Lamb With Red Wine And Dried Cherries Recipes

PASSOVER-INSPIRED BRAISED LAMB WITH DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Season the meat with salt and pepper and put it in a pot that will fit it snugly and can later be covered. Add the spices and a 1/2 bottle of wine. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a slow bubble, and cover. Cook about an hour, then add onion, garlic, ginger and dried fruit, and check to make sure the liquid isn't evaporating too quickly; turn and continue to cook. Add the remaining red wine if the mixture looks dry, but essentially cook this without fuss.
• When the meat is very tender - after about 2 1/2 hours - uncover. Check and adjust the seasoning as necessary, garnish and serve.

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB WITH RED ONIONS AND SOUR CHERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Rub the lamb leg all over with olive oil, and then the pepper and basil. Let the lamb sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.
• Season the lamb all over with salt, set fat-side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and continue to cook for about 1 hour. While the lamb is roasting, peel the onions, cut the ends off, and slice in half into 2 thick rings. Place into a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, and roast alongside the lamb for the last 30 minutes or until they are soft and caramelized. The lamb is done when a thermometer placed in the thickest part of the leg reads 120 to 125 degrees F. Transfer lamb to a cutting board and let rest 10 to 20 minutes.
• Spoon off the fat from the roasting pan. Set the pan over 2 burners, add the red wine and balsamic and reduce by half, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the beef broth and reduce until sauce reaches desired consistency. Whisk in the sour cherries and butter. Season with salt and pepper and serve with slices of lamb and red onions.

LAMB WITH RED WINE AND DRIED CHERRIES

Steps:

• If using a broiler, turn it on.
• Wash, dry and remove excess fat from the lamb. Cut into 1/4-inch thick slices.
• Mash the garlic and combine with the wine in a bowl large enough to hold the lamb. Add the lamb, and turn it to coat it with wine. Allow the lamb to marinate until time to cook, or at least 10 minutes.
• If using a stove-top grill, prepare it. Remove the lamb from the marinade and broil or grill until it is brown on both sides and pink inside, 7 to 10 minutes total.
• Add the cherries to the wine marinade, and boil until it is reduced by half. When the lamb is cooked, stir it into wine mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

RACK OF LAMB WITH DRIED CHERRY AND GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté 2 minutes. Mix in tomato paste. Add both broths; boil until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 25 minutes. Strain sauce into small saucepan. Add cherries, Port, brandy,1/2 teaspoon rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon marjoram; boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 15 minutes. Mix in peppercorns. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Sprinkle each rack of lamb with 4 1/2 teaspoons rosemary,4 1/2 teaspoons marjoram and 4 teaspoons parsley; press to adhere. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Add 1 lamb rack; brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Place lamb, meat side up, in baking pan. Repeat with second rack. Roast until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 130°F for medium-rare, about 18 minutes. Place lamb on carving board; let stand 10 minutes.
• Bring sauce to simmer. Cut lamb between bones. Serve lamb with sauce.

FRAGRANT LAMB STEW WITH DRIED FRUITS

Steps:

• -Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat olive oil in bottom of 4 to 5 quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven.
• Brown cubes of lamb in oil, in batches, remove lamb to plate. Add onions to pot, scraping up brown bits and stirring.
• When softened, add crushed garlic; stir to incorporate, then add carrots.
• Cook 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add curry, salt, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, cayenne or pepper flakes, and rosemary.
• Stir to mix in well, then add water and wine. Raise heat and let the liquids bubble. Lower heat, then add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and the lamb cubes.
• Add dried fruits, the lemon juice, and the almonds.
• Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more water if the stew seems too thick.
• Add 1/2 cup of cilantro, cover pot, and place in oven for 75 to 90 minutes.
• From time to time, check stew, adding water as needed to keep it moist. When lamb is tender and dried fruits have softened almost enough to become part of the sauce, remove from oven and stir in remaining cilantro.
• Let stew rest 5 minutes and serve.

LAMB MEATBALLS WITH SOUR CHERRIES, POMEGRANATES & PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and mix them together with your hands, really pummelling the meat so that the spices and seasoning get well mixed in. Using wet hands, form the meat into 24 balls just a little bigger than a walnut.
• As you form these, put them on to a baking sheet or a tray. Cover them and put in the fridge for 45 mins or so to firm up.
• For the sauce, put the cherries and the pomegranate juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Take the pan off the heat and leave the cherries to sit in the warm liquid and plump up for 40 mins or so.
• Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs in batches (they will give off lots of oil when frying). Transfer to a plate as each lot are browned. Remember you aren't cooking these through, just browning them. Gently fry the onion in 1 tbsp oil in a large shallow casserole or deep frying pan until pale gold. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of mins, then add the wine, stock, pomegranate molasses, cinnamon and bay. Add the cherries, too - they should have absorbed nearly all of the pomegranate juice.
• Put the meatballs back in the pan. Bring the sauce to just under boiling, then turn the heat down low, season well, cover the pan and cook for 15 mins. Take the lid off and cook for another 15 mins. You should have a nice sauce around the meatballs, but if it seems too thin, remove the meatballs and reduce the sauce by boiling it, then put the meatballs back in.
• Taste for seasoning - you should consider the sweetness as well as the saltiness - and adjust it if you need to (you could add a teaspoon of honey, or a little more pomegranate molasses). Scatter with the herbs, pistachios and pomegranate seeds to finish.

LAMB CHOPS WITH DRIED CHERRIES AND PORT

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. Add lamb to skillet; cook to desired doneness, turning often, about 10 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer lamb to plate. Pour off drippings from skillet. Add shallots to same skillet; sauté 1 minute. Add Port, broth, cherries, jam, vinegar, and cardamom; boil until cherries plump and liquid is syrupy, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over lamb. Sprinkle with mint.