Sunday Dinner: Garlicky Leg of Lamb with Polenta

As you’ve probably noticed, we’re major lamb lovers. So it's no coincidence that one of our all-time favorite stands at the Union Square Greenmarket is Catskill Merino. If you've never had the opportunity to stop by this lamb and wool haven, you absolutely should make the effort. The wide stall is lined with hundreds of skeins of beautifully hand-dyed wool in the most amazing natural colors, with luscious lamb skins piled high in the center. And of course, the front is jam-packed with cooler after cooler of delicious lamb cuts, sausages and jerky!

This weekend while walking past the stand, we peered into the coolers and were struck by a leg of lamb. While that cut is a little fancy for us – and even though it was boneless, which we don’t usually go for - it seemed to be just sitting there, waiting for us. And who were we to resist?? We quickly grabbed the leg, along with 5 heads of garlic (another Catskill Merino specialty) and happily marched home.

As is often our philosophy, with such a beautiful piece of meat it’s nice to keep it simple. And as we often do, we went the Tuscan route for inspiration. Garlic, rosemary and olive oil on the lamb, along with a hearty scoop of creamy polenta from Cayuga Pure Organics and a simple arugula salad made for a fantastic Sunday dinner!

Garlicky Leg of Lamb

+ 1 4-lbs leg of lamb

+ 2 small heads of garlic minced (about 3-4 tbsp)

+ 3 tbsp of diced rosemary

+ 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

+ 2 tbsp coarse sea salt

1. Let lamb come to room temperature and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the garlic, salt, olive oil, and rosemary together to make a coarse paste.

3. Pat the lamb dry and cover with paste.

4. Place a heavy skillet over high-heat. When skillet is hot, sear the lamb on all sides - about two minutes a side.

5. Place the skillet oven and cook for about one hour, or until lamb is 120º at it's center.

6. Let rest for about 7 minutes before serving.

Serves 3-4 people

Recipe: Kefta with Yoghurt Sauce

The other night we had the great pleasure of cooking for Daniel Meyer and his fiancee Ilona. As you may remember, we met Daniel at the Flying Pigs Union Square Greenmarket stand where he works every Friday. We were very excited to have the two of them over, but also a little nervous. Pork, our entertaining go-to, was out of the question. And besides selling the meat one day a week, Daniel develops recipes for one of our absolute favorite food writers... so the pressure was on.

We've been trying to bring a little spring-ish-ness into our meals, so we thought lamb would be a great protein to center the meal around. Also, Jake has been pushing to include some more ground meat recipes on the blog because it's so economical. So there we landed - on ground lamb. And why not make Kefta? Simple, economical, spring-like, full of ingredients that are readily available at the market, and damn good. Settled!

To add some lightness and brightness to the meal, we made a simple sheep’s milk yoghurt sauce. We also served a warming onion and freekeh dish, cooked with spiced chicken stock and a simple spicy radish micro green salad from Two Guys. Most exciting though were the puffy pitas Silka made - stay tuned for the recipe, it's a winner! 

Kefta

+ 3 lbs of ground lamb

+ 1 egg

+ 2 loose cups of parsley

+ 2-3 large shallots, cut into quarters

+ 12 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled

+ 2 tbsp salt

+ 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

+ ½ tsp ground cumin

+ ½ tsp ground coriander

+ ½ tsp ground ginger

+ ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1. Put everything - except the lamb and egg - into a Cuisinart fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until it looks like a fine pesto.

2. In a large bowl combine the lamb, egg, and "pesto" until evenly blended, trying not to overwork the meat.

3. Form large balls with the mixture, about 1 ½ in diameter (between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball) and place them on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.

4. Place the meatballs in the center rack of the oven and turn on the broiler. Cook for 7 minutes and then turn the meatballs over. Cook for another 7 minutes. If you don't have a broiler, you can bake them at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Yoghurt Sauce

+ 8 oz sheep's milk yoghurt

+ 1 tsp ground cumin

+ ½ cup of diced parsley

+ a pinch of salt

Combine ingredients and serve with Kefta.

Serves 4 with leftovers

Recipe: Righteous Lamb with Carrots

The other night we invited our friends Kelly (The BLager) and Matt over for dinner. We were excited to have them because A) we hadn’t seen them in way too long and B) we wanted to pitch a collaboration to Kelly - more to come on that but just know that you should be very excited and thirsty! Jake has been developing a recipe for lamb shoulder braised in Sixpoint Righteous Ale and we knew if we could get it right, the dish would wow our visiting lager connoisseurs.

Righteous Ale is one of Jake’s favorite beers and the perfect braising liquid to bring out both the sweet and spicy notes of Arcadian Pastures lamb. We're always trying to find ways to bring some extra color into our winter meals, so we thought we'd fold in some carrots from Windfall as well. After picking up our ingredients Jake got back in the kitchen, cracked open a can of Six Point goodness and starting sifting through the spice cupboard. As soon as he sniffed the coriander, he knew he'd found the third and final component he'd been looking for.

The dish came out really well and, most importantly, was approved of by our official brewmaster. Stay tuned for more news on the beer front, and in the meantime we hope you enjoy this hearty winter stew!

Righteous Lamb with Carrots

+ 3 lbs lamb shoulder, cubed

+ flour

+ 3 lbs of carrots, 1 lb chopped and 2 lbs cut into ½ in by 3 inch sticks

+ 1 onion, chopped

+ 1 tbsp of whole coriander

+ 16 oz of Sixpoint Righteous Ale

+ 1 ½ cups of chicken stock

+ olive oil

+ salt

+ pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. With a clean towel dry off the pieces of lamb. On a clean plate pour about ¾ cup of flour and a heavy dose of salt. Mix with a fork and coat the cubed lamb in it.

3. In a heavy pot or dutch oven heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat. In small batches, brown the lamb pieces, setting aside when done. Add more oil as needed.

4. After browning the meat, turn heat down to medium-high. Throw in the coriander, and when the seeds start to toast and release their aroma, add onions and chopped carrots. Cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add lamb back to the pan, along with the beer and stock.

5. Bring to a boil, cover and put in oven for 2 hours.

6. After two hours, lay the carrot sticks on top of the stew, and put back in the oven for another 30 min. You can also sprinkle with some fresh herbs. (Sorry, we didn't get a photo of this, mostly due to urgent hunger!)

7. Take out of the oven and serve.

Serves 4 with leftovers

Recipe: Lamb and Freekeh Stew

Spoiler alert: we make a lot of stews throughout the fall and winter months. We'll usually make one on Monday night, eat it all week for lunch, and throw the extra in the freezer. And we'll do this over and over. This week Jake wanted to make something that tasted the way our recent Berkshire hikes smelled. Hey, inspiration comes from all places, right? 

As an earthy starting point, we got some cubed lamb pieces from Arcadian Pastures, and a variety of mushrooms from Mardura. Next, we were off to Cayuga Pure Organics, once again seeking their grain wisdom. Even before we finished describing what we had in mind, they handed us some Freekeh. Freekeh, they explained, are roasted green spelt berries and we love spelt so it was an easy sell. Another bonus: the grain comes from North African and Middle-Eastern cooking traditions, where lamb is often the focal point.

We already had some duck stock in the freezer from our last roast and we figured it would play into our stew perfectly. We picked up carrot and leek bunches from Migliorelli and headed over the Windfall Farms to do some research on greens. They suggested Senposai - or Japanese collards - which are very similar to American collards, only sweeter. Sounded great! And finally to serve along side, a boule from Hot Bread Kitchen, knowing we still had some Monterey Chevre in the fridge.

We headed home, took out the cast iron kettle and started to cook. Almost immediately the apartment was filled with the most amazing aroma - just like the woods after a rainy fall day!

Lamb Stew with Freekeh

+ 1 pound lamb cubed for stew (cut from the shoulder or leg)

+ 1 pound of Freekeh

+ 1 pound of mushrooms, sliced

+ 4 cups of stock

+ 4 carrots, cut up into ¼ in slices

+ 4 leeks, cut up into ¼ in slices

+ 1 bunch of heart greens, like collards, sliced into ribbons

+ 1 cup of flower

+ ½ cup salt

+ 3 tablespoons of oil

1. On a large plate mix salt and flour. Coat the the lamb pieces in the mixture.

2. In a heavy pot or dutch oven heat the oil on medium-high heat. When hot, brown the lamb in batches, a few minutes on each side.

3. Meanwhile prepare leeks and carrots. When all the lamb is browned put in a bowl and set aside. Add the carrots and onions to the pot. 

4. When the carrots and onions begin to soften and brown, add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms start to brown and emit a strong mushroomy aroma, add the stock and the lamb and bring to a simmer. Cover.

5. After a half hour, rinse the freekeh like you would rice and then add to pot. Bring back to a boil and then bring down to a steady simmer. Cover.

6. After another half hour add greens. Cover and simmer for half hour. Serve.

Serves 6