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SPRING LAMB STEW WITH GREMOULADA
Braised dishes like this succulent lamb stew are economical and healthful. They stretch a small quantity of meat with a full-bodied sauce and a generous quantity of colorful vegetables. Gremoulada, a simple mixture of parsley, lemon zest and garlic, sprinkled over the hot stew just before serving gives off a heady fragrance. A pressure cooker makes this kind of dish practical, even on a weeknight, because it cuts cooking time to just over half an hour. The pressure cooker also does an amazing job of tenderizing less-tender cuts of meat, while keeping them moist and juicy. You can certainly cook this dish conventionally if you prefer; see Tip below.
Yield: 6 (1-cup) servings.
INGREDIENTS
Stew:
1 ½ pounds lamb stew meat (1 ½-inch chunks), trimmed, patted dry
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
6 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 medium-large onion, chopped (1 ½ cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon herbes de Provence or dried thyme leaves
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 medium purple top turnips (10 ounces), peeled and cut into ¾-inch wedges (2 cups)
2 large carrots (10 ounces), peeled and cut into 2x1/2-inch sticks (2 cups)
1 cup frozen green peas
Gemoulada:
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 small clove garlic, minced
1. To make stew: Pat lamb dry (see Tip below) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large skillet (cast-iron works well) over medium-high heat. Add half of the lamb; cook, turning from time to time, until well browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add another 2 teaspoons oil to the skillet and brown the remaining lamb. Transfer to the plate. Pour wine into skillet; cook, stirring to scrape up any browned bits, until reduce by half, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in 6-quart/liter pressure cooker over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and herbes de Provence (or thyme); cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring, for a few seconds.
3. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and reduced wine to pressure cooker; bring to a simmer, stirring often. Add browned lamb (and any accumulated juices) and bay leaf. Lock pressure cooker lid in place and bring to high pressure over high heat. When cooker reaches high pressure, reduce heat to low or lowest setting that maintains high pressure (if using an electric cook top, switch to a burner set at low). Cook 35 minutes. Let pressure release naturally. It should take about 5 minutes. Check consistency of the lamb. If it is not as tender as you would like, bring pressure cooker to high pressure and cook a few more minutes before letting pressure release naturally again. Remove bay leaf.
4. Meanwhile, steam vegetables separately: Place turnips in steamer basket over boiling water; cover and steam 10 minutes. Add carrots to steamer basket; cover and steam until turnips and carrots are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add peas; cover and steam until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make gremoulada: Mix parsley, lemon zest and garlic in small bowl; toss with a fork or your fingertips to mix well.
6. To serve, stir vegetables into lamb mixture. Spoon lamb stew onto individual plates and sprinkle gremoulada over each one.
Per (1-cup) serving: Calories: 370. Total fat: 13 grams. Saturated fat: 3.5 grams. Cholesterol: 100 milligrams. Sodium: 420 milligrams. Carbohydrate: 21 grams: Fiber: 5 grams. Protein: 36 grams.
PREPARATION
Tip: To cook stew conventionally, brown lamb in a Dutch oven as directed in Step 1; set aside. Cook onions, garlic, herbes de Provence and flour in Dutch oven as directed in Step 2. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and reduced wine; bring to a simmer, stirring often. Add the browned lamb to the Dutch oven, along with bay leaf. Cover and simmer gently until lamb is tender, about 1 ½ hours. Steam turnip, carrots and peas separately as directed in recipe, then add to the Dutch oven.
Tip: Beautifully browned meat looks good, and tastes good as well. The extra flavor you get from browning meat is due to what scientists call the Maillard Reaction. This phenomenon, named after the French chemist who discovered it, occurs when proteins and sugars (meat does contain some sugars) are exposed to heat. A complex chemical reaction takes place, during which hundreds of different flavor compounds form and the color of the food darkens. To achieve a Maillard Reaction in meat, you need to use a dry heat cooking method, such as searing, sautéing, grilling broiling or high-heat roasting. This browning reaction doesn’t start until temperatures reach about 230ºF. If you introduce water, which has a maximum temperature of at 212ºF. (boiling point at sea level), you moderate the cooking temperature and inhibit the Maillard Reaction. When you are browning meat, always remember to pat it dry with paper towels before cooking to prevent it from steaming.
For tips on using a pressure cooker, click here
