November 19, 2009
Posted by Kerry Saretsky, November 12, 2009 at 6:30 PM
[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]
I love this time of year. Not only is November home of Thanksgiving and my birthday—the two greatest dessert experiences per annum—but it's finally, definitely, and indisputably cold. While others pull out cashmere scarves and fleece-lined gloves, I pull out the enamel stew pots. It's braising season.
These sweet-tart lamb shanks fall of the bone with the prick of an eager fork. Tender, but bright, they don't lull the taste buds to sleep like many another seasonal stew. The meat is braised with windowpanes of garlic, dry white wine, rosemary, and lemon confit. Roasted pearl onions add a delicate, earthy sweetness that complements the deep citrus acidity of the lemon. The result is still comforting, with the braised, autumnal texture, but the flavor is pert and unexpected.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, November 12, 2009 at 1:15 PM
[Photograph: Caroline Russock]
Michael Psilakis' Lamb Burger might not be a traditional burger, but it is one awesome sandwich. The burger consists of a 70/30 mix of ground lamb and pork seasoned with charred onions, fresh parsley, and dill, Dijon mustard, ground fennel, coriander, and cumin. The combination of meats and the intense combination of flavoring elements make for a burger that can truly stand alone. And when I say alone, I mean alone. Cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, or any type of burger condiment would be superfluous—the patty is juicy enough to carry the weight of any bun.
When I made them at home I was a bit concerned about the fact that I was unable to find the caul fat called for in the recipe. My fear was that the perfectly spiced patties would fall to pieces in the pan without the support of the casing. I decided to form the burgers early in the day, give them a chance to rest in the fridge, and hope for the best.
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Posted by Chichi Wang, November 10, 2009 at 9:00 AM
[Photographs: Chichi Wang]
Pig's stomach and beef tripe are fairly common finds in ethnic markets, but it's not everyday that I come across lamb tripe. Sitting next to an assortment of livers, the packages of lamb tripe were neatly stacked and as usual, dirt-cheap. Without knowing exactly what I'd make of it, I claimed a pack of the tripe and rushed home in anticipation. Unfurled on my cutting board, the organ was a sight to behold.
Though we often refer to ruminants as possessing four stomachs, each stomach is actually a section of the larger whole. Beef tripe is sold as such: honeycomb and omasum, for instance, are packaged separately. Since lamb is much smaller in size, all the discrete sections of its stomach—the tender, succulent honeycomb tripe, the spongy, furry rumen, and the flatter omasum—appear in one continuous swath.
To celebrate an innard I'd never eaten before, I embarked on a recipe I've never tried. For months now, I've been obsessed with the idea of sealing my pots with dough, an age-old method for low and slow cooking. Molded just to fit the shape of the cooking vessel, a rope of dough provides a formidable seal to preserve the moisture of a stew.
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Posted by Joshua Bousel, November 6, 2009 at 7:15 PM
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
Between brisket and the forthcoming turkey, I was able to get in a nice big leg of lamb, one of my favorite large cuts of meat.
Seemingly designed for the grill, a butterflied leg of lamb comes out perfectly medium-rare exactly when the outside develops a nice crust over medium-high heat. In addition to the easy cooking technique, this leg of lamb has a smooth lamby flavor with just the right amount of chew, making every bite a pleasure.
It's hard to improve on something already so good, but add mint to the equation and you're talking some seriously, seriously delicious eats. The two come together here as part of a tahini and lemon based marinade, which added a minty tang to the crust, only heightening this leg of lamb into one of the best pieces of meat to come off my grill this year.
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Posted by Chichi Wang, September 25, 2009 at 5:45 PM
"There's a difference between the pleasantly doughy boiled dumpling and the chewier, semi-translucent steamed dumpling."
I may be from Shanghai, but I think I make some pretty mean dumplings for a Southern gal. From buns, bread, and noodles, the Northern Chinese are adept at manipulating flour and water in a way that Southerners, being rice-eating folk, are not. So it wasn't until I traveled to Beijing that I began to understand the fine craft of dumplings.
Living in the capital, I probably consumed hundreds of dumplings in the course of three months. Over time I began to distinguish the merely good from the truly exceptional.
An exceptional dumpling fulfills two criteria: first, a supple, slightly chewy skin that ranges from delicately thin to heartily medium-thick. Second, a filling that's appropriately juicy, derived from the broth of meat or the liquid of vegetables.
Too many Chinese establishments use fat as a substitute rather than a complement to flavor. Over the course of a meal, the fat overload becomes more and more apparent. By making dumplings at home, you can control the proportions in your filling and experiment with the dough until you find a thickness you like.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, September 18, 2009 at 5:00 PM
[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]
Can this really be the first time I've cooked lamb loin chops? It turns out they are awfully cute—something of a T-bone fit for Barbie. Impressively succulent and tender, the lamb loin chops were also relatively lean. At around four ounces, they are also the perfect portion size. You can devour one and still feel light on your feet.
I had an abundance of mint one night and lamb was the first thing that came to mind (well, right after a mojito). But I settled on this recipe from Bon Appetit because of the other ingredients in the rub. The cumin and coriander,in particular, haunt each bite. It all comes together so quickly.
Just mix everything up, rub it on the lamb, wait for 30 minutes, then cook. The lamb comes out perfectly crusted, fragrant, and still medium-rare in the middle. About the only thing I added was a little frisée for plating, because that little cut of meat can look awfully lonely in the middle of a plate. Some potatoes would also help keep the lamb company.
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Posted by Chichi Wang, September 4, 2009 at 2:55 PM
Principles of Stir-Fry, Part Three
[Flickr: velostricken]
A good stir-fry is an exercise in organization and timing. Like all orchestrated events, the planning can be for naught if the execution is faulty. Choosing the right vessel is only half the battle. A good wok ensures a hot cooking surface on a conventional stove, but a powerful vessel generates responsibilities of its own.
When the fiery heat of your wok is constant and unrelenting, your thinly-sliced vegetables or meat can turn disastrously brown in a matter of seconds. Adding to the stir-frying challenges is the ubiquitous presence of cornstarch, used with a heavy hand at most Chinese restaurants.
But the role of cornstarch is integral throughout the stir-frying process--from making marinades to passing through the oil to building a sauce at the end. Combined with egg, cornstarch is an important ingredient in meat and fish marinades. When passed through the oil, cornstarch helps to seal in the juices of the protein and make it crispier.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, September 2, 2009 at 5:00 PM
The following recipe is from the September 2 edition of our weekly recipe newsletter. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here!
When I think about lamb shanks visions of long-braised, falling off the bone osso bucco immediately spring to mind. I've never really thought of preparing lamb shanks any other way until I came upon this recipe for Barbecue Lamb Shanks from Chris Lilly's Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Barbecue has always been about taking inexpensive cuts of meat and transforming them into something delicious through low and slow cooking.
Lamb shanks are an ideal grilling candidate since they have plenty of fat—the fat will melt and flavor the meat. The seasoning paste that the shanks are marinated in will ensure that the shanks are not only flavorful, but will also have a nicely browned, crunchy crust.
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Posted by Kerry Saretsky, August 20, 2009 at 5:15 PM
"I don't think the best technique is absorption—it's eating."
Grilled Port Lamb Chops with Garlic Confit and Sauce Vierge "Persillade" is a dish that contains more French words than a high school vocab quiz. A quick translation is a Frenched rack of lamb, cut into finger-food lollipops, soaked in Port, caramelized on the grill, then topped with a fresh, biting sauce made from soft, sweet garlic and parsley.
When I took French in school, my teacher, an outlandishly gentle, white-moustached little man, once tolerated my jabbering my way through an oral exam and then broke his steely silence with, "You speak the French of the Paris gutters." I laughed. Is that where Maman had come from?
Memorization is boring. People can debate all they like about the best way to "absorb" a language, but I don't think the best technique is absorption—it's eating. For instance, when I recently found myself eating dinner on the sidewalk in Paris my duck confit came with potatoes Sarladaise. I had no idea what they were, but I will now never forget the word Sarladaise as long as I live, for it will always conjure up blissful images of Place Dauphine in the summertime, the tinkling of pétanque balls, and sliced potatoes fried with garlic and duck fat. In short, I was mesmerized. Not memorizing.
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Posted by Joshua Bousel, August 14, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Each week Joshua Bousel of The Meatwave drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!
My enthusiasm for lamb is not mutual in my relationship, so it's always a treat when I cook it up at home--it doesn't happen all that often. Last weekend was one of those sporadic times when lamb graced my grill, and it was extra special since these Lebanese kofta skewers were some of the best lamb creations I've ever made.
It started with fatty pieces of lamb shoulder, which I finely ground, combined with parsley, onion, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and pepper. The lamb mixture was then formed around skewers and grilled. The spices were subtle against the distinct flavor of lamb, but there was just enough to give the meat a complexity behind its deceptively simple looks. With an under-oiled grate, a couple of the skewers fell apart when I tried to turn them, but despite the fallback, thankfully no meat was lost. They grilled up and were gladly eaten all the same.
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Posted by Kerry Saretsky, July 2, 2009 at 5:00 PM
"Poaching eggs are stubborn creatures; they go their own way as they please. But if you just take a spoon, and turn them about a bit, confuse them, then you are in control. Just like with a man. Now, they are trained and obedient, and all the more beautiful for it."
Lessons from a French Chef
Kerry had a little lamb.
But if it had been up to Mémé, I would have had a lot more.
Here in Paris, at cooking school, a chef told me this week to treat my food by its characteristics. Such a statement might seem vague and pedantic, especially when it was barked in French over the roar of ten boiling stoves. But Chef (who told me to be sure and write about him as soon as possible) approached my stove, and stood behind me as I successfully battered and broke another poaching egg.
"Kerry, Kerry!" he purred my name as the r's rolled up from his throat like the bubbles rising in my simmering pot. I know he's supposed to be a figure of authority, but that pronunciation reminds me of nothing but home, and the tears that began to surface in my eyes could have resulted from the drenching heat, the frustration of the damn egg, or just violent homesickness. No matter many how many times you turn your cutting board over in the kitchen, some emotional cross-contamination cannot be helped.
"Imagines que les oeufs sont les hommes." Imagine that eggs are men. And then he said something that made me stop dead where I was. He opened his mouth, and murmured a phrase that Maman has been muttering to me with great unsuccess for the last fifteen years: "Les hommes sont comme les chiens. Il faut les traîner." Men are like dogs. They must be trained.
He went on to tell me that poaching eggs are stubborn creatures; they go their own way as they please. But if you just take a spoon, and turn them about a bit, confuse them, then you are in control. Just like with a man. Now, they are trained and obedient, and all the more beautiful for it. Many of the students are offended by the French chefs' constant parallels between food and gender-based metaphor, but I think there is something lovely and touching in the French way of confronting the basic differences between the sexes, and embracing them, laughing at them, admiring them, and extolling them. I used to think Maman was terrible to call men dogs. Now, I'm beginning to understand. They like it!
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Posted by Chichi Wang, June 29, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Note: Our intern Chichi Wang loves offal so much, she pitched us this series called The Nasty Bits, where she'll explore recipes involving animal innards on a regular basis. Her goal is to tempt Serious Eaters out of their safety zones and into the wonderful world of offal. Take it away, Chichi!
Throughout history, cuisines around the world have championed animals in all their glory, carefully treating the innards, feet, jowls, and tails of beasts and fowl alike. Consuming this organ meat, or offal, arose from economic necessity, yet long before the frontiers of molecular gastronomy were braved, eating offal was a natural way to introduce interesting flavors and textures into dishes.
At what point, then, did we forsake these old customs? When did we begin to prefer flesh to the exclusion of offal, condemning the latter to the realm of the nasty and unsavory? For decades, offal devotees have searched far and wide, in butcher shops and restaurants, for any glimmer of hope. In recent years, we have begun to see signs of recognition among our peers, yet more is needed.
Nasty Bits Lovers, Unite! To embrace offal is to honor all that is delicious. Why limit one's palate to foods that are deemed "safe," when there is more to be tasted? Cow's tongue, braised and served in salsa verde, possesses the beefiness of cow with a uniquely creamy chew. A cold dish of pig ears, simmered and then thinly sliced, is wonderfully refreshing dressed in nothing more than sesame oil and soy sauce. And liver, perhaps the most maligned of innards, is a revelation when seared in bacon fat, rendering the organ so soft and unctuous in the center with a feral depth all its own.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, May 13, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Among the many great recipes in Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita, this one for Lamb Ragu with Artichokes, Oven-Roasted Tomatoes, and Basil immediately struck me as something that I really wanted to eat. It might have something to do with the fact that I am a big fan of braising.
Inexpensive, fatty, and flavorful, lamb shoulder is a perfect candidate for braising. But the lamb isn't the only braised component in this recipe; artichokes are braised on their own with aromatics and white wine, and tomatoes are slow roasted with sugar and vinegar to concentrate their flavor. Three separately slow cooked elements are brought together to make this savory and hearty ragu. Serve it over polenta or pasta, or on its own with some crusty bread. This is another recipe that confirms my personal belief that you cannot go wrong with braising.
Win 'Bottega Favorita'
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Bottega Favorita to give away this week. Enter to win here »
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Posted by Tara Mataraza Desmond, April 28, 2009 at 2:30 PM
Editor's note: Philadelphia food writers Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond drop by each week with Meat Lite, which celebrates meat in moderation. Meat Lite was inspired by their book, Almost Meatless.
This weekend, right in the middle of sipping a cold beer and fantasizing about a lamb burger, my pal, chef and author, Robin Asbell, tweeted about the baked falafel burgers she was making. Just like that, the lamb burger in my mind's eye became this week's Meat Lite recipe.
Falafel, of course, is a vegetarian darling for its protein richness, flavor, and texture. Stuffed into a pita, the crispy outside and creamy, spice-infused inside makes for a sandwich that rivals even the heftiest hoagie. As is, falafel is a favorite. But a touch of lamb marbled through the mixture adds a new dimension. Plus, lamb is popular in Middle-Eastern cuisine making it a natural partner for these fellow indigenous ingredients.
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Posted by Michele Humes, February 20, 2009 at 1:15 PM
I've saved Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond's gnocchi with lamb ragu for Friday, because I think it'll make a great weekend project. Properly-made gnocchi are a joy both to roll and to eat, and this version, which calls for the potatoes to be riced instead of mashed, ensures a light and tender result, with a touch of texture from the almond flour.
The ragu uses just a couple of lamb shoulder chops, braised to pull-apart tenderness, but you could leave out the meat entirely and make a simple tomato, sage, and oregano sauce.
Win 'Almost Meatless'
In addition to excerpting a recipe each day this week, we're giving away five (5) copies of Almost Meatless. Enter to win here »
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Posted by Michele Humes, February 19, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Albóndigas are little Spanish or Mexican meatballs. In Spain, they're commonly served fried, in a rich tomato sauce, whereas a Mexican cook is more likely to serve them in a light broth, "Italian wedding" style.
In Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond's reimagining of the albóndiga, just half a pound of ground lamb is stretched to feed four to six people. Steel-cut oats provide some of the bulk, and chipotle peppers, cumin, and cilantro provide the flavor. Instead of being fried, the uncooked meatballs are placed straight into the tomato sauce to simmer—and sharpened at the very end with a squeeze of lime.
Win 'Almost Meatless'
In addition to excerpting a recipe each day this week, we're giving away five (5) copies of Almost Meatless. Enter to win here »
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Posted by Tara Mataraza Desmond, February 10, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Editor's note: Philadelphia food writers Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond drop by each Tuesday with Meat Lite, which celebrates meat in moderation. Meat Lite was inspired by the book coauthored by the two, Almost Meatless, due out in spring.
Look, I'm just going to shoot this straight. I think Valentine's Day is ridiculous. I can't recall ever being a fan, but I'm certain I declared my independence freshman year in college when I received flowers from my brother, who lived across campus (the card read, "Here are some flowers. From, Your Brother"), which may have been sort of nice had I not quickly uncovered the truth behind the scam: My mother made him do it.
Even now, happily one half of a very Valentiney marriage, I wouldn't blink if the day came and went without a card or gift or morsel of chocolate (though I welcome chocolate any day of the year). I'm not into dreaming up red and pink food or aphrodisiac concoctions to mark the occasion, and to even consider going out to a restaurant on Valentine's Day, I'd require monetary compensation (a restaurant kitchen is, indeed, a miserable place on February 14, churning out "special" menus for countless two-tops all night long).
So I'll defer to the rest of the Internet and food magazines for oysters, truffles, Champagne, and all the other usual suspects. Here's my offering instead. It's a complete coincidence that these beans (beans are good for your heart) are red, that it calls for chocolate, that it's one of my husband's favorite meals, and that it serves two. Complete coincidence.
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Posted by Michele Humes, January 2, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Jamie Oliver's warmly spiced Indian lamb and carrot salad is a "salad" in the same way that the Thai larb--ground chicken tossed with sweet basil and pungent shallots--is a salad, i.e. not really. But the pairing of carrot ribbons and crispy, garam masala-scented lamb sounds so obscenely good, who's keeping tabs?
Served with hot naan bread and a drizzle of yogurt, this salad easily becomes a light, delicious meal.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, November 4, 2008 at 1:00 PM
While most vegetables are never as good frozen as they are fresh (who hasn't defrosted a box of broccoli, only to find it limp, mushy, and bordering on brown?) peas are an exception. It's true that frozen peas are not quite as verdant or flavorful as those straight from the pod, but they do retain that first burst of sweetness when you bite into them.
Simon Hopkinson, author of this week's Cook the Book selection, Second Helpings of Roast Chicken, believes that "a more perfectly frozen vegetable than the pea you could never wish for." One of his favorite pea-centric dishes is a variation on Indian keema curry (chopped lamb) that is served at the Standard Indian Restaurant in Bayswater, London.
Today's recipe for Spiced Lamb Meatballs with Peas is Hopkinson's take on the restaurant's classic dish. Instead of simply cooking the ground lamb in a sauté pan with a rainbow of heady spices, Hopkinson compresses the lamb and spices together into koftas, or meatballs. The dish is then finished with tomatoes, yogurt, and—of course—peas. This incredibly fragrant dish is best served with plain white rice or simply boiled potatoes.
Win 'Second Helpings of Roast Chicken'
In addition to excerpting a recipe from Simon Hopkinson's new book each day this week, we're also giving away five (5) copies. Enter to win here.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, October 25, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Iron chef champion Cat Cora features one burger recipe in her book of simple recipes, Cooking from the Hip, for Greek lamb and olive burgers with garlic "sauce." She describes the burger as having an "incredible texture" due to the inclusion of kalamata olives and feta cheese in the lamb patty, which also make the burger juicy and flavorful. Instead of regular bread crumbs, she recommends using Japanese panko breadcrumbs.
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