Roast Easter Lamb with White Wine

I made this little beauty with a hunk of lamb shoulder. 

It was delicious - tender lamb with a classic, effortless delicious sauce. 

I would warm the serving bowl next time, as instructed. 

Lamb Stew with vinegar and green beans

I have been cooking this dish since 2010 - 15 years! You can read my first thoughts on this blog. It is one of my favourites. Get good lamb, good vinegar, good beans, good salt and good olive oil, and a good pot, and you're set. Good pepper too! As usual, follow the instructions. Get lamb on the bone - "everyone knows it's tastier", Marcella said to me. "Speak to your butcher", she also said to me. And follow her directions. When it says to cook till tender, she means till tender. It might take half the time suggested, or double. Poke it with a fork. 

As Marcella also said, "Cooking times bore me". 

This dish was first published in 1973. 51 years ago. Who knows how long Marcella has been aware of this dish, and how long it has been cooked for. 

She also said to me that young people like me were keeping these old dishes alive. 

Young people like you now!

Now, where was I?

Tonight we cooked Lamb Cutlets with rosemary, garlic and white wine, from Marcella's Italian Kitchen. 

At least, that's what we call them. I've been asking AI about what Americans call lamb chops. 

Either way. The classic parings work with whatever lamb you have. 

My cutlets were a little chewy, so I'm going to try again with another butcher. 

Flavour was lovely.

(je me souviens)

Rack of lamb with mint

Well we have eaten well today. Risotto for lunch, rack of lamb with mint and garlic for dinner (along with a nice salad). This is from Giulano Hazan's How to Cook Italian.

The surprise was the juices on the roasting tray which were utterly delicious. I cooked it for 40 minutes at 220 degrees. Total prep time was about 5 minutes.

This one will be back.

Lamb shanks

It's dark, wet and miserable outside. And, strangely for the middle of a Queensland summer, a little cold. Even more strangely, since I have never cooked them before, my thoughts turned to lamb shanks. And soup. Good winter food. Half an hour later I had the ingredients for tuscan soup from Giuliano Hazan's Every Night Italian and his braised lamb shanks from his How to Cook Italian.

I don't think Marcella gives a lamb shank recipe, at least in her earlier books. I recall her saying something about how Italian lamb shanks are too small to create the dish we know as braised lamb shanks.

The usual suspects were at work in the lamb shank recipe: garlic, browning, carrots, herbs, onion and tomato. The only thing that was a surprise was how little tomato is involved. I guess I am more used to much more sauce when I see this dish.... at aussie pubs.

As usual an absolute highlight was cooking off the alcohol in the white wine. I'm not sure if this a loophole to my year off the sauce or just a simple pleasure.

Once the shanks were on I had to think about the soup. I had run out of steam for the full soup production, and time, so I had to look at what else I had bought at the vege shop. I had 2 potatoes and immediately thought of Alice Waters superb potato gratin from her Art of Simple Food.

I peeled and cut the first potato. It was rotten. Luckily, the other was not, and with the aid of garlic, milk and butter I was able to throw together a little gratin and whack it in the oven.

Meanwhile, the shanks were going to plan, except they got a little dry towards the end and I had to splash in some water, as suggested.

I wasn't sure how long the shanks should cook. 2 hours or until tender, was the suggestion. Shanks in a pub (my only reference) are always fall off the bone. My shanks weren't close to that when I took them off, but they were tender.

Everything timed nicely with the gratin, and that and the shanks were served up with some crusty bread.

The sauce was...... delicious. I would expect nothing less from a braised Hazan recipe. The first shank I tried was a little disappointing. The second (yes I tried a second - they were pretty small) had much more meat on it and was much more rewarding.

So in all a success, but dependent on the quality of the shanks, not surprisingly. I thought I had some good ones, but 2 of the 4 were much better than the others. It would not have been great for half of the diners to have a shitty shank.

The gratin complemented it superbly. Do google it.

Christmas meals

I thought I would mention a couple of meals cooked after Christmas. My plan for boxing day was to cook basil and tomato pasta and a green bean and lamb stew. I sought Marcella's counsel on increasing the amount of lamb as follows:

• 

  David Downie

  Dear Marcella and Friends I was wondering if any of you had ever doubled the lamb and bean with vinegar recipe from Essentials. I am cooking for a crowd on Boxing Day and was hoping to do so. Does it scale nicely, especially the oil? Sometimes recipes do not scale and you need to tweak things rather than doubling each quantity directly. I intend to have a tomato and basil pasta for the first course. Merry Christmas to all. David

  December 23 at 7:15am · · Comment · See Friendship

  • • 

      Marcella Hazan

      Dear David, your new mustache and beard make you look fierce? Are you? I am glad that lamb shoulder with the bone in no longer causes a trauma. By NO means double the vinegar, half again is plenty and the same goes for the oil. The lamb depends on the proportion of bone and meat. If there is mostly bone, add a little bit of meat. Victor, who has a few Australian gems in his cellar, just opened a McLaren Vale 1998 reserve Shiraz from Fox Creek. Beautiful, and it would be perfect on your lamb, whereas you might choose a non-reserve Chianti for the pasta. Buon Natale to you and Victoria. Ours is our 56th.

      December 23 at 9:53am ·
    • 

      Adriana Downie Fierce is definately not in David's repetoire. I am looking forward to the boxing day lunch...leave the McLaren Vale Shiraz up to me! Can I suggest we do a batch of asparagus with ham from Essentials for a starter. I love it and have made it to great success!

      December 23 at 10:07am ·
    • 

      Marcella Hazan Not fierce, then, but brooding? An Alsatian late harvest Gewurztraminer would be delicious with the ham, and skip the pasta.

      December 23 at 10:45am ·
    • 

      David Downie Thanks very much Marcella. Is the onion doubled? One good thing about being the cook, of course, is that you can decide the menu. I have told my mother I will be harvesting her basil on the 26th. I can brood, it is true, and perhaps I would be better off being a little fiercer. David

      December 23 at 12:33pm ·
    • 

      Marcella Hazan You never have to worry about using too much onion, if you cook it long enough

      December 23 at 2:25pm ·
    • 

      David Downie Thanks Marcella. Speaking of which, Victoria just cooked a form of your onion pasta, and she is very proud. It was delicious.

      December 23 at 8:32pm ·
    • 

      David Downie Marcella, I could not find any lamb shoulder on boxing day! Fortunately I was able to spot some racks of lamb and make Giuliano's rack of lamb with rosemary and breadcrumbs, along with the basil and fresh tomato and garlic pasta. Your orange cake also got a look in. A pleasant boxing day lunch was had by all.

      Sunday at 8:10pm ·

      
      
      

Well you can see the outcome there. The lamb rack was excellent. The pasta was perhaps not as tasty as it has been before, and on reflection was underseasoned. Don't be shy with the salt!

Today I cooked the pasta again (with more salt) and it was excellent, along with lamb stew again. It helps when cooking to repeat the same dishes over and over. They get easier, and better.

Giuliano Hazan Dinner

We had a lovely dinner tonight drawing from Giuliano Hazan's various books. First course was basil and fresh tomato pasta, which was delicious, and second was a beautiful rack of lamb with rosemary and parmesan and bread crumb crust, served with a roast beet salad.

With a mango to follow for desert.

The only thing I would do differently is cook the lamb a little shorter as it was quite well done.

It was all superb though. Really really good. And simple.

Thanks Giuliano.

Lamb chops with garlic, rosemary and white wine

I'm fond of lamb chops. They are quick, easy and tasty. Australia has good lamb chops, I think, and you don't need to do much to them. I normally just cook them with salt, pepper and olive oil. You can let them rest and then put some more oil in the juices and serve with a slice of lemon if you want to be fancy.

Having said that I adore the Italian combination of garlic, rosemary and white wine. I have learnt to cook chicken with it. I can see you can cook veal with it. And this is the quick version for lamb chops from Marcella's Italian Kitchen.

It went well. I used bread to mop up the juices, which I never tire of.

I'll be making this again.

Lamb with green beans and vinegar

I have made this dish before, a few times. I've never nailed it, although it has been delicious every time. Some times I have not had all shoulder, or it wasn't on the bone. Some times it has been too oily, or fatty, or I didn't have enough oil to brown the lamb, or the beans were not cooked enough.

Tonight it all came together.

First I got lamb still on the bone. As Marcella said to me on 22 June 2010:

"David, why all this anguish? I meant exactly I wrote, 3 pounds of lamb shoulder with its bones in, cut into pieces. Certainly we make stews with bones in, the meat attached to a bone has always been known to be the tastiest. Food is meant to be worked with and savored, not sipped through a straw. In reading your blog, I deduce that you are not browning the meat in hot enough oil. If you were, you wouldn't have to keep on replacing the oil. Bear in mind that I have cooked all of those dishes myself exactly as they are described. On your first try, follow the recipe literally without improvisations then make any changes you choose on subsequent efforts. I believe moreover, that you ought to be cooking a dish either from my directions or Giuliano's, not from a combination of both. I have no idea what "working a cracker" might mean. Is that Aussie talk? "

I got the butcher to cut it up. It wasn't in 2 inch chunks, but that didn't matter in the slightest. And I did follow the instructions to the letter. I measured the oil, which I normally wouldn't do, I even measured the onion (normally I take 1 onion to be about 1 cup). I browned the large chunks of meat well, seasoned it well, measured the vinegar out and didn't touch it for an hour and a half.

When I had a peak then the meat was tender but there was a bit too much liquid. I let it simmer off a bit, but didn't want it all to go as it is so precious.

It all worked. The meat was tender. The vinegar had transformed into a delicious sauce. The beans were cooked but still had some bite.

We used bread to mop up the juices and scraps of meat and beans. Marrow was sucked from the bone.

This is a stew Marcella says she is fond of in More Classic Italian Cooking published in 1978. Well, I am very fond of it now, some 32 years later. And so are my guests.

Sicilian Orange Tart

I had my parents over for dinner tonight. The meal I cooked was:

- risotto with butter and parmesan, after last week's triumph;

- lamb stew with beans from Essentials; and

- sicilian orange tart from Giuliano Hazan's Every Night Italian.

The risotto was wonderful. I used the rarer rice. I don't think it was any better than the arborio from last week. Everyone lapped it up. I used about a cup and a half. I think 2 would have been better.

I half lost my mind when cooking it. I put the rice in with the butter. I had a laugh about how Marcella would not be happy with me making that mistake, started again, and then put the rice in the butter again.

Not even moderately alert (Marcella's precondition for recipe success in her 1973 Classic which caused me much merriment).

Third time was the charm and I remembered the onion.

I cooked the meat broth for it yesterday. I got about 17 cups of broth out of the batch, and used 6 in the risotto. I use the Marcella Says recipe. It is worth it just for the broth instructions.

The stew, with vinegar from Essentials, was different in that I used proper lamb shoulder, chopped on the bone, as required by the recipe. Interestingly the Classic version says to use boned lamb and keep the lid on. Anyway, it took much longer to cook - at least an hour or more. You definitely have to read the description of when it is done when cooking Marcella recipes, they are very important. Marcella admits that timing bores her and in any event it is impossible to give one time as each bit of meat is different.

It was tasty, and all eaten by the 4 of us, with the sauce mopped up with bread. The meat was fattier than the cuts I used the first two times, and some bits was better than others, and so my search for excellent lamb shoulder on the bone continues.

But on to the tart. I think it was Jamie Oliver who said he loved a flexible tart, and who am I to argue? I have never cooked one before. I used my new food processor to prepare the dough, as instructed. I was skeptical about the amount of water to be used. One tablespoon was not enough, but I did as I was told and added an extra teaspoon. That caused it to bind quite dramatically.

I think I made a mistake by adding an extra egg, both to the bottom and the filling. I did this because Giuliano said to use extra large eggs, which I did not have. I think this made the tart too eggy.

I also made a mistake by putting in the juice before I mixed the filling.

I may have also made a third mistake by not rolling the bottom thinly enough. I didn't have a false bottom or anything so I had to roll it and then put it in. I wasn't sure exactly what I was doing, but I think the bottom was too thick - in some parts thicker than the filling. Should it be, I wonder?

The forth mistake may have been to have an oven that was too hot. I took the tart out about 10 minutes early because it looked done.

Anyway, we enjoyed it. We ate it with a bit of cream which improved things. I am going to make it again as I am fond of the orange flavour. It also looked appealing. It was a little eggy.

Again, it is hard for me to say it was a good tart or not as I've not really eaten tart before. I think it has potential and I want to give it another crack without mistakes.

It would be nice with a little ice cream.

I sent the left over tart home with my 65 year old dad, who was quite pleased about that. He fixed my cupboard and had a left over screw, which when combined with the tart sent them off laughing as well as being satisfied which can only be a good thing.

Lamb stew with Vinegar and Green Beans

I've been eyeing this little stew off for a while. I must say it didn't look like much in the book. The title pretty well describes the ingredients.

One of my favourite Italian dishes is the Lamb Stew with Tomatoes, Olives and Parsley from Giuliano Hazan's How to Cook Italian. So I held hope for this dish. I was a little confused by Marcella's reference to lamb being "on the bone". Was it meant to be on the bone when it was cooked? I didn't think so. I ended up buying a kilo of the chopped lamb I use when I cook Giuliano's dish.

I noticed that Marcella said to brown the meat deeply. Giulano says to brown his lamb stew lightly. I did brown the first batch deeply, or at least more than I do the other stew. The problem with multiple batches is that the subsequent batches have to deal with the juices from the first batch. This makes it harder to brown deeply.

I didn't think that would matter.

I then had to brown the onion. By then, there wasn't any oil in the pan or juices for that matter, so I used my common sense (the most important ingredient in cooking, according to Marcella) and added a little more olive oil.

The other difference with Giulano and Marcella's technique on the stew is that Giulano calls for the meat to be seasoned on the plate, whereas Marcella does it when it is in the pot.

This is the first time I have cooked with green beans for a long time, perhaps ever. This made me think of my grandmother: she used to cook them for roasts. She snapped the ends in the same way I was, following Marcella's directions.

And then the vinegar. So much of it. A certain someone in the house used to hate vinegar. But then she fell in love with it on salads (stingily applied, of course). But half a cup is a lot. I gave it a little taste before I put it in.

Interesting.

You can see my lamb and beans in the top left. On the top right I am cooking some barley for my soup, which is in the bottom left. The bottom right is the famous Hazan meat broth (which is still on the stove as I type).

A Hazan stove if ever there was one.

But back to the stew. It was in. It was away. Marcella didn't say to stir every now and then, as Giuliano does, but it didn't seem right not to. So I did. As time progressed, the flavour improved.

By the time the hour and a half was up, I was a believer. I tested the lamb carefully, as often I have to cook the cut I buy for longer than is suggested. It all seemed to be in order.

It was served following my Swiss Chard, Cannellini Bean and Barley Soup, which I will blog separately about. I heated a serving bowl in the oven and served the lamb in the middle of the table.

It was simple, and delicious.

The best bits were the sauce (very often the case isn't it), served with a well browned bit of meat (it really made a difference!) with a beautiful bean (which, Marcella would be pleased to hear, didn't taste like grass after so much cooking).

We kept eating it, picking away in the bowl, looking for the brownest bits of meat to eat with sauce and beans.

We decided the correct ratio of meat pieces to beans was 1 to 2.

Crusty bread also did a little hunting for sauce.

The vinegar convert declared that this was superior to the Giulano stew, but that could be because we eat so many olives, tomatoes and parsley.

This one will be made again, and gets put in the winners list. The question is how to brown the meat better after the first batch, while still retaining the juices for the cooking since they must add so much to the stew.

Perhaps the answer is to tip the juices off with each batch and use new oil each time (using less oil for each batch).

Has anyone else turned their mind to it between mouthfuls of lamb, beans and sauce?

Mid week feast

I left work early today to see a doc about a cough. While waiting for my prescription I picked up a kilo of chopped lamb pieces as well as some extra rosemary and parsley. Home a little early I was able to whip up a mid-week feast, which pleased my dining companion no end when she arrived home at 7.

The feast was:

- Bruschetta with basil and tomato;

- Giuliano Hazan's Lamb Stew with Olives and Parsley from his How to Cook Italian: I know I keep cooking this dish but that's because it is so good and so easy. I cook it with red wine as I never seem to have white around.

- Marcella's Potato Salad from Marcella's Italian Kitchen, with olives and parsley (WARNING: olive overload but come to think of it they aren't even in the recipe);

- Boiled Broccoli with Salt, Olive Oil and Pepper (Neil Perry);

- Baked eggplant slices (Alice Waters)

Well I can tell you I am as full as a fart now. The stew was delicious; the potato salad was a little full on (simpler would have been better); the eggplant was a touch underdone and the slices could have been bigger.

The broccoli was the star. So creamy and delicious.

One thing I noticed was that I did seem to be suffering from salt overdose by the end of it. Everything had a lot of salt and olive oil on it. Brings out flavour, says Marcella, and makes food taste of itself. No need to hide behind trickery like the Thais for example.

I get that, and can see how it all works, but here there was just a bit too much salt in all my dishes. I'm not sure what could have broken that up. Dump the potato salad perhaps, or had a real salad instead of a vege dish.

Anyway, all good. I'm stuffed as I said, mainly on veges. Can't complain about that. And lots left over for tucker during the week.

Dinner

I thought I'd post what I had for dinner, even though I've written about it before. I cooked Giuliano Hazan's Parmesan Encrusted Lamb Rack from his Every Night Italian, and ate it with Alice Water's Potato Gratin and a salad with nice lettuce leaves, chopped tomatoes, mint and left over bread crumbs from the lamb rack.

It didn't go as well as I would have liked.

I've had the Lamb Rack before. It is excellent. Tonight it was just off the mark. I don't know why. Perhaps it was the quality of the lamb. It's hard to see how you get the rest wrong. The bread crumbs were a delight - I just baked them for 10 minutes or so with a little olive oil.

Anyway, the lamb rack didn't reach the dizzy heights it did last time. I'm going to persist though, because I know how good it can be.

Now the potato gratin. It's one of the tastiest things I can cook. It is so simple, and so delicious. This time I tried to embellish with some tyme that had dried in my kitchen, and I also was self indulgent and put some parmesan in. I don't know why I messed with something great.

Anyway, it too was a bit of a flop. It has never failed me before. It seemed a bit undercooked, and milky. All I can think is that the lamb rack tray blocked the heat and didn't let it cook. I also forgot to pat it down after 30 minutes.

The only thing that saved me was the salad. Beautiful lettuce leaves and tomatoes, with the cheeky breadcrumbs and mint, because I had some. I dressed it in the Italian fashion - olive oil, salt and red wine vinegar, and it was delicious. It was the tastiest part of the meal.

I haven't gone mental however, as I also cooked Giuliano Hazan's Lamb Stew from his How to Cook Italian. It is a favourite, and did not let me down today. I used red wine instead of white, and had to cook it for an hour or so longer than he suggested to get it tender. I guess that's the common sense part of cooking.

I did not eat it of course. I'll have that for dinner tomorrow with a vegetable.

Rack of Lamb Encrusted with Parmesan Cheese

I've had this before and it wasn't that great.

I think the difference this time was that I made my own breadcrumbs (not hard) and seasoned (ie salted) it properly prior to putting it in the oven.

It was fabulous, and so simple. I served it with a salad (tomatoes and lettuce + vinaigrette) and Alice Water's superb potato gratin. Certainly something you could proudly serve to anyone.

This is from Every Night Italian.

Lamb shoulder braised with tomatoes

I'm fond of braised lamb. I've learnt that much. And better still, my butcher has it, all cut up and waiting for me to buy it.

I've been cooking Giuliano's Braised Lamb with garlic, white wine, rosemary and olives from his How to Cook Italian. This dish is similar, from his Every Night Italian.

It calls for a big piece of lamb, which is sliced at the end. I only had my cut up bits, and so went with them.

This one has sage in it, as well as rosemary, and includes more garlic. I couldn't use all the garlic, as I didn't have as much lamb, and I think I'm getting Marcella's aversion to too much of it. Having said that, the recipe only asked for 2 teaspoons of it.

I cook my lamb a bit longer than the 1.5 hours. I guess it is until the texture is right.

The taste is different enough from the olive dish to make it a change. Crusty bread is a must.

You only need a small portion, especially after Pumpkin Pasta.

Lamb stew and minestrone

I cooked the Lamb Stew with Rosemary, Olives and Tomatoes from Hazan (Son) How to Cook Italian, and served it with the Hazan Minestrone from Essentials. I love this simple stew. I used red wine rather than white because that's what I had on hand and I don't think it suffered from it at all.

I added silverbeet (Swiss Chard) to the minestrone because I love the idea of eating it. It's used in Guilanos Every Night Italian (which doesn't use beef broth but is not perhaps as rich - he does use bread at the bottom and olive oil on the top though).

It was all very nice. I've got a lot left over for the week. The good thing is the flavour improves in each.

I need to make some more beef broth. I like my minestrone with it, and I'm yet to make risotto.