The Minimalist Cooks Dinner (31 page)
Read The Minimalist Cooks Dinner Online
Authors: Mark Bittman
Peaches
A logical combination, and glorious once you taste it, with the sweet juice of the peaches deftly cutting through the richness of the lamb without being piercing. A hint of cinnamon (or an even smaller one of allspice—maybe ⅛ teaspoon) gives the dish a great aroma as it cooks and a slightly mysterious flavor at the table. And a pinch of cayenne or other red pepper makes a nice addition.
TIME:
About 1½ hours, largely unattended
MAKES:
4 servings
Lamb with Peaches
2 pounds boned shoulder of lamb, trimmed of fat and gristle and cut into 1- to 1½-inch pieces
Salt
1 cinnamon stick or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cayenne or other red pepper or to taste
1 medium-to-large onion, cut in half
½ cup Port wine, red wine, or water
4 medium-to-large ripe peaches
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup washed, dried, and roughly chopped fresh parsley
Place the lamb in a 12-inch skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Season with salt and add the cinnamon, cayenne, onion, and wine. Bring to a boil, cover, and adjust the heat so that the mixture simmers steadily but not violently. Cook for 1 to 1½ hours, checking and stirring every 15 minutes or so, adding a little more liquid in the unlikely event that the mixture cooks dry. (This probably means that the heat is too high; turn it down a bit.)
When the meat is tender when poked with a small, sharp knife, remove the onion and cinnamon stick, then turn the heat to medium-high and cook off any remaining liquid, allowing the lamb to brown a little. Cut the peaches in half and remove their pits, then cut each of them into 12 or 16 wedges. Stir in the peaches and continue to cook, gently tossing or stirring the mixture, until the peaches are glazed and quite soft but still intact, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice and most of the parsley; taste and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with the remaining bit of herb and serve.
| WINE | Pinot Noir or California Merlot |
| SERVE WITH | Easy Rice , rice pilaf, or Persian-style rice and potatoes; Simple Green Salad |
THIS IS
a relatively fast and almost unattended braise, followed by finishing the dish in the same pan. Whereas most braises begin with browning, this one ends with it, reducing both spattering and time—since the lamb’s liquid is mostly gone by the end of cooking, it doesn’t go flying from the hot fat, and the meat browns faster. And the peaches, browning lightly in the same cooking liquid, contribute some of their juices to the pan while becoming meltingly tender.
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For a slightly more exotic dish, substitute fresh lime juice for the lemon and cilantro for the parsley.
and Yogurt Sauce
TIME:
40 to 50 minutes
MAKES:
4 servings
You might think of this Turkish dish as a kind of lamb shish kebab with a couple of twists. First of all, it can be executed indoors (though in good weather, the initial browning could certainly be done on a grill). Second, it contains its own built-in sauce, a combination of yogurt and the juices exuded by lamb and roasted vegetables. The process is straightforward: You take large chunks of lamb and sear them. Then you roast peppers—a combination of both sweet and hot is ideal but not essential—and an onion. This is all combined with yogurt, then browned under the broiler before serving.
2 pounds boneless lamb (see Keys to Success) cut into 2-inch chunks
3 red or yellow bell peppers
2 or 3 chiles (see Keys to Success), optional
1 onion, peeled and halved
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 cups plain yogurt
Turn the heat to high under a cast-iron or other large heavy skillet for a couple of minutes. Add the lamb and quickly sear on all sides. Don’t worry about cooking it through, but brown the exterior well, a couple of minutes per side.
Remove the lamb and put the peppers and chiles in the same skillet, still over high heat. Add the onion, cut sides down. Cook until the peppers blacken on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes, turning as necessary (the onion will blacken quickly; remove it and set aside). When the peppers are beginning to collapse, remove the skillet from the heat and cover with foil or a lid. Preheat the broiler, and adjust the rack so it is 2 to 4 inches from the heat source.
When the peppers cool slightly peel and seed them, then cut or tear into strips; separate the onion into rings. Combine the peppers and onions with the lamb, salt, pepper, and yogurt in a roasting pan just large enough to hold the lamb in one layer. Broil until charred on top, just a few minutes, then serve.
| WINE | A rough red wine from southern France or Italy |
| SERVE WITH | Pita bread or Easy Rice ; Tomato Salad with Basil or Simple Green Salad |
FOR THE
lamb, you can use either leg or shoulder. Leg is leaner and best kept on the rare side; shoulder, which has more fat, can be cooked a little longer without drying out, which means it can be left under the broiler for a few extra minutes to give it an extra-crisp crust.
ANY ASSORTMENT
of bell peppers is fine, preferably with the addition of one or two mildly hot peppers, such as Anaheims.
IT ONLY
takes a couple of minutes to sear the lamb; so as long as you turn on an exhaust fan (and temporarily disconnect the smoke detector), you should be okay. The smoke produced by the searing peppers is in fact pleasantly fragrant.
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Sear a couple of skinned tomatoes along with (or after) the peppers; this only takes a minute or two and adds another level of flavor to the final sauce.
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Add a teaspoon or so of thyme leaves along with the yogurt.
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Serve the dish with lemon wedges or a sprinkling of chopped mint.
Shoulder Roast
Lamb shoulder is a bony cut of meat that can be turned easily into a boneless roast by someone who has the experience to do so. I’m not suggesting that you are that “someone”—neither am I—but that any butcher, including those who work in supermarkets, can and will perform this task quickly. The result is a round, tied piece of meat with lovely crevasses into which you can stick a simple seasoning mixture like garlic and parsley. This is a traditional combination for lamb, and rightly so, because the flavors marry so well.
TIME:
About 2 hours
MAKES:
6 to 8 servings
1 cup washed and dried fresh parsley leaves
4 medium or 2 large garlic cloves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more or less
One 3- to 4-pound boned lamb shoulder
Preheat the oven to 300°F. (Line a pan with foil to facilitate cleanup if you like). Mince together the parsley and garlic until quite fine (a small food processor will work for this). Add a big pinch of salt and some pepper and enough olive oil to make a slurry. Smear this on and into the lamb, making sure to get it in every nook and cranny you can reach. Put the lamb in the roasting pan.
Roast for about 1½ hours, basting with the pan juices every 30 minutes or so. When the internal temperature reaches 140°F, turn the heat to 400°F and roast for about 10 minutes more, or until the internal temperature is 150°F and the exterior has browned nicely.
Let the roast sit for about 10 minutes before carving, then carve and serve, with some of the juices that come out during carving.
| WINE | Fine Burgundy or Bordeaux, or a good Rioja |
| SERVE WITH | Mashed Potatoes or Crisp Potatoes ; Tomato Salad with Basil ; Sautéed Shiitake Mushrooms or Steamed Broccoli (or Other Vegetable) |
THERE IS
no denying that the shoulder is fatty, so ask the butcher to remove as much surface fat as possible while he is trimming the meat. (It pays to phone ahead, or to plan to spend a while shopping while the butcher does his thing.) Most shoulders weigh in at 3 to 4 pounds after boning, making this roast enough to serve at least six people.
AS LONG
as the temperature is kept relatively low—it’s best to roast the shoulder at 300°F—roasting renders the fat just as well as braising. A short boost of the oven heat during the last 15 minutes or so of roasting guarantees a beautifully browned, crisp exterior. The ideal degree of doneness is just short of well done, a stage at which the meat achieves the best combination of tenderness, flavor, and leanness.
Boneless Lamb Roast with Coriander Seeds:
Along with the parsley and garlic, use 2 tablespoons of crushed coriander seeds. Put them in a plastic bag and pound gently with a rolling pin, rubber mallet, or like object to crush them.
Boneless Lamb Roast with Provençal Flavors:
In place of the parsley, use 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or lavender, 3 or 4 minced anchovy fillets (optional), and 2 tablespoons olive (or anchovy) oil, along with the garlic.
Leg of Lamb
TIME:
40 to 50 minutes
