Saturday, May 10, 2008

Braised Lamb according to Heston

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I don't make lamb very often - but every time I do, I love it. And on my Del.icio.us, I had marked a recipe by Heston Blumenthal for slow-cooked lamb, that was actually written in the Guardian back in 2001. (Original, here.) So, when I finally got around to lamb cooking again, I knew I wanted to try it this way - a very, very slow braising in a barely warm oven. (Not ideal for summer cooking maybe - but there will always be rainy days.)

I shortened the time a little bit, and had to raise the heat towards the end to make sure the lamb wasn't too red (we had a pregnant guest) but it was still extremely tender, juicy and flavorful. Delicious! We served it with a green olive quinoa salad that I'll try to remember to post really soon - it was a great and unusual match.

Braised Lamb according to Heston
Serves 4-5

1 de-boned leg of lamb, about 900 g
olive oil
salt, pepper
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
fresh rosemary
fresh thyme
1 garlic (peel the cloves)
350 ml white wine (a fruity kind is good)

Preheat the oven to 65°C. Season the meat with salt and pepper and rub it with olive oil. Bind it using string or FoodLoops (always my preference) so that it'll keep it's shape. You can stuff it slightly with the fresh herbs, where the bone used to be.

Brown it in some oil in a fairly small and snug pot, alongside the onions and herbs. Add the garlic towards the end - don't let it brown too much. Add the wine, and bring to a boil.

Cover with a lid (or foil) and place in the now warm oven. After 45 minutes, remove the lid and make sure there's at least 1 cm of liquid. (I had way more but I used a fairly small pot.) If you don't, add water.

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Leave the lamb for 4-5 hours. Check to see that the pot isn't drying up, every now and then, and if you feel ambitious, baste the lamb a little. Use a thermometer to check the lamb towards the end - you might have to raise the heat a little bit if you prefer your meat more done. We served our lamb at 68°C and felt that it was quite perfect.

Remove the lamb, garlic, onions, and sieve the sauce into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce slightly, then serve with the meat.

Recipe in Swedish:
Bräserad lammstek

5 comments:

glamah16 said...

I canr get enough of lamb. I have to save this.

Feline Flodin said...

Yay! Du har bokmärkt ett av mina recept. ;D *stolt*

Kinna Jonsson said...

I just love those foodloops! Thanks for remindning me getting some myself.

Jeanne said...

Mmmm, I love slow-roast lamb. Currently still in love with Nigel Slater's but willing to give this one a go ;-) Sounds glorious.

Kath said...

Found the slow lamb recipe via your blog when i googled it - thanks, I'm cooking it now here in my kitchen in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia and thought you might enjoy the fact that although it's summer here (40C a few days ago), today it is cool and raining gently after a huge down-pour last night - so as you suggested, a good dish to cook on a cooler summer day! We'll enjoy it (hopefully) with friends when we come back after a late afternoon art exhibition opening - the artist, Olga is Ukrainian but now living in SA's Riverland, a great source of good food in Australia!
Thanks again for your helpful link & best wishes from us here in Adelaide.