Braised Lamb Goats Cheese Pies With Gravy Recipes

BRAISED-LAMB SHANK SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Prepare lamb:
• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Put lamb shanks in a large metal roasting pan, then rub with oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange onion wedges around lamb. Roast lamb in middle of oven 40 minutes. Turn shanks over, scatter with herb sprigs, and roast 40 minutes more.
• Pour wine, broth, and water into roasting pan. Cover pan tightly with foil and braise lamb until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer shanks to a plate and remove and discard skins from onions. Pour cooking liquid (including onions) into a large glass measure (do not clean roasting pan).
• Prepare potatoes and boil carrots while lamb roasts:
• Pierce each potato once with a fork and bake on rack in lower third of oven until cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes.
• Cool potatoes 10 minutes, then halve lengthwise and scoop out flesh. Force warm potatoes through ricer into a bowl. Stir in salt, milk, and pepper to taste.
• Cook carrots in boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Rinse under cold running water to stop cooking.
• Make gravy:
• Skim fat from cooking liquid (you'll have about 2 1/2 cups broth). Whisk together 1 cup broth and flour in a large bowl to make a thin paste, then whisk in remaining broth (including onions). Set roasting pan across 2 burners and pour broth mixture into pan. Boil over moderate heat, whisking, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
• Cut lamb meat from bones, then tear meat into bite-size pieces. Stir meat into gravy.
• Assemble and bake pie:
• Reduce oven to 350°F.
• Spoon lamb-shank mixture into a 12- by 3-inch oval gratin dish or a 2 1/2- to 3-quart shallow baking dish, spreading evenly. Scatter carrots over lamb, then top with creamed spinach, spreading evenly. Top spinach with mashed potatoes, spreading evenly to edges of dish to cover filling completely. Make swirl patterns on surface of potatoes with back of spoon, then drizzle with melted butter.
• Put baking dish in a foil-lined shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan to catch drips and bake until top is golden and filling is bubbling, about 1 hour.

FOUR & THIRTY BRAISED LAMB

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, trim the skin and as much fat as possible from the lamb. Smear lightly with olive oil and season. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a very large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Brown the lamb thoroughly on all sides, turning it with a big pair of tongs, then put it in a large, but fairly snug-fitting, casserole (a 4.8 litre/8 pint oval one is ideal). Reserve the pan.
• Slit lengthways through the first two layers of the leek, remove leaves and wash them. Put the bay leaf, thyme and celery inside one leaf and wrap with the other, to enclose the contents. Tie this 'faggot' with kitchen string and set aside. Rinse the rest of the leek and slice finely.
• Put the reserved frying pan over a low-medium heat and melt the butter. Tip in the onion, carrot and sliced leek and cook gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened. Add them to the casserole, draining off any fat first. Reserve the pan.
• Preheat the oven to 150C/Gas 2/fan oven 130C. Break the garlic into cloves and place in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave for 1 minute, then drain, run under cold water and peel: the best way is to place a clove on a chopping board, nick off the root end and, without lifting the blade, pull the clove away. This removes the first bit of skin and the rest should come away easily. Set the cloves aside.
• Discard any fat from the frying pan and put it over a very high heat. Pour in the wine, scrape up any bits from the bottom and boil furiously for 5 minutes. Pour the wine and stock into the casserole. Add the garlic cloves and leek faggot, making sure they are immersed - the lamb should be at least half-covered. Do not add salt.
• Cover the casserole and put it into the oven. Braise for 4 hours, reducing the temperature to 140C/Gas 1/fan oven 120C for the last 2 hours and turning the lamb every hour. Remove the lamb, put it on a heated dish, drape loosely with foil and keep warm for up to 30 minutes.
• Strain 1 litre/13⁄4 pints of the cooking juices into a pan and bring to the boil over a very high heat. Bubble madly for 8-10 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half. Meanwhile, tip the vegetable debris (but not the faggot) into a food processor and whizz to a smooth purée. Whisk this into the reduced liquid to make the sauce. Check the seasoning, then keep the sauce at a bare simmer until you are ready to serve.

GOAT CHEESE-STUFFED LAMB BURGERS WITH CARAMELIZED RED ONIONS

Steps:

• Make the onions:
• In a 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and salt, toss to combine, and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring several times to ensure that the onion does not stick to the pan. Add the beer, stir, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. If the onion is deeply caramelized and the liquid has mostly evaporated, it's perfection. If not, cook for a few minutes more. Set aside.
• Make the burgers:
• In a large bowl, combine the lamb, garlic, smoked paprika, cayenne, and mint. Mix well. Set aside 4 tablespoons of the lamb mixture and divide the remaining lamb into four equal portions. Shape them into patties slightly larger than the width of the burger bun. Using your thumb, make a well in the center of each patty, going halfway through the lamb.
• Divide the goat cheese into four portions and place them in the thumb divots. Flatten each tablespoon of reserved burger mixture into a disc and place on top of the goat cheese. Pinch the edges to encase the cheese in the lamb. Season both sides of each patty with salt and pepper.
• In a large skillet, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Fry the burgers for 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium doneness.
• Place the burgers on the buns and top each with 1 tablespoon mayo, some caramelized onions, bacon, and 1/4 cup arugula.

BROILED LAMB CHOPS WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler to high.
• Roll the ''tail'' of each lamb chop into a compact circle. Secure the tails to the chops with toothpicks or other skewers.
• Sprinkle the chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Put the chops on a rack and place them under the broiler, the tops of the chops about four inches from the source of heat. Let cook seven to eight minutes or until well browned. If desired, leave the broiler door slightly ajar. Turn the chops and continue cooking on the second side four to five minutes. Brush the top of each with a little melted butter.
• Sprinkle the top of each chop with three tablespoons of cheese. Sprinkle each with one-quarter teaspoon of rosemary. Dribble the remaining butter evenly over the chops. Return the chops to the broiler, and let cook until cheese is piping hot and slightly melted, five minutes or less. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

SLOW BRAISED LAMB

Steps:

• Toss lamb chunks in seasoned flour, then shake off excess.
• Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and fry lamb chunks all over to brown. Do this in batches. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a flameproof casserole.
• Add 2 tbsp more olive oil to the pan and fry onion to soften but not brown. Add to lamb. Next add carrots and celery and lightly brown. Add to lamb with garlic. Pour over stock and wine and bring to bubbling. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Turn down to simmer, then cook over lowest heat for around 1 ¼ hours, or until lamb is tender. Sprinkle with parsley.
• Meanwhile, cook potatoes in lightly salted boiling water until soft to the point of a knife. Mash with extra virgin olive oil and egg to fabulous creaminess. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Briefly toss spinach in a pan with a little salted water to wilt. Drain.
• Serve lamb with mash and spinach on the side. Drizzle mash with more extra virgin olive oil.

BRAISED AND GRILLED BREAST OF LAMB

Steps:

• The day before you are planning to serve the lamb, trim all surface fat from it. Select a heavy oven-proof skillet large enough to hold it. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
• Heat three tablespoons of the oil in the skillet. Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic and parsley and saute until the vegetables begin to brown. Remove the vegetables from the pan, add the lamb and cook on both sides until it is lightly browned.
• Return the vegetables to the pan along with the thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, wine and stock. Cover and place in the oven for about two-and-a-half hours, until the meat is very tender when pierced with a fork.
• Remove the lamb from the skillet and immediately pull out the bones. They should slip out easily. Place the lamb on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with another piece of parchment paper and weight with a board or a dish topped with a few tin cans. Refrigerate overnight.
• Simmer the cooking liquid down until it is reduced to about two cups, then strain and degrease it. You will need a third of a cup of this liquid; the rest can be frozen for another use.
• Mix the one-third cup of lamb liquid with the remaining ingredients except for the mache to make a sauce.
• To serve, cut the lamb into squares, strips or triangles. Broil or grill the pieces of lamb on each side until warmed and lightly seared. Serve with some of the leaves of mache on the side and drizzle the sauce on top.