STRUFOLLI

A small strufolli Christmas wreath I made for our small family.

I should have used a Christmas Plate!!

LAMB ROASTED WITH ORANGES AND MINT

            As I was checking out the wares at a new meat market, I ran into this small (1¼ lb!) butterflied leg of lamb. Clearly just a portion of a leg, or this was a very miniature animal :) However, I liked the size, as it fits into the cooking for 1-or-2 category quite nicely.

fat side

All we have to do is roll up some good stuff inside, grill the outside and roast for a short time and we will have a tasty and elegant dish. Choosing the wine should be fun too!

            Unfortunately, it is winter here on the Niagara Frontier, so I won't be using my outside grill, where we could accomplish the entire task. I'll have to save that for a summertime reprise. A leg of lamb always has a good coating of fat on its outside. We'll want to trim that down a bit for inside grilling, to minimize smoke and flare. You should probably leave all of it on for outside grilling. Using a meat hammer to pound and flatten it a little will help in stuffing and rolling. I usually like to marinate my lamb, so we'll have to do this at least the night before (longer if you can). After grilling, roast it draped in thin slices of an orange and fresh mint leaves.

Some fat trimmed off

Pounded & ready to marinate

            Now for the wine! Located high in the foothills of Beaujolais is a small cru called Chiroubles. (See map.) 

Chiroubles at red dot

There is some unique and lovely wine produced here. The Gravallon-Lathuilière estate has created a wonderful example in their 2009 Chiroubles. A more serious wine with a complex set of overtones that can be drunk now or cellared for a while. The flavor still has a brightness to it and a gorgeous color, I think it will make a lovely pairing with the lamb.

Marinade:

1 cup Onion, rough chopped

1 Tbs. chopped Garlic

Salt and Pepper

several dashes on Worcestershire Sauce

juice of one Lemon

everyday Olive Oil

            Trim some of the thicker pieces of fat off the lamb and then pound it out to an even thickness and shape, as much as possible. Place, fat side down, in a container just large enough to hold it. Sprinkle the top with salt and coarsely ground pepper. Sprinkle on Worcestershire Sauce and the juice of a lemon. Cover with the chopped onion and garlic. Pour on olive oil to just cover. Put the lid on and refrigerate at least overnight, the longer the better.

Placed in marinate

Filling:

1 cup Bread Crumbs

1 Egg

2 Tbs. grated Romano Cheese

2 Tbs. Tomato Paste

freshly ground Pepper

1 Tbs. Olive Paste*

Mayonnaise*

thin slices of Fontina Cheese

            * If you have not yet acquired a taste for Olive Paste, then replace both the Olive Paste and the Mayonnaise with Greek Yogurt. A tasty substitution.

Filling, ready to be mixed

Roasting:

small Leg of Lamb, prepared as above

1 Orange

1 Onion

several sprigs of fresh Mint

about ½ cup of liquid (water is fine)

An oven thermometer

Method:

1          Remove Lamb-in-Marinade from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for a while. Meanwhile, mix all filling ingredients, except for the Fontina Cheese and Mayo. I used a mini food-processor attachment for my hand blender for this task. Stir in enough Mayo to make a spreadable paste.

2          Remove Lamb from Marinade and brush off loose onions, etc. Do not dry off. Place fat side down on a work surface. Season with salt and pepper, then spread filling evenly over the Lamb. Place some slices of Fontina Cheese over filling at intervals. 

            

            I used a lovely Fontina from Valle d'Aosta. Roll the Lamb and tie carefully. Program your oven to BROIL. Place Lamb on a broiler pan and then into the preheated oven under the broiler. I recommend you keep it on a rack lower than you would normally use to broil meat because the fat will want to splatter. (See picture.)

Ready for broiler

Broiling not-too-close

3          Broil for about 8 minutes, roll over and broil 8 minutes longer on the other side. 

            The roast should be nicely colored. 

            Remove from oven and reprogram to BAKE at 325F.

4          Chop the Onion and scatter over the bottom of a shallow ovenproof pan. Carefully place roast on the bed of Onions. Insert the oven thermometer into the roast to its center. Strew the fresh mint over the roast and then drape the thinly-sliced Orange over the mint. Add about ½ cup of liquid to the pan. 

Just before tenting

            Tent a small piece of foil over the roast and place in the 325F oven for about 50 minutes. Remove foil after about 25 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on the thermometer! Ovens vary and Lamb legs come in different sizes. Your roast is done when it reaches 130-135F, no more! Remove from oven and tightly cover with the tenting foil. Let rest for about 15 minutes. The internal temp will increase a couple of degrees.

5          Slice and serve with a not-too-rich side. I used brown rice to which I added some fresh green-bean pieces cooked with diced carrots. I also added some button mushrooms I had sautéed in butter and deglazed with Brandy. Then I folded in some grated Romano Cheese. This made a nice, understated accompaniment to the Lamb! The Orange and Mint only adds a hint of flavor to the outside of the roast which, of course, is present in each slice.

6          The pairing with Chiroubles was brilliant: wine and food complementing each other magnificently!   -Love, Dave

Braised Veal "Teri"

                This dish is dedicated to my niece Teri who is a wonderful cook and really knows her wines. Golly, what a combination! The wine to be featured with this veal is a Petit Arvine from the Valle d'Aosta DOP, which if you notice on the map, is in Piedmont only a couple of miles from Switzerland. Petite Arvine is the name of the indigenous white grape and the wine is 100% that variety. the 2009 vintage is a well balanced and medium bodied wine that is both soft and strong. A delicious wine that I have been enjoying for several months now. (OMG I'm almost out: only 4 more bottles after this one!) A perfect accompaniment to fish or veal.

           

    What we're going to do is marinate the veal in a "damp rub" for several hours (or overnight). We'll sauté ingredients in separate batches to allow each to develop its own character. First, shallots, carrots and celery together, then brown the veal, then brown the potatoes, then sauté the mushrooms, then deglaze the pan with wine, then cook a few small tomatoes until they are totally broken down. At this point we assemble the braising combination: stock, our sautéed vegetables, on top of them the potatoes, on top of them the veal. Add a fresh herb (I used rosemary) and braise slowly for 1½ hours adding some green beans and the mushrooms after an hour. This is a little spicy but not super hot. If you prefer no heat then skip the cayenne in the rub, or replace it with black pepper. I'm sure this could be finished in a 325 F oven if you need the stovetop.

Main Ingredients 

Ingredients:

        "Damp Rub"

                ¼ tsp each of salt, cinnamon, allspice; ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper, and the juice of half a lemon.

               

        2      Veal Chops

        1      small Carrot, fine dice

        1      small Celery stalk, fine dice

        1      Shallot, fine dice

        6      small Mushrooms, quartered

        1      clove Garlic, split

        3      Tbs. Olive Oil

        1      Tbs. Butter

                Dusting Flour

        2      medium Potatoes, peeled and sliced ½" thick

        2      small Tomatoes, skinned and chopped very small

Ingredients Prepped

        3      sprigs fresh Rosemary

        ½     cup White Wine

        1      cup Chicken stock

        about 10 Green Beans, halved

        salt & pepper

For Sauce:

        2 Tbs. Butter

        2 Tbs. Flour

        

Method:

     The night before: Mix dry rub ingredients, then add lemon juice to make a paste. Spread on both sides of veal and refrigerate.

1       In a casserole, sauté diced Shallots, Carrots and Celery in 2 Tbs. Olive Oil until everything has a little color. Remove vegetables and reserve, returning oil to pan.

Saute vegetables

2      Blot the Veal with a paper towel, then dust with flour. Brown on both sides until golden. Remove Veal and reserve.

Brown Veal

3      Add 1 Tbs. Butter and 1 Tbs. Oil to what is in the pan. Now add Potatoes and brown on both sides. Sprinkle on a little salt & pepper and toss around until coated. Remove Potatoes and reserve.

Brown Potatoes

4      Now add Mushrooms and sauté until golden. Remove Mushrooms and reserve.

Saute Mushrooms

5      Deglaze pan by adding the wine and reducing to half, scraping until everything is suspended in the liquid.

Deglaze pan

6      Now add the Tomatoes and sprinkle with a little salt, continuing to reduce until the Tomatoes have completely broken down.

add Tomatoes

Tomatoes broken down

7      Add about a cup of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Return vegetables (but not mushrooms), then place Potatoes in a single layer on top of them, and then place the Veal on the Potatoes. Add the garlic and cover the Veal with sprigs of Rosemary and a few grinds of pepper.

ready to simmer

8      Lower heat and place lid on pan. Let simmer for 1½ hours. After 1 hour, turn meat and sprinkle in the Mushrooms and Green Beans. After 20 minutes, remove lid and let finish uncovered. Throughout entire braising, be sure you have enough liquid to cover potatoes but not any more (we're not making soup). Add more stock (or water) if needed. However, it will probably not need any additional liquid.

Add Beans and Mushrooms

9      When finished, carefully plate Veal, Potatoes, Mushrooms and Beans. Place plate in a "keep warm" oven. Meanwhile, strain braising liquid. In a small saucepan, melt 2 Tbs. Butter and add 2 Tbs. flour and stir continuously, making a roux. Cook this for about 5 minutes, then beat in enough of the strained braising liquid to make a sauce. 

Make roux

finish sauce

Spoon sauce over veal and serve with a high quality white wine, such as Petite Arvine from Valle d'Aosta!!   Enjoy!   (Wine Glass chosen to honor Mickey's birthday next week - 11/18)

I guess we could work on the presentation!

Chicken Spezzatino Bolognese

These are actually two separate things. First there is the Chicken Spezzatino, which is a chicken stew. Then there is the Bolognese sauce, which is really Ragὺ alla Bolognese. The Chicken Spezzatino would stand on its own, or you could just add a little plain tomato sauce if you didn't want to go through the trouble of making the ragὺ. You can make the Bolognese sauce on an earlier day, but since these recipes share so many ingredients, I prepared the stew as the ragὺ was finishing. Because of this, you'll see some overlap in the pictures, but I'll try to keep the recipes straight.

WARNING: This is a deeply flavored dish. If you don't like Chicken Livers, don't add them. Bolognese Sauce can live with or without them. I used Chicken stock for both parts of the meal because I employed the giblets, back and wing-tips of the Chicken I utilized for the stew. If you use boxed stock, you might prefer beef stock for the Bolognese Sauce.

I can't say I made the meal to fit the wine this time, but when I was wandering in my cellar trying to choose the perfect wine for this ultra-rich stew, I came upon some bottles of the 2005 Shardana. I've been waiting to crack a bottle for quite some time. This is an intense Sardinian red, just coming into its own and will mature nicely over the next several years. I'll have to sample it every couple of years to see how it develops, if I'm given the honor of lasting that long (me, not the wine). This wine comes from the Southern tip of Sardegna (see map) and is made of 85% Carignan and 15% Syrah. The Carignan is an old indigenous grape and some of the vines are actually pre-phylloxera. The name Shardana is, in fact, what the Phoenicians called Sardegna.

Ingredients:

Ragὺ alla Bolognese

3 oz. diced Pancetta

1 stick Celery, small dice

1 Onion (2 oz.), small dice

1 Carrot, small dice

Many of the ingredients for both

4 Mushrooms. minced

1 clove Garlic, small dice

2 # Tomatoes (fresh & ripe or canned)

3 Tbs Tomato Paste

1 # ground Beef

4 oz. Chicken Livers

½ cup white wine

2 Tbs Flour

1 cup hot Chicken stock

½ tsp Thyme

Salt

Sugar*  - see method

Chicken Spezzatino Bolognese

1 medium (4-6 lbs) Chicken

dredging flour

1 oz. Pancetta in small strips

1 stick Celery in ½" chunks

1 Carrot in ½" chunks

5 Mushrooms, ¼" slices

1 medium-hot Pepper

1 small Fennel (Anise) bulb

¼ cup black oil-cured Olives, diced

12 small Onions, whole or

    1 sweet Onion chopped into big pieces

4 oz. pimentos

½ tsp Thyme

½ tsp Savory

1 Bay Leaf

½ cup white wine

1 cup hot Chicken stock

1 cup Ragὺ alla Bolognese

Method:

Here you'll have to be a little flexible if you don't do everything the same day. I'm going to describe how I put everything together.

1.         Cut the Chicken into eight serving pieces. I divided it into leg/thighs, wings (minus tips), and breasts (boneless and cut in half crosswise).

2.         For the stock, place the back, wing-tips and giblets in a pan and add some chopped onion, carrots and celery with ½ tsp Thyme and a Bay leaf. Add water to cover, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for a couple of hours. Strain and keep hot while you make everything else.

Preparing stock

Stock cooking, deskinning tomatoes

3.         Prep all the veggies, noting different sizes for sauce vs. stew. I had some fresh little onions, just harvested, so I used those. Use what you have. Put tomatoes in boiling water for a couple of minutes, remove skins, cut crosswise and squeeze out as much juice and seeds as possible. Chop the tomatoes very small. If you are using canned tomatoes, remove from liquid and chop small. Add liquid to stock or use it to keep dishes moist as they cook. Remove tough outer part of Fennel bulb and cut into several big chunks. My mushrooms were various sizes, so I minced the big ones for the sauce and quartered the small ones for the stew. Slice the hot pepper into narrow rings.

Prepped for the Spezzatino

Prepping for both

4.         Make the Ragὺ. Gently sauté minced onion, carrots and celery for about 2 minutes. Add the minced mushrooms and cook for about 2 more minutes. Add the diced pancetta and cook for another couple of minutes. 

adding pancetta

            Raise the heat and add the ground Beef and cook until it is browned. Then add the minced Garlic and stir in. Now add the wine and let this get fully absorbed into the meat, about 5 minutes. 

wine just added

            Stir in the Chicken Livers (if you are using them) and cook for about 3 more minutes. Add tomatoes, wait until they bubble. 

tomatoes added

            Then sprinkle one teaspoon salt over tomatoes, lower heat and let simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until tomatoes break down. After 20 minutes, taste (it will still be a bit uncivilized in flavor but you're just checking for salt). Add salt, if necessary, and if you used fresh tomatoes you will almost certainly have to add about 1 Tbs of Sugar*. 

tomatoes breaking down

            Now stir in Tomato Paste. Sprinkle 2 Tbs Flour over the sauce and stir in. Cook for a few minutes. Stir in the Thyme. Blend in one cup of the hot Chicken stock, and let simmer, partially covered, for at least 2 hours. 

ready to simmer

            Check about every half-hour and add a bit more stock if the sauce gets too thick.

5.         Make the Spezzatino. You can start this when the sauce is half done. Blot the Chicken pieces dry and dredge in Flour. Heat oil in a Fricassee pan, or other large pan with sides. Add Pancetta strips and sauté for about 5 minutes. 

            Then add chicken pieces and brown well on both sides. 

browning chicken

            Add the wine and cook until in almost all evaporates. 

adding wine

            Then add a cup of the hot Chicken stock. When everything starts to come together, add carrots, celery and mushrooms. 

            Cover and let cook for 5 minutes. Now add hot peppers, fennel, small onions and olives. Add seasonings, lower heat and simmer, covered for about an hour, adding a little more stock, if necessary. 

ready to simmer

ragu added

            After the hour, carefully turn over each piece of chicken, sprinkle on 4 oz. of Pimentos, then spread a little Ragu on each piece of Chicken, cover and let cook for another half-hour.

Spezzatino finished

6.         Final assembly. You can use rice, polenta or couscous to accompany the Spezzatino, as they all work well with Bolognese sauce. I chose to throw a handful of fresh spinach ravioli, I happened to have in the refrigerator, into the still simmering stock. After about 5 minutes they were ready to strain out and add to the plate with a few pieces of chicken. Then I spread some sauce around everything and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano over the Spezzatino. For a salad, I used one leaf of fresh local lettuce covered with slices of a fresh peach just bought at our farmer's market. I added a few pieces of Ricotta Salata and drizzled over a little homemade poppyseed dressing.

6.        

7.         Here is the meal, along with some good bread and, of course, that Shardana, which was everything I had imagined it would be: rich and flavor-explosive but also soft and absent any cloying after-taste that I detest in a red wine.

Enjoy!