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A Day of Resolution Recipes, part II
Spring is here - that means fresh lamb!
Part the Second:
Gigot de sept heures
(or, Seven-hour pot roast-style lamb)
1 leg of lamb, about 6 lbs
8-10 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
20 more whole garlic cloves, peeled of course
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
2 small onions, thinly sliced
4 carrots, peeled
1 bouquet garni (that's 1 sprig parsley, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf, all tied together for seasoning)
1 cup white wine
1+ cup flour
1 cup water
Heat oven to 300. Make many small incisions on lamb leg, and fill each with a sliver of garlic. Rub lamb well with oil and season all over with salt and pepper. Place in a large Dutch oven and add remaining garlic, onions, carrots, bouquet garni, and wine. Put the lid on the Dutch oven.
Combine flour and water to form a rough bread dough, mixing well with a wooden spoon. (You won't be eating it.) Use it like grout to seal the lid to the Dutch oven proper - you want all those juices to stay in the pot. Place the Dutch oven in the oven and cook for seven (!) hours.
Remove from the oven and break the bread-oid seal. "Ideally, that leg of lamb will be so damn tender that you'll be able to eat it with a spoon."
Comments: I got fresh lamb at the farmers' market. Most places had Fred Flintstone-sized legs that wouldn't come close to fitting in my 14" Dutch oven, so I eventually settled for a 5 lb boneless leg. While that is much more meat, the flavor is probably lessened by not having the bone marrow and all the other bits to cook down. Oh well, I may have to try again with a bone-in leg.
What worked: It smelled wonderful all day. Easy - it took a long time, but only half an hour of prep. It was reasonably tasty.
What didn't: The dough/grout was waaay too soupy and I ended up adding another half-cup flour; even then, it slopped all over the place and I put the Dutch oven on a baking sheet to catch dribbles. I should have thickened it farther so that it might have stuck better. Because of that (along with not having a leg bone) the lamb was on the dry side. Tasty, but dryish. Also, the carrots and garlic carmelized pretty heavily - I suspect they're supposed to turn into moosh. I scraped them into the greens, which worked out okay.
Would I make it again? Yeah, I'll probably try it if I can get a small bone-in leg. Otherwise, eh. I like lamb, but there are plenty of other ways to prepare it that I know work.
What I'm reading: Orson Scott Card, Shadow of the Giant
Part the Second:
Gigot de sept heures
(or, Seven-hour pot roast-style lamb)
1 leg of lamb, about 6 lbs
8-10 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
20 more whole garlic cloves, peeled of course
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
2 small onions, thinly sliced
4 carrots, peeled
1 bouquet garni (that's 1 sprig parsley, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf, all tied together for seasoning)
1 cup white wine
1+ cup flour
1 cup water
Heat oven to 300. Make many small incisions on lamb leg, and fill each with a sliver of garlic. Rub lamb well with oil and season all over with salt and pepper. Place in a large Dutch oven and add remaining garlic, onions, carrots, bouquet garni, and wine. Put the lid on the Dutch oven.
Combine flour and water to form a rough bread dough, mixing well with a wooden spoon. (You won't be eating it.) Use it like grout to seal the lid to the Dutch oven proper - you want all those juices to stay in the pot. Place the Dutch oven in the oven and cook for seven (!) hours.
Remove from the oven and break the bread-oid seal. "Ideally, that leg of lamb will be so damn tender that you'll be able to eat it with a spoon."
Comments: I got fresh lamb at the farmers' market. Most places had Fred Flintstone-sized legs that wouldn't come close to fitting in my 14" Dutch oven, so I eventually settled for a 5 lb boneless leg. While that is much more meat, the flavor is probably lessened by not having the bone marrow and all the other bits to cook down. Oh well, I may have to try again with a bone-in leg.
What worked: It smelled wonderful all day. Easy - it took a long time, but only half an hour of prep. It was reasonably tasty.
What didn't: The dough/grout was waaay too soupy and I ended up adding another half-cup flour; even then, it slopped all over the place and I put the Dutch oven on a baking sheet to catch dribbles. I should have thickened it farther so that it might have stuck better. Because of that (along with not having a leg bone) the lamb was on the dry side. Tasty, but dryish. Also, the carrots and garlic carmelized pretty heavily - I suspect they're supposed to turn into moosh. I scraped them into the greens, which worked out okay.
Would I make it again? Yeah, I'll probably try it if I can get a small bone-in leg. Otherwise, eh. I like lamb, but there are plenty of other ways to prepare it that I know work.
What I'm reading: Orson Scott Card, Shadow of the Giant