I came accross a braised lamb recipe last week that will be added to the King family favourites. I am always searching for new and interesting ways to cook our organic lamb. This recipe calls for a boned out shoulder of lamb which is perfect because all I have to do is cut off the string holding the Silverwood Organics rolled shoulder together. I found this recipe in the new MasterCef magazine by Curtis Stone. It would be a fantastic Main course for a Winter Dinner party. The preparation and cooking time is quite long but I think you could stagger the steps over 2 days and it would be very managable. The flavour of this dish is fantastic and the texture of the braised lamb is quite different to my usual methods of slow cooking or slow roasting of lamb shoulders. Andrew ate the leftovers 2 days in a row which is very unusual for him. The leftover braised shoulder would also make a fantastic pie just add a layer of puff pastry.
Braised Lamb with Mushroom Ragout and Vegetable Mash
by Curtis Stone from Issue 1 of MasterChef Magazine.
Boned, trimmed shoulder of lamb
2 tblsp olive oil
1 onion roughly chopped
2 carrots roughly chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1.5 L veal stock (I used beef)
1 sprig fresh thyme
Mushroom Ragout-
100ml olive oil
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
400g swiss brown mushrooms quartered
400g button mushrooms quartered
2 stalks celery finely chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
2 tblsp flat parsley
2 tblspn chopped chives
Vegetable Mash-
1 orange sweet potato peeled and chopped
900 g celeriac peeled and chopped
2 parsnips, 2 carrots, 2 turnips peeled and chopped
1 tblsp olive oil
1. Season Lamb with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tblspn oil in a large dish or pan over high heat. Add lamb and cook for 2 1/2 minutes each side or until browned, then transfer to a bowl(I did mine in a covered baking dish) Drain fat from pan, then return to heat. Add remaining 1 tblspn oil, onion, carrots, celery and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add wine and cook until almost evaporated. Add lamb stock and thyme, and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook over low- medium heat for 2 1/2 hours or until lamb is very tender. Set aside to cool. (I simmered without the lamb and then poured the stock mixture over the lamb in the baking dish and covered with a lid and cooked in the oven at 170 degrees for 3 1/2 hours as our shoulders are larger than the size stated in the recipe.) I think you could leave this stage of the recipe to refrigerate overnight then you could remove the fat from the liquid stock before going to step 2.
2. Remove lamb from cooking liquid and transfer to bowl. Break into chunks, discarding any fat. Strain cooking liquid into a large saucepan, discarding cooked vegetables. Simmer liquid over high heat for 30 minutes or until reduced to 2 cups.
3.Meanwhile to make Ragout, heat 2 tblsp oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add half the garlic and Swiss browns, and cook, tossing frequently, for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and light golden. Remove from pan and repeat with button mushrooms. Remove from pan. Add remaining oil and onions, celery and carrots, and cook 10 minutes or until soft.
4. Add vegetable mixture, mushrooms, lamb and chopped herbs to reduced liquid and stir over medium heat to warm through. Serve with Mashed vegetables.
Vegetable mash
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place all the vegetables in a roasting pan and toss with oil. Roast for 40 minutes or until tender. Transfer to a food processor and process to a puree. Season.
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