Recipes

A Lamb Headcheese recipe from Matthew Stillman

You need:

two lamb heads
lots of seasoned chicken stock
a big head of parsley that you chop up fine
a cup of nuts (your choice) that you toast and crush
white wine vinegar
salt/pepper

Braise heads in a big stock pot for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours until mandible can pull away from skull.  The meat should be soft but not pasty.

Pour liquid off and let it cool so you can skim the fat off.

Let the skulls cool a bit too and pull meat off skull.  Dont include eyes or roof of mouth, inner ear, brain or inner lip flaps.  While pulling meat off realize that your skull is very similar and has the same nooks and seams and attachment points. Reflect on your shared qualities with this lamb.

Separate meat and fat and then make a 90/10 mixture. mix that with your nuts and parsley salt pepper and vinegar to taste.

Put plastic wrap into a loaf pan and pour enough of the stock to just cover the meat.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Slice thinly the next day.

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Recipe by Deana Sidney

Based on Robert May’s A Rare Fricase

1 Scottish wood pigeon
1 poussin  
½ c white wine
3 T cognac
1 c water
2 T salt
6T butter
1/3 pound sweetbreads, parboiled peeled and cubed
1 lamb stone (testicle) peeled (there are 2 layers to peel, btw), parboiled and cubed
6 oysters
½ c flour
6 asparagus, sliced in half and parboiled
Marrow from 1 marrowbone, uncooked
2 T pistachios
1 c stock (lamb, beef or chicken)
1/3 c white wine
¼ t nutmeg
Salt & pepper
¼ t mace
1 clove garlic
2 egg yolks, raw
¼ c verjus or wine vinegar
juice of 1orange
1 small orange, sliced or carved
1 carrot sliced decoratively for garnish
2 T sliced almonds
4 rounds of toast

Slice the birds in half.  Remove most of the bones from the pigeon and poussin leaving the leg and wing. Marinate the pigeon and the poussin in wine, water, cognac and salt for a few hours or overnight.  Remove from the brine and pat dry.  Sauté the birds in 3 T butter (a cast iron skillet works well for this) to brown over medium high heat, turn.  Cook the pigeon another 2-3 minutes over a medium flame and remove, let the chicken cook 4 more minutes then run them under a broiler, skin side up to brown for a few moments, then remove and tent (the poussin may require a little more time than the pigeon).

Flour the sweetbreads (reserve 1/3 for the sauce) oysters and lamb stones and season with salt and pepper.

Sauté the marrow, remove what remains, then add 3 T butter and the sweetbreads and oysters and lamb stone, fry till crisp and remove Set aside and keep warm.   

Sauté reserved sweetbread and pistachios.

Add stock to the pan you cooked the birds in with nutmeg, pepper, garlic, white wine, mace and let the flavors mingle.

Add egg yolks to verjus, blend, add to stock and heat gently.

When thickened, add orange juice and toss in the asparagus to warm.

Place rounds of toast on plates then place the birds on the toasts and add the oysters and sweetbreads.

Arrange the orange (sliced or carved), asparagus, pistachios and almonds about the birds.

Pour the sauce over the birds.

Get a boneless leg of lamb from me along with a stalk of green garlic and get a bunch of parsley from Alex Paffenroth across the way in Greenmarket; then get a lemon and some olive oil from Florida and Florence respectivly.

Pre heat your oven to 375 F, then click the Minimalist and 45 minutes later you will delight anyone who's lucky enough to dine with you.  Invite Mark over too; he deserves to be fed for the simplicity of this fine lamb recipe published in the Times.

I combined two recipes, one for Ginger Beans and one for Baked Beans, from Epicurious.com for my Mother’s Day beans.

I soaked white navy beans; then I boiled them until tender in my heavy oven-proof stock pot.  In a pan I sautéed Catskill Merino Smoked Ribs (from which bacon is removed) in olive oil with several cloves of garlic, a chopped onion, mustard powder and fresh chopped ginger. Then I added the beans, water, a mixture of molasses and maple syrup and black pepper.

I covered the pot with tinfoil, put the lid on and placed it in the oven for several hours at 350 degrees. I followed the directions in the Baked Bean recipe from here on out: turning down the heat, adding cider vinegar (even sneaking a little ketchup in there) and baking them for another hour or so.  The result was a tangy, sweet and dark, baked bean casserole.

People were out but business was off at market—who could think of food, much less wool—it was hot enough to keep the lids closed on the dry-iced lamb coolers which shuts down business even further.

At noon, a May Day rally for immigration reform began.  People were angered by the passing of an Arizona state law that permits profiling.  The loud speakers were so loud in the south  plaza that it was hard to hear customers at the stand in the north plaza, almost 3 blocks away. Demonstrations for or against something change little but I like them because they are  the community of an idea, a public meditation, a TAZ.

Obreros si!  Hey, I'll hire anyone who wants to keep immigrants out of the US to clean my barn and I'll even pay them the minimum wage plus a couple of bucks an hour and furnish gloves to boot.  Now, why don't I have a line of pink faced, card carrying citizens at my barn door willing to work.

Mario Batali was at the market manager's tent shod in orange Crocs, sweating like a sous chef in the kitchen of Babbo, signing copies of his new cookbook.  D said the publisher brought in 250 copies and he told me he was sorry he didn't take one, "Mario's recipes always come out..." which means his book is a '3 T of this stirred into 1/2 cup of that sautéed for 4  minutes' kind of cookbook.  As Amanda Hesser said on Twitter about cookbooks of this ilk, "I compare them to sex manuals.  (They) can only teach you so much, then you have to give it a try." 

Oh, Amanda I do like you; you're so my kind of cook.

Larousse Gastronomique often specifies no measure, no temperature no duration when talking of food preparation and it  will make a creative and bold cook out of you.

Agnelet à la Kurde

"This recipe for milk-fed lamb was given to us by Roland Dorgelès, the author of Les Croix de Bois and it is rather an original one.

'On the banks of Euphrates, where I lived among camel drivers and Bedouin, I discovered a dish which I did not know…Take a small milk-fed lamb, one of those little lambs which the nomad shepherds carry about like babies. You clean it out, season the inside and stuff with a forcemeat made from its liver, heart and lungs. You mix this forcemeat generously with rice half-cooked with fat, in which you have incorporated dry, not sweet, apricots which have been cooked in the gravy. Then you serve it with the gravy from which the fat has been skimmed off.'

No doubt the addition of apricots to this dish may appear a little eccentric to certain gastronomical purists (and you may count me as one) but let us not forget that many people relish venison with red currant jelly."

Prosper Montagné, editor Larousse Gastronomique, 1938

Kyle came by the stand and asked for lamb suet.  “What’s that?" I asked.  "Suet is the hard fat found around the kidneys of beef or sheep," he told me.

“I use lamb suet for cooking in place of other fats. I prefer the taste of lamb fat and find that it compliments most vegetables well. The other thing I use suet for is to make Pemmican, a food of Native Americans. Pemmican was used during times of famine and during migration. It keeps for long periods and provides protein/fat/energy. I like to make it and take it when I go hiking.”

Mr. Darling said he would collect suet from the lambs he slaughtered that week.  Kyle was delighted with the suet when he picked it up the following Saturday.  Later he emailed me his recipe.

"Traditionally Pemmican is made with beef, however I prefer the taste of lamb.    
        * First you want to start with fresh ground lamb. You will need a food dehydrator to dry it in. Make sure your dehydrator is equipped to handle meat and dry it according to the instructions for the dehydrator.
        * Once the meat is fully dry you want to grind it into a powder. It is important to make sure it is completely dry or it will not grind well. You can use either a blender or food processor for this.
        *  Once ground, store in an airtight container.
        *  Now you want to render your suet
        * To render the suet you want to place it in a stock pot and cover it with water(it is best to either grind the suet or chop it in small pieces) to the water you want to add 1T of salt per pound of suet. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer 10 minutes per pound of suet. Then you want to strain the liquid from the gristle. Let the liquid sit in a dish. As it cools the fat will solidify on top of the water. When it is firm enough you can remove it and rinse it off with water.
        *  Allow the rendered fat to dry.
        *  The idea is to have a 50/50 mix of fat and dried meat
        * Once the fat has dried you want to warm it up again so it will mix well with the dried meat
       * When you are mixing it up you may add seasonings. Traditionally dried wild berries were added. You can add anything as long as it is dry (herbs, dried fruit, salt, pepper) the only exception is honey. I personally enjoy adding honey. The idea of keeping it dry is to ensure a good shelf life.
        * Once you have it mixed up spread it on a cookie sheet to be sliced up or roll it into balls.
        * I find it stores best in the freezer, but given the nature of it you really just need to keep it sealed in an airtight container.

Nothing really has to be exact in the measurements; some people like 40/60% fat/meat others like more fat.  I hope to make some  pemmican this fall when I go camping."

Serves 8 to 10, make this a day ahead for the best flavor.

Ingredients:

    * 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
    * 3 pounds of Catskill Merino Lamb Andouille smoked sausage
    * 4 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
    * 6 large garlic cloves, chopped
    * 1 medium apple, peeled, chopped
    * 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
    * 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
    * 1/2 cup brandy
    * 2 pounds of Flageolet Beans from Rancho Gordo
    * 1 pound of  Baby Lima Beans from Rancho Gordo
    * 1 cup of chicken broth (recipe)
    * 3 tablespoons tomato paste (recipe)
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
    * 4 cups diced country-style bread
    * 3 pounds Greenmarket tomatoes, seeded, diced
    * 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add sausages; sauté until brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to plate and cut into 1/2-inch rounds.

Add leeks and garlic to same pot. Sauté until beginning to soften, about 8 minutes. Mix in apple, rosemary and sage. Add brandy and simmer until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Mix in tomatoes with juices & beans undrained, 1 cup broth, tomato paste and cloves. Add sausages. Season with pepper.

Bring cassoulet to boil. Cover pot and transfer to preheated oven; bake 30 minutes. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Uncover; cool 1 hour. Refrigerate until cold; cover and keep refrigerated. Before continuing, rewarm in covered pot in 350°F. oven 40 minutes, adding more broth if dry.)

Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add bread and sauté until golden brown, stirring often, about 25 minutes. Combine fresh tomatoes and parsley in large bowl; mix in bread. Season topping with salt and pepper. Spoon onto warm cassoulet. Bake uncovered 15 minutes longer.

After Epicurious.com & originally from Bon Appétit.

Time: About 1 hour for meatballs, 1 1/2 hours for dolmades

1/4 cup medium-grind bulgur

1 pound ground lamb

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed

16 to 20 untorn collard leaves

 Lemon wedges, for garnish.

1. Soak bulgur in hot water to cover until tender, 15 to 30 minutes. Drain bulgur, then squeeze out as much water as possible. Combine bulgur with lamb, onion, garlic, cumin, mint, salt and pepper. Shape into 1-inch meatballs, handling mixture as little as possible.

2. Put olive oil in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat; when hot, add meatballs and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, turning every couple of minutes. Serve immediately or cool and proceed with recipe.

3. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Trim stem ends of collard leaves and discard. Put half the leaves in the boiling water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they are just pliable. Use a slotted spoon to remove leaves from water and transfer to a colander; run leaves under cool water; drain and gently squeeze to remove most of the excess water, leaving them just damp enough so they will stick together when rolled.

4. Cut leaves in half by running a sharp knife along each side of stem, removing stem in process; trim top and bottom, making a large, rectangular-shaped leaf. Lay one leaf down with widest part facing you. Put a meatball in middle of leaf, bring two sides of leaves together and roll like a burrito to seal it. Put each stuffed leaf, seam side down, on a serving plate. Repeat, cooking and stuffing remaining leaves. Serve with lemon wedges.

Yield: 4 to 8 servings.

Who has time for kitchen slavery laboring over dolamdes—and "bulgur", did they say bulgur—fly to Constantinople via Trans Time Airways instead; any of the push carts just insde the city walls will offer you the finest dolmade ever.  Really, there are simpler ways to enjoy lamb; one can always fashion 3/4 pound of ground lamb into two 3/4" patties, pan fry them in olive oil for several minutes on a side until medium rare. Dash with Channel salt in the pan and crack with coarse pepper on the plate. 

Eat both; or share one with a kitchen slave and serve the lamb with freshly steamed collard greens.  A meal of sweet lamb and sharp collards will keep you and your slave slim. 

Ὁ  γὰρ  Σοφοκλῆς  ἄσμενος  ἔφη  τὰ  ἀφροδίσια  γεγηρακώς  ἀποπεφευγέναι καθάπερ ἄγριον καὶ λυσσῶντα δεσπότην.

Sophocles said that he gladly escaped sex by getting old, as a slave escapes a savage and raging master.  Plutarch Moralia.

Alex's Lamb Neck Stew

Ingredients:

2 pounds of lamb neck (or shoulder) cut into 2'' chunks
¼ cup olive oil
7 sprigs of fresh thyme
Juice from 1 ½ lemons

Procedure:

1.    In a hot cast-iron skillet, add generous splashes of olive oil and brown the lamb on all sides.
2.    Put the browned lamb into a pot and add water or stock almost covering the lamb, add the lemon juice and thyme.
3.    Simmer until the lamb is very tender, about 45 minutes.
4.    Serve the lamb and the broth in soup bowls accompanied with a good, crusty loaf of bread.

Adapted by Alex from the River Cottage Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.