices.  Tip the roasting pan to remove the fat, then pour in 1-1/2 cups cold water to deglaze the pan scraping the bottom of the pan to dislodge coagulated pieces.  Simmer this sauce for 5 minutes to reduce by half.   Season to taste and strain into a sauceboat.

Crust:

Pulverize the bread in the workbowl of a food processor.  Add the parsley leaves and process until they too are very fine.

Preheat the broiler.  Press a light coating of crumb crust all over the surface of the lamb.  Slide the lamb 4" from the broiler flame and brown the crust, turning every 2 minutes or so until the entire surface is toasted, about 6 minutes in all.

Carve the lamb immediately.  Serve with a selection of vegetables and the sauce..