Spoon Lamb
Submitted by Michelle Maggs, from Antoine Bourterin
This is one of our favorite Sunday night winter dinners. It’s a great one-pot dish that we serve with mashed potatoes. Don’t be deterred by the time required, most of that is oven cooking, not prep.
Ingredients
1/2 lb. of dried navy beans
3 oz. of dried porcini mushrooms
2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
1 boned lamb shoulder, well trimmed of fat and tied in 3 places
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
4 tbsp. of flour
2 cups of dry white wine
2 carrots, cut into sticks
3 medium zucchini cut into sticks
3 leeks, chopped
1 white turnip, peeled and diced
1 bouquet garni
1 tbsp. of crushed black peppercorn
3 whole cloves
5 cups of lamb or beef broth
Salt to taste
Makes 6 servings
Directions
Place beans in a bowl, cover with water to a depth of 2 inches and set aside to soak at least 4 hours
Place mushrooms in a bowl, cover with warm water, and set aside to soak at least 1 hour
Health oil in a heavy 7-8 qt. casserole dish
Add the lam, and brown it on all sides
Remove from casserole and remove the string
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
Add onion and garlic to the casserole and cook over medium heat until soft and starting to brown
Blend the tomato paste and flour together and add them to casserole
Cook, stirring every few minutes, then stir in the wine
Add the remaining ingredients
Drain beans and mushrooms, and add them in
Bring to simmer
Return lamb to casserole, cover and place in oven and cook for 7 hours
Serve directly from the casserole, or transfer to a serving dish and serve with tablespoons
The lamb is so soft it can be pulled apart with a spoon
Serve with mashed potatoes or couscous