The Essential James Beard Cookbook (27 page)

6 or 7 garlic cloves

½ cup olive oil

4 or 5 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 sprig fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 cup dry red wine

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Rub the leg with salt and pepper and arrange on a rack in a roasting pan. Surround with the bones, onions, carrots, and 4 or 5 garlic cloves. Pour the oil over the bones and vegetables and roast the lamb in a preheated 400°F oven for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F, and roast 30 minutes more. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°F.

Transfer the lamb to a Dutch oven and add the tomatoes, the remaining 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, the thyme, bay leaf, parsley, and the bones and vegetables from the roasting pan. Deglaze the roasting pan with the wine; pour over the lamb. Cover the pot tightly and cook in a 200°F oven for 6 hours, by which time the meat should be meltingly tender. Transfer it to a hot platter, remove the strings, and tent with aluminum foil to keep it warm.

Discard the bones and bay leaf, and skim the excess fat from the pan juices. Remove the cloves from the onions. Strain the vegetables, reserving the pan juices. Purée the vegetables in a blender or food processor. Combine the purée with the pan juices. Slice the lamb and arrange on the platter. Spoon some of the sauce over the lamb and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

BRAISED SHOULDER OF LAMB WITH RATATOUILLE

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Serve with crisp hot French bread, and drink a light red wine, such as a Macon.

Editor: These days, most lamb shoulder is cut into chops. Special-order a boneless lamb shoulder from an Italian or halal butcher. Ask the butcher to trim the surface fat from the meat to a very thin layer before rolling and tying the roast. You could also substitute 4 pounds of lamb neck, cut into 1½- to 2-inch chunks, for the shoulder roast. Roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until browned, and simmer wth the ratatouille until tender, about 1½ hours.

One 3-pound boned and tied lamb shoulder roast

6 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into slivers

2 or 3 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and coarsely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

7 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

4 small zucchini, trimmed and cut into ½-inch slices

1 green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, cut into ½-inch strips

1 globe eggplant, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil

2½ cups canned Italian plum tomatoes

¾ cup pitted black Mediterranean olives

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Make small incisions in the meat with the point of a small sharp knife and insert half the slivered garlic (reserve the rest for later) and the anchovy pieces in the incisions. Rub the meat well with salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Put it on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes in a preheated 400°F oven, or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, heat 5 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until just wilted and pale gold, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved garlic, with the zucchini and bell pepper. Sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, then add the eggplant. Mix the vegetables well with a wooden spatula; season them with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the basil.

Remove the lamb from the oven and place in the middle of the vegetable mixture in the Dutch oven. Add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil on top of the stove. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and braise the lamb in the oven, covered, for 1½ to 1¾ hours, or until the lamb is tender and the ratatouille cooked down and well blended. Add the olives and ¼ cup of the chopped parsley and cook 10 minutes move. [
Editor: This roast needs to be cooked until well done.
]

Transfer the lamb to a hot platter and remove the strings. If the ratatouille is too liquid (it should be thick, without visible liquid), reduce it over rather high heat for a few minutes, stirring it well so it doesn’t stick. Taste and correct the seasoning. Slice the meat, discarding the string, and serve with the ratatouille spooned over and around it. Sprinkle the dish with the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped parsley.

SHISH KEBAB

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

S
hish kebab has become a popular addition to American outdoor cookery. For my own taste, I feel this dish is usually overseasoned or overly marinated. Most people, I know, think that the longer the bits of lamb soak in a mixture of herbs, spices, wines, juices, etc., the better they taste. I disagree. I believe that the true essence of the meat is by far the most important flavor, and therefore I prefer to enhance it very simply.

Editor: To grill the shish kebabs outside, cook them over medium-hot, not searingly hot, fire. For a gas grill, preheat the grill, then adjust the temperature to 450°F. For a charcoal grill, let the coals burn down until they are covered with white ash and you can hold your hand just above the cooking grate for 2 to 3 seconds.

3 pounds lean lamb, either leg or shoulder, with most of the fat removed, cut into 1½- to 2-inch cubes

For the Marinade

1 cup olive oil

¹
⁄
₃
cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, crushed under a knife and peeled

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Whole cherry or plum tomatoes

Green bell pepper, seeded, cut into 1½-inch cubes

Mushroom caps

Eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1½-inch cubes

Small white onions, peeled (see
here
), then parboiled for 5 to 10 minutes, according to size

¼ cup olive oil or unsalted butter, melted

There should be practically no fat on the meat. Trim off as much as possible. Combine the marinade ingredients in a glass or pottery bowl, add the meat, and marinate for 2 hours, turning frequently.

Remove the meat cubes from the marinade (there is no need to dry them) and string them on steel or iron skewers, about 14 inches long, leaving about 2 inches of space at the handle and tip of the skewers. Push the pieces close together. This gives a juicier, rarer result than spacing out the meat, as it protects the inner surfaces from the heat. If you like to cook vegetables on the same skewer as the meat, alternate the meat cubes. Or place the vegetables on separate skewers and cook them alone.

To cook the kebabs: Preheat the broiler. Remove the rack from the broiler pan. Arrange the skewers across the pan, handles resting on one side, tips on the other (you should be able to get about 6 skewers on the pan). Or use aluminum foil broiling pans to support the skewers. Brush kebabs and vegetables with oil. Broil with the surface of the meat approximately 3 inches from the heat, turning the skewers often and brushing with the marinade, for about 9 minutes for rare, 12 minutes for medium rare. Test by making a small cut in one of the cubes to see if it is done to your taste. Do not overcook.

If you are broiling the vegetables separately, after putting them on the skewers brush them liberally with olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Keep brushing them with oil or butter as you turn the skewers—mushrooms are especially likely to dry out if not well lubricated.

PERSIAN LAMB WITH RHUBARB

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Some years ago, a friend cooked a wonderfully spicy and aromatic dish for me that one might almost term a Middle Eastern version of sweet and sour, using lamb instead of pork. I obtained the recipe, of course, and make the dish when spring rhubarb first comes into the markets. If you want to try it, get cherry red rhubarb (rather than green) if you can. It has an excellent flavor.

Put
2½
cups of sliced fresh rhubarb
in a bowl with
¾
cup of sugar
and
¾
cup of water,
and let stand for 30 minutes. Peel and chop
1 large yellow onion
. In a large, heavy skillet, melt
4 tablespoons (½
stick) of unsalted butter.
Sauté the onion until transparent, then transfer it to a heavy Dutch oven. In the same skillet, sauté
1 pound of lean leg of lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes,
until brown on all sides. Season with
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
,
½
teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, ½
teaspoon of ground cinnamon,
and
½
teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg.
Stir in
1 cup of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley,
and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Add the syrup from the rhubarb.

Transfer the meat mixture to the casserole. Cover with a circle of waxed paper cut to the same diameter as the casserole. Put on the lid and simmer very gently for 30 minutes. Stir in the drained rhubarb, and continue simmering for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the meat is very tender. Taste for seasoning. Combine
1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water
, and stir into the meat mixture. Cook gently for another 2 or 3 minutes, or until the sauce thickens, by which time the rhubarb and onions will have melted down. Serve
over hot cooked rice
.

LAMB COUSCOUS WITH SAUCE PIQUANTE

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Couscous, the national dish of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, is great party food. Arranged on a big platter, it looks inviting, feeds a lot of people economically, and is fun to eat. There isn’t much meat in the dish, which is usually only part of a North African meal, so I like to serve it with chicken cooked in the Moroccan style, with
Pickled Lemons
and olives .

The traditional cooker for couscous is a couscousière, a piece of equipment with a deep bottom and perforated top in which the couscous, a tiny semolina pasta, steams over spicy, aromatic broth. (You can substitute an 8-quart cooking pot over which a colander will fit.)

Couscous is sold in Middle Eastern and specialty food shops. Be careful not to buy the instant variety; you need the traditional, long-cooking type.

For the Sauce Piquante (Red Pepper Sauce)

2 or 3 fresh hot red chile peppers, seeds and ribs removed, and coarsely chopped

¼ cup finely ground walnuts

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Tabasco

1 garlic clove, crushed

For the Couscous

2 pounds boneless shoulder of lamb (or 3 pounds lamb neck with bones), cut into 1½-inch cubes

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

¾ cup vegetable oil

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of saffron threads

1½ pounds (4 cups) long-cooking couscous

6 carrots, scraped and quartered

4 turnips, peeled and quartered

4 red-skinned potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 tablespoon kosher salt

3 zucchini, cut into thick slices

One 19-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 2 cups)

¼ cup dark seedless raisins

To make the sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend to a paste. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand while making the couscous.

To make the couscous: Start the couscous about 2 hours before serving time. Put the lamb, onions, ½ cup of the oil, 4 tablespoons (½ stick) of the butter, the ginger, turmeric, pepper, and saffron in the bottom of a couscousière or a large saucepan. Add enough water to come 2 inches above the ingredients. Bring to a rapid boil.

Line the steamer top of the couscousière or a metal colander with a triple thickness of rinsed cheesecloth (this prevents the tiny beads from falling through). Add the couscous and place over the boiling mixture. Cover with the lid of the couscousière or wrap aluminum foil tightly over the colander and the edges of the pot to keep the steam from escaping. Steam for 1 hour, then remove the steamer section or colander and run cold water over the puffed-up couscous for 2 or 3 minutes, breaking up the lumps with your fingers. Set aside to cool and drain.