Oswald Rivera

Author, Warrior, and Teacher

Category: lamb and goat (page 5 of 5)

Braised Lamb Shanks

April 1, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In the Rivera clan we love lamb, especially lamb shanks. Usually we cook them Caribbean style (Muslo Cornero a la Caribe)—as noted in my cookbook, Puerto Rican Cuisine in America. The shanks are dusted with flour, then browned, and finally slow cooked in a tomato-based sauce with lots of herbs. But we also love Braised Lamb Shanks, which are baked in a casserole or Dutch oven. It has a  different flavor than the tomato-based kind since the sauce includes red wine along with the usual herbs.

This recipe is easy to prepare. All you need is patience. It’s great for that special dinner for that special someone. Or just, just for the hell of it, giving the family a treat from the usual weekday supper. In my family we serve this dish with yellow rice with pigeon peas (Arroz con Gandules—this recipe is also in my cookbook). Add a loaf of crusty bread, and a good red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, etc., or whatever you desire, even beer if you don’t want wine. There are no set rules when it comes to one’s palette). 

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

6 lamb shanks (about 3 1/2 pounds)
Flour for dredging (about 1/2 cup)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme (or a pinch dried)
1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped (or a pinch dried)
3/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup beef bouillon
Fresh parsley for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Wash lamb shanks under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
3. On a plate, combine flour, salt, pepper, oregano and paprika. Dredge lamb shanks with the seasoned flour.
4. Heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat in an oven-proof casserole or Dutch oven (I prefer a large cast-iron pot or pan). Sauté the meat until browned on all sides. Remove to a plate and set aside.
5. Add the onion, garlic, thyme and rosemary to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5 minutes. Return the lamb shanks to the pot, and add the wine and beef bouillon. Cover, place in the oven and bake 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender.
6. Remove the meat from the pot. Whisk together 2 tablespoons flour with 1/3 cup water and add to the juices in the pot. Cook, stirring constantly over medium-high heat until the gravy thickens and comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 2-3 minutes more.
7. Serve the shanks with the gravy poured over the meat and garnish with fresh parsley.
    Yield: 6 servings.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Hunan Cooking: Lamb

November 21, 2013 / / 0 Comments

In the last few years, Szechuan-style Chinese cooking has caught on on both coasts. To many of us, after years of eating bland Cantonese-style food, Szechuan cooking was a revelation. It has a spicy, hot component because of its use of chili peppers. It should be noted that, initially, chili peppers were not used in Chinese cooking. They had their own milder variety, farago, also called Chinese pepper or Szechuan pepper. Then, when Portuguese and Spanish traders introduced chilies to the region in the 16th century, the cooking became even more peppery. Hunan cooking is part of this culinary tradition; but it is less well known than its Szechuan cousin. It is often lumped with Yunnan in the south as representative of China’s western regional style of cooking. But there are differences. Not only does it feature the subtle uses of hot spices within the food, it also engages hot and sour and sweet and sour flavor combinations.

Like its neighbors, Hunan does employ stewing and stir-frying techniques along with simmering and steaming. But Hunan cooks are fortunate that they have more ingredients and materials to work with and thus can do more and be more innovative with the ingredients prior to cooking. For example, a classic dish such as orange beef not only contains dried orange peel, but the beef is marinated overnight, washed, and marinated again in egg white, wine, and pepper, then cooked twice in a wok with fresh chili, ginger and orange peel. Another classic dish, General Tso’s chicken, has the chicken marinated in a mix of egg, salt, and pepper, and uses a sauce prior to cooking that has garlic, sugar, rice vinegar, rice wine, chili peppers, and scallions. Hunam lamb is not so outlandish or complicated, but it does have that exquisite Hunan taste. Serve with boiled rice.

HUNAN LAMB

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
4 small dried hot chili peppers, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh shredded ginger
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 stalks scallion, washed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 pound boneless lamb meat, sliced into thin strips (can use boneless lamb leg, lamb shoulder, or stew
   meat)
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. In a medium bowl whisk together the soy sauce, wine, cornstarch, vinegar, sugar, and water. Reserve
2. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add the chili peppers, ginger, garlic, and scallion, and stir-fry for about half a minute.
3. Add the lamb and stir-fry until the lamb is no longer pink. Add the sauce mixture and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened (1 to 2 minutes). Stir in the sesame oil, remove from heat, and serve.
    Yield: 4 servings.

Photo: courtesy of JING JING – Szechuan & Hunan Gourmet

Enhanced by Zemanta

Easter Lamb

March 28, 2013 / / 0 Comments

In the Rivera family, we always had lamb for Easter. And this was enshrine in a post I did back in April 2011, where I posted the recipe for my mother’s famous roasted leg of lamb (Pata de Cornero al Horno). I could reprise that recipe again for this coming Easter but then I thought, why not try something new with lamb? Delicious as it is, does it always have to be a whole leg of lamb? Also, if you haven’t noticed, a leg of lamb is an expensive proposition these days. Here, on the East Coast, it can run you up to $75-80. I know, it’s for a special occasion, but still? That doesn’t mean you still can’t have lamb for Easter. In fact, you can do very well with say, for instance, lamb shanks.

I love lamb shanks. That’s what I’m cooking for my beloved group of pagans and Christians this Easter Sunday. (For the record, I include myself in the former group). Back in the old days, one recipe we revered in our family was Caribbean style lamb shanks. Where Italian cuisine would tout its Osso Buco, or braised veal shanks, we celebrated our Muslo Cornero a la Caribe. It wasn’t veal, but the taste and flavor transported us to heaven.

The recipe given is from my first cookbook, Puerto Rican Cuisine in America (Perseus Books Group). Unlike the traditional method of cooking shanks, we do not dust them with flour and then brown them in oil. We differ in that we trim the shanks of fat, then brown them, and finally simmer in slow cooking until done.

MUSLO CORNERO A LA CARIBE
(Lamb Shanks Caribbean Style)

4 lamb Shanks (about 3 1/2 pounds)
Juice of 1 whole lemon
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
1 packet Sason Goya (with coriander and annatto—found in most stores or Caribbean markets)
2 bay leaves

1. Rinse lamb shanks and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Trim excess fat from shanks.
3. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat olive oil in a heavy kettle or Dutch oven. Add  lamb shanks and brown evenly on low-moderate heat.
5. Add tomatoes with their liquid, onion, garlic, oregano, cilantro, sason, and bay leaves.
6. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Serve with rice pilaf, or yellow rice and pigeon peas.
    Yield: 4 servings.

Photo: courtesy of etsy.com

 

   

Enhanced by Zemanta

Buran – Eggplant/Lamb Recipe from the 13th century Arab World

March 7, 2011 / / 0 Comments

In these perilous times, in this part of the world, what we hear about Islam and Muslims in general is rather negative. And yes, it’s understandable, given the wars we are in. But does anyone realize that, at one time, the tables were turned and while Europe was in the throes of its dark ages, the Islamic world was at the height in terms of science, culture, and government? Not only that, while Medieval western man was dining on rancid meat, in the Arab world, they were dining on savories cooked with spices from China and India and exotic fruit from Central Asia. In the West they subsisted on salted pork, roots plants and fermented ale, if they were lucky. In the Arab world they were using rosewater in their cooking and enjoying truffles from the Arabian Desert.

One of the earliest cookbooks comes from this period. It dates from the 13th century, and its author is a famed gourmet of the time, al-Baghdadi (his whole name is Muhammad ibn al-Hassan Ibn Muhahad ibn al-Karim al-Katib al-Baghdadi). His recipes reflect the times: they are full of spices from the East and are replete with frying, mincing, boiling, staining and stewing, usually all in one pot. Al-Baghdadi’s masterworks are lamb recipes. He cooks lamb with rice, with chickpeas, even with noodles. But the recipe given, Buran (my favorite) is simply lamb kabobs  served with friend and mashed eggplant.

So, tonight, imagine you’re in the court of the Caliphs, you’re the prince or princess of Persia and you’re dining on Buran, a gastronomic Arab delight.

BURAN

1 medium eggplant, about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices
1 pound ground lamb
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Cook the eggplant in boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and let stand at least 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, use wet and oily hands to shape the lamb into small meatballs (about 20 to 30 kabobs). Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet and fry the meatballs over medium-high heat until well browned (about 10 minutes). Cover with water, bring heat to low and simmer until most of the water has evaporated and only some of the oil is left. Set aside and reserve.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet (or use the same skillet from before), and fry the eggplant over medium heat until golden on both sides. The frying may be done in several batches with more oil being added as needed. Place the eggplant in a bowl and mash with a ladle or large spoon. Add salt, coriander, yogurt, garlic, and mix well.
4. Transfer the eggplant to a serving dish, arrange the meatballs on top, sprinkle with cumin and cinnamon, and serve.
    Yield: 4 servings.

Newer posts

Menu

© 2025 Oswald Rivera

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑