‘When in the daisied vales you
danced quadrilles,
Cropped the salt pastures, gamboled
on the hills,
Butchers unheeded.”
— Raoul Ponchon, "The Gigot"
These are a few lines from a very long poem celebrating that most admirable culinary critter, lamb, still mystifyingly under-appreciated in our culture. No Moslems, Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Jews, nor Seventh Day Adventists object to lamb on a religious basis and it has, so far as I know, no prejudices against it whatsoever. Indeed it is generally regarded as a symbol of purity.
Sheep can be raised on land too poor for any other purpose and can be fattened out for market on nothing more than mother’s milk and grass. Yet this tender, trouble-free dande? lion feeder is the least favorite viand of Middle Americans. Until fairly recently most lamb sold in this country was in ethnic markets — most particularly in Greek and Middle-Eastern neighborhoods.
I had hoped, now that our country is reveling in an explosion of culinary sophistication, we might see a lot more lamb a lot cheaper as its popularity increases. Still, although the lamb, like any other animal, has other parts besides the leg and chop, they’re seldom seen in supermarkets. (I have an intriguing recipe I’ve never been able to try because it calls for sheep feet.)
Lamb kidneys are delicious little morsels, very delicate in flavor — excellent with a baked potato. Shoulder of lamb, when you can find it, makes a succulent and inexpensive Sunday joint. Shoulder chops are good eating though more troublesome to get at without a sharp steak knife. Shanks are another cheap cut good to braise in a casserole with white beans, but they’re rarely available. Breast of lamb is highly regarded by French cooks and when you can find it, sold at give-away prices in American stores.
All this lamb talk is because we are smack-dab in the middle of “spring lamb season,” which is largely myth nowadays because lambs are born all year round in different parts of the country. Within the meat industry it is now generally accepted that the lamb season starts in May and runs through the following April with the “milk-fed, grass-finished” season from April through October, and the “grass-fed, grain-finished” season from November through March, with lots of overlap at each season’s end.
It heartens me to see that there is often a particularly fine display of lamb at the IGA in Bridgehampton and you can even get fancy racks of lamb there as well as having the butcher custom cut the empress of lamb roasts, the saddle, for a special occasion.
Rack Of Lamb With Green Peppercorns
The rack of lamb has only seven ribs, but you can get it with an extra loin chop attached to make eight if you wish. One rack is sufficient for only two people as the medallions of meat are quite small in the rib section of a lamb. Serves two.
1 rack of lamb (7 or 8 ribs)
Coarse salt
Freshly milled pepper
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
4 tsp. drained soft green peppercorns
1/4 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Trim the fat from between the bones and scrape them clean with a small knife (this is called “Frenching”). Trim all the excess fat from the meat, leaving only a very thin layer on top. Salt and pepper the roast. Mix the mustard with the green peppercorns and smear this paste over the top and ends of the meat. Put the roast in a shallow pan, bones down, and roast for ten minutes.
Pat the breadcrumbs all over the top side of the rack, drizzle it with oil, and return it to the oven which has been reduced in temperature to 400 degrees. Roast 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees. Remove, cover loosely with a foil tent, and let rest for 15 minutes.
To serve, slice the chops between the bones. Thin, homemade potato chips are excellent with this or you can possibly get away with serving fresh packaged chips (Cape Cod are my choice) slightly heated in the oven. Young, fresh green beans briefly cooked and buttered make an uncomplicated and delicious complement to the rack of lamb.
Lamb Pastitsio
This is a Greek dish that makes thrifty use of a little lamb combined deliciously with macaroni baked in a custard sauce. This dish can be prepared a day or two ahead of time and refrigerated, but be sure to return it to room temperature before baking. Serves four.
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. lean ground lamb
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. fresh minced parsley
2 Tbsp. fresh minced marjoram or 1 tsp. dried
Pinch of cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb. small elbow macaroni
2 Tbsp. pignoli (pine) nuts
2 Tbsp. pignoli (pine) nuts
Custard Sauce:
4 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan
Grating of nutmeg
1 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese
Sprinkling of fresh grated nutmeg
Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet and saute the onion and garlic until tender. Add lamb and stir until barely cooked. Drain off fat. Blend in the tomato sauce, parsley, marjoram, and cinnamon, and season with salt and pepper to taste — don't be timid with the pepper. Reserve.
Boil the macaroni until tender, drain, rinse with cold water, and drain well. Toast the pine nuts in a skillet and mix with the macaroni. Reserve.
Make the custard sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook gently over low heat then whisk in the milk and cook until smooth and thickened. Beat in the eggs, Parmesan, and nutmeg.
Butter an eight-by-eight-inch square pan or a souffle dish if you prefer (in traditional Greek home cooking this is served cut in squares) and turn the meat mixture into it. Cover with the macaroni, then pour the custard sauce over all. Top with the grated Gruyere and a tiny bit of grated nutmeg.
This is a good make-ahead dish as you can at this point cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until an hour before baking it. Furthermore, it’s a good dish for a crowd and the recipe is easily multiplied.
Preheat the oven to 375 F. and bake on the center rack until the custard is firm and the top browned, about 50 minutes to an hour. Cool slightly to settle, and cut into squares or spoon out of the casserole onto hot plates. Your meat, carbs, and sauce are all in the pastitsio so all that’s needed is a big salad. This could also be one of many dishes, cut in smaller portions, for a buffet.
