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Jun. 24th, 2024 07:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with polenta gnocchi.
"The polenta gnocchi are the perfect thing to mop up all the juices from the lamb." But it was feeling like too much work, so I substituted commercial potato gnocchi.
2 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 kg boned lamb shoulder, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 red onions, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 Tbsp thyme
250 ml dry white wine
600 g tomato passata ("a thick paste made from strained tomatoes" - tomato purée in the US)
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 clove garlic (Ha! I used... more.)
salt and pepper
Gnocchi:
100 g polenta
75 g butter, plus extra for greasing
2 egg yolks
100 g parmesan, grated
Heat the oven to 350°F. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based casserole pan over a medium heat. Add the seasoned lamb shoulder and carefully brown it on all sides - this will take at least 5 minutes. Remove the joint from the pan and set it aside. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and thyme, reduce the heat and cook them gently for 5 minutes, to soften. Add the white wine, reduce the liquid by half, then add the passata. Bring the liquid to a simmer, then place the lamb shoulder back into the pan. Cover the pan with foil, so there are no air gaps, and place the lid on top. Cool for 2 1/2 hours.
While the lamb is cooking, make the polenta gnocchi.
Pour 400 ml water into a medium saucepan and place it over a high heat. Bring to a boil and add a big pinch of salt. Reduce the heat so that the water is simmering gently and slowly stir in the polenta, stirring with a balloon whisk the whole time - slow is the key here, so that you disperse the polenta evenly in the water. Once you have added all the polenta, turn down the heat and cook it gently for 30 minutes, until it is starting to come away from the edges of the pan. Beat in the butter, egg yolks, and parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Tip out the polenta onto a plate so that it cools quickly. Take 1 Tbsp of the cooled polenta and roll it into a golf ball-sized ball. Repeat until you have used all the polenta.
Rub the inside of a baking dish all over with butter and carefully place in all the polenta balls, spacing them evenly over the base and pushing each one down very slightly. Scatter over some extra parmesan. Half an hour before the lamb has finished cooking, place the polenta balls in the hot oven to bake for 30 minutes, until lightly golden.
Remove the lamb from the oven and remove the lid and foil. Test the lamb by pushing a roasting fork through the thickest part of the meat - it should fall away easily. Set aside. Turn up the oven to 400°F, leaving the gnocchi inside for 10 minutes so that they get a little more colour.
Meanwhile, baste the lamb in the sauce with a ladle for 5 minutes, then leave it to stand for a further 5 minutes. Use a spoon to skim off any excess fat. Cut the lamb into chunks and mix it back into the sauce. Add the parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper if needed, then carefully stir.
Serve the stew at the table in warm bowls and give everyone a few hot, crispy polenta gnocchi to go alongside. A few braised spring greens are always a great accompaniment to this dish.
What worked: We liked it; it was not spectacular, but fine. The wife called it comfort food. The commercial potato gnocchi were undoubtedly not as good, but also no work to make. Despite the lengthy directions, this was pretty easy - just time to make.
What didn't: I accidentally halved the lamb, which made it into a ragu rather than a heavier stew. (That was okay by us, but not what the recipe intended.)
Will I make it again? Sure. I actually would like to try making polenta gnocchi sometime.
"The polenta gnocchi are the perfect thing to mop up all the juices from the lamb." But it was feeling like too much work, so I substituted commercial potato gnocchi.
2 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 kg boned lamb shoulder, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 red onions, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 Tbsp thyme
250 ml dry white wine
600 g tomato passata ("a thick paste made from strained tomatoes" - tomato purée in the US)
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 clove garlic (Ha! I used... more.)
salt and pepper
Gnocchi:
100 g polenta
75 g butter, plus extra for greasing
2 egg yolks
100 g parmesan, grated
Heat the oven to 350°F. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based casserole pan over a medium heat. Add the seasoned lamb shoulder and carefully brown it on all sides - this will take at least 5 minutes. Remove the joint from the pan and set it aside. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and thyme, reduce the heat and cook them gently for 5 minutes, to soften. Add the white wine, reduce the liquid by half, then add the passata. Bring the liquid to a simmer, then place the lamb shoulder back into the pan. Cover the pan with foil, so there are no air gaps, and place the lid on top. Cool for 2 1/2 hours.
While the lamb is cooking, make the polenta gnocchi.
Pour 400 ml water into a medium saucepan and place it over a high heat. Bring to a boil and add a big pinch of salt. Reduce the heat so that the water is simmering gently and slowly stir in the polenta, stirring with a balloon whisk the whole time - slow is the key here, so that you disperse the polenta evenly in the water. Once you have added all the polenta, turn down the heat and cook it gently for 30 minutes, until it is starting to come away from the edges of the pan. Beat in the butter, egg yolks, and parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Tip out the polenta onto a plate so that it cools quickly. Take 1 Tbsp of the cooled polenta and roll it into a golf ball-sized ball. Repeat until you have used all the polenta.
Rub the inside of a baking dish all over with butter and carefully place in all the polenta balls, spacing them evenly over the base and pushing each one down very slightly. Scatter over some extra parmesan. Half an hour before the lamb has finished cooking, place the polenta balls in the hot oven to bake for 30 minutes, until lightly golden.
Remove the lamb from the oven and remove the lid and foil. Test the lamb by pushing a roasting fork through the thickest part of the meat - it should fall away easily. Set aside. Turn up the oven to 400°F, leaving the gnocchi inside for 10 minutes so that they get a little more colour.
Meanwhile, baste the lamb in the sauce with a ladle for 5 minutes, then leave it to stand for a further 5 minutes. Use a spoon to skim off any excess fat. Cut the lamb into chunks and mix it back into the sauce. Add the parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper if needed, then carefully stir.
Serve the stew at the table in warm bowls and give everyone a few hot, crispy polenta gnocchi to go alongside. A few braised spring greens are always a great accompaniment to this dish.
What worked: We liked it; it was not spectacular, but fine. The wife called it comfort food. The commercial potato gnocchi were undoubtedly not as good, but also no work to make. Despite the lengthy directions, this was pretty easy - just time to make.
What didn't: I accidentally halved the lamb, which made it into a ragu rather than a heavier stew. (That was okay by us, but not what the recipe intended.)
Will I make it again? Sure. I actually would like to try making polenta gnocchi sometime.
