Easter Lamb Dinner

Today I made a leg of lamb dinner for Easter. I am practicing for an upcoming competition where I have to make an entree featuring leg of lamb, two vegetables, a sauce, a starch, and a garnish (minimum). I am given a limited list of ingredients to work with, which include fresh produce, dairy, herbs, spices, and dry goods. Here is what I came up with yesterday:

• Spice-Crusted Roasted Leg of Lamb (self-butchered)
• Blueberry Red Wine Sauce (sauce)
• Herbed Pommes Duchesse (starch)
• Butter Poached Carrot Curls (vegetable)
• Creamed Asparagus (mystery vegetable)
• Crispy Shallots (Garnish) 

It all turned out quite well and didn't take me too long to do - once I got the lamb meat off the bone. I didn't use recipes for any of it, just techniques I have learned and flavors I know work well together. 

Irish Lamb Stew

There is nothing more satisfying than a hearty, nutritious stew on a cold day. Beef stew is good, but lamb adds a little something special and different. This is an easy stew to make and quite forgiving. If you have a homemade beef or even lamb stock on hand, be sure to use that. The sweet potatoes help to flavor and thicken the stew, but you can add more stock for a thinner stew. I served this stew in bread bowls, and it is pictured below in one of them, surrounded by the delicious, hollowed-out bread pieces. 

Irish Lamb Stew
6 center loin lamb chops, cut into small cubes
all-purpose (plain) flour
2 Tablespoons oil
3 medium carrots, in rondelles
2 medium onions, medium dice
1 large sweet potato, large dice
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
garlic powder and dried rosemary, to taste
lamb stock, beef stock, or water plus beef bouillon seasoning, brought to a boil
1 can peas

Dredge the lamb in the flour. Heat the oil in a large pot, then sear the lamb until browned well on both sides. Stir in the carrots, onion, and sweet potato until well coated in oil. Allow to sweat, without browning, for a few minutes. 
Stir in the spices, then pour the hot stock over top, enough to fully cover the contents of the pot. Bring to a boil.
Simmer for approximately 1 1/2 hours until stew is well thickened. Stir in the peas.

Lamb Stew

This is a really new recipe my parents decided to try to surprise me, based on something they saw on television (and surprisingly not on a cooking show). We rarely eat lamb, and this stew contained some other unique flavors as well. However, there is a special component to this dish. Of course the stew could just be made as is, but the real interesting technique will be shared tomorrow, which makes this a complete dish. 

Lamb Stew
1 1/2 pounds lamb pieces, cut into one inch cubes
salt and pepper to season
1/2 slab bacon or turkey or chicken bacon, sliced in small pieces 
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, with liquid
4 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
3-5 medium white potatoes, cut in one inch cubes
2 carrots, sliced
1 large onion, roughly diced
2 stalks celery, chopped (optional)
1 cup small olives (optional)
1 1/2 cups red wine

The day before serving:
Season lamb with salt and pepper and combine with the bacon. In a separate bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, potatoes, carrots, and onion, and celery and olives if using.
Create three layers in a 5.5 quart (approximately) Dutch oven or large pot - a third of the meat, followed by a third of the vegetables, and repeat. Pour the wine over top, as well as any other spices you would like to add, depending on your personal tastes (cayenne pepper, fennel, cinnamon, coriander, bay leaf, basil, rosemary, mint, etc.). Cover and refrigerate overnight.

About 3 1/2 hours before serving:
Preheat oven to 400◦F. Bake stew, covered for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 275◦F and bake for an additional 2 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes before serving (unless you are in a hurry). 

Just a few hints and tips on this dish: we found this dish incredibly salty. It is the combination of seasoning the lamb, the salty bacon, and the canned tomatoes. I would recommend using much less bacon and more lamb, using fresh tomatoes or a can for extra liquid with no salt added, only seasoning the meat with pepper, or a combination of these steps. Adding more potatoes would also bulk the dish up and absorb some of the salt. There can be plenty of flavor coming from a variety of your favorite spices. The wine adds an interesting depth of flavor, but I am no wine expert, so I cannot advise you on what type of red wine is best. This is definitely a stew, not a soup, so be sure to keep the vegetables and meat chunky.