Lamb And Rice With Spring Vegetables Recipes

LAMB RAGOUT WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Season lamb chunks generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with fennel seed and rub to distribute. Set aside for 30 minutes (or refrigerate for up to several hours, or overnight).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven or similar heavy pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add lamb and brown on all sides, until meat is well caramelized, about 10 minutes. Work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding pan.
• Remove lamb, turn heat to medium and add onions (and a little oil if necessary) and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly colored, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaf and thyme and cook for 1 minute, then stir in tomato paste. Sprinkle with flour and cook 2 minutes more. Add white wine and whisk well as mixture thickens. Whisk in broth and bring to a brisk simmer.
• Return meat to pot. Cover pot and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until meat is tender when probed. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Keep warm, or cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight before proceeding with vegetables (which should be prepared right before serving).
• Prepare the vegetables: Remove fava beans from pod. Blanch 2 minutes in boiling water, then cool in ice water. Peel and discard outer gray skin from each bean. You should have about 1 1/2 cups. Set aside. (If using frozen lima beans or edamame, cook the thawed beans for 3 to 4 minutes in salted boiling water.)
• Bring a medium pot of fresh water to a boil and salt well. Add fennel and simmer until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove with spider and rinse with cold water to refresh. In the same pot, cook carrots until tender, about 4 minutes, then remove and refresh. Cook turnips for 3 minutes, then remove and refresh.
• Just before serving, melt butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add cooked fennel, carrots and turnips. Add scallions and stir to distribute. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of water and cook until scallions have softened, about 2 minutes. Add fava beans and heat through. Stir in lemon zest and parsley.
• Transfer meat and sauce to a large serving dish. Spoon vegetables around meat and garnish with fennel fronds.

LAMB AND RICE WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 150°F or lowest setting. [Reconstitute dried vegetables in sufficient water to cover; reserve liquid.] In a large skillet or other broad, flat pan, brown the lamb chops, then reduce heat to medium and cook through. Transfer to heatproof dish, cover with foil, and place in preheated oven. [Squash can be browned and then cooked through in a mild-flavored oil, sunflower or canola, or nut oils like peanut or walnut for the non-allergic, and then transferred to the oven to keep warm.] Drain the asparagus and mushrooms, reserving the liquid for cooking the rice. In the same skillet, using pan juices and adding a bit of oil if necessary, sauté the mushrooms and asparagus until fragrant. Add rice and heat through quickly, then add reserved liquid and any other water necessary to cook it. Stir in garlic and lemon juice. Return chops or squash to pan, laid on top of the rice; salt and pepper to taste. Cover pan and cook on low heat until bottom of rice is crisp. THIS REQUIRES ATTENTION, unless you wish to test your smoke detector. Serve with sliced tomatoes, fresh or sun-dried, dashed with malt vinegar and sprinkled with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. [Vegan/Kosher alternative: Sprinkle with toasted pecan chips.]

LAMB STEW WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the canola oil in a medium (10- to 11-inch) ovenproof pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes, until browned. Transfer the bacon to a large plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Dry the lamb with paper towels and toss it in a bowl first with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper, and then with the 1/4 cup of flour. Raise the heat to medium high and cook half the lamb in the bacon fat for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned. Add the lamb to the plate with the bacon and brown the second batch, also transferring it to the plate. Add the garlic to the pot and cook for one minute.
• Pour the lamb and bacon, along with any juices that collect, back into the pot. Add the beef stock, wine, tomatoes (including the juice), thyme, rosemary, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits in the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes, cover, and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, onions, and turnips, cover, and return to the oven for 1 hour, until all the vegetables are tender.
• Mash the 2 tablespoons of flour with the butter in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the stew, and simmer on top of the stove for 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the peas and parsley, season to taste, and serve hot in large shallow bowls.

GARLIC LAMB AND VEGETABLE SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• Garlic Lamb: Combine the sugar, soy, garlic, cornstarch, and orange zest in a large bowl. Add the lamb and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 hours.
• Heat a wok over high heat. When the wok is hot, add 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil and heat until just smoking. Add the ginger, garlic, green onions, and red pepper flakes and stir-fry until fragrant, around 30 seconds.
• Add the lamb and stir-fry until well browned, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the rice wine and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a simmer to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• Drain the rice noodles and roughly chop. Set aside. Wipe out the wok and heat over high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut oil and heat until just smoking. Add the mushrooms, onion, carrot, and bell pepper and stir-fry until the vegetables just begin to soften, but still have some crunch, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the heat and cool.
• Combine the cooled vegetables, cooled lamb, reserved noodles, basil, sesame oil, and soy sauce and mix well.
• Place 1 egg roll wrapper on a flat surface in front of you with 1 point facing you so the wrapper is in a diamond shape. Make sure the unused wrappers are covered with a damp cloth. Brush all of the edges with egg wash. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of the filling about 1/3 of the way up the wrapper. Fold the point over the filling. Fold in the sides and then roll up. Press to seal. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. If you are going to hold these for a while before frying, dust with cornstarch so they don't get soggy.
• Preheat 3 inches of peanut oil in a deep pot to 360 degrees F. Fry the egg rolls, a few at a time, until golden brown on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve whole or cut in half diagonally. If you want the halved rolls to stand up, Cut a small piece off either end with a serrated knife to make a flat surface. Serve with Sweet Chili Scallion Dipping sauce.
• Combine all the ingredients.

LAMB STEW WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Wrap herb sprigs, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a square of cheesecloth and tie into a bundle to make a bouquet garni.
• Pat lamb dry, then cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 6- to 7-quart wide heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown lamb in 3 batches, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes per batch, transferring with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot and sauté chopped onion and garlic over moderately high heat, stirring, until onion is golden, about 6 minutes. Add wine and stock and deglaze pot by boiling, scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Return lamb to pot along with any juices that have accumulated in bowl and add bouquet garni.
• Braise lamb, covered, in middle of oven until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in salt and pepper.
• While lamb is braising, cook pearl onions in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking (reserve cooking water). Remove onions and peel.
• Boil turnips, carrots, zucchini, and sugar snaps separately in reserved cooking water until just tender, about 5 minutes for turnips, 4 to 6 minutes for carrots, 2 minutes for zucchini, and 1 1/2 minutes for sugar snaps. Transfer vegetables as cooked with a slotted spoon to ice water and, when all are cooked, drain vegetables in a colander.
• Make a beurre manié by stirring together butter and flour in a small bowl to form a paste. Bring lamb stew to a simmer on stovetop and whisk in enough beurre manié, bit by bit, to thicken to desired consistency, then simmer about 2 minutes. Add vegetables and simmer, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.