Read Online Good Cook by Simon Hopkinson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Simon Hopkinson
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within is bubbling too fast—have a peek, occasionally.
Remove the pot and check to see if the lamb is tender—it should feel very tender when poked with a skewer—and that the vegetables, too, are well cooked through. If not, return to the oven for a further 20 minutes, or so. Now, lift out all the meat and vegetables from the pot and lay out on a large plate once more. Allow the broth to settle, then, once again (the last time, I promise), lift off any surface fat with more sheets of paper towels.
Melt the dripping or butter (unless you are using the fat from the braise; see page 117 ) in a small pan and stir in the flour. Cook gently together, stirring well, for 5 minutes or so, until the mixture (a roux) is golden brown. Whisk in a ladle or two of the broth to this, until smooth, then return it to the majority of broth in the pot, further whisking everything together until it is a smooth gravy. Add Worcestershire sauce, if using, to taste. Bring this to a simmer, carefully return the meat and vegetables to the pot, and reheat for at least 15 minutes. Check the seasoning before finally stirring in the parsley. Serve this complete meal piping hot.
breast of lamb baked with onions
serves 4
2¼ lb boned, rolled and tied lamb breast
salt and freshly ground white pepper
a little dripping or oil
2¼ lb onions, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp vinegar
2–3 tbsp anchovy essence, or to taste
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
The Rhône meets Ramsbottom! Well … that’s how I like to see the connection between a dish that Elizabeth David wrote about in
An Omelette and a Glass of Wine
, possibly my most favorite of all her books. In one chapter she describes a dish of beef and onions, ever so slowly braised in the ovens of barges, cooked by sailors on board, as these huge vessels chugged up and down the Rhône river. It brings to mind a romantic vision of an older France, together with the simple fact that strong, hard-working men need sustenance, but that it should be truly delicious sustenance and easy to cook in cramped, overheated conditions.
The basic premise is this: sliced beef, huge amounts of onions and no liquid. Cook for hours until done. In other words, great trays of this assembly are pushed into huge ovens and forgotten about. However, a magical thing happens when onions and meat are put together with added heat; they simply make their own gravy.
Once the beef is soft and tender, together with onions all slippery and golden, other flavors of the region are put into play, making the dish a work of genius. Chopped garlic and parsley (called “persillade” in the Midi), vinegar for piquancy, some chopped anchovy for salt and finally, of course, local fruity olive oil for essential lubrication. Just perfect for the sunny Rhône valley, but maybe not for rainy old Ramsbottom, the Lancashire mill town very near to where I grew up.
That which I wanted to achieve was to turn the dish into a simple, inexpensive and homespun meal using breast of lamb. The particular ingredient used to season the barge beef, anchovies, brought to mind awonderful bottle of pale brown British condiment, “anchovy essence.” I have always loved this. The brand Burgess used to be my favorite, but I can’t find it any more. So Geo Watkins it must be, for me; not as pink as Burgess, but it does the job. I felt that the garlic needed to go (you may disagree, and that’s fine), but bay leaves I have added. No olive oil either, just a little natural, seeping fat from the lamb (the beef for the sailors was lean, so needed the oil). The inclusion of vinegar is unchanged, except that I am tempted to suggest a good shake of Sarson’s, rather than “un gout de vinaigre du vin,” but that is entirely a matter for you, too. However, and finally, the parsley is unanimously essential to both.
Note: if you would like to prepare the leftover dish that follows from the lamb braise (see page 124 ), make sure you cook extra meat or feed
Remove the pot and check to see if the lamb is tender—it should feel very tender when poked with a skewer—and that the vegetables, too, are well cooked through. If not, return to the oven for a further 20 minutes, or so. Now, lift out all the meat and vegetables from the pot and lay out on a large plate once more. Allow the broth to settle, then, once again (the last time, I promise), lift off any surface fat with more sheets of paper towels.
Melt the dripping or butter (unless you are using the fat from the braise; see page 117 ) in a small pan and stir in the flour. Cook gently together, stirring well, for 5 minutes or so, until the mixture (a roux) is golden brown. Whisk in a ladle or two of the broth to this, until smooth, then return it to the majority of broth in the pot, further whisking everything together until it is a smooth gravy. Add Worcestershire sauce, if using, to taste. Bring this to a simmer, carefully return the meat and vegetables to the pot, and reheat for at least 15 minutes. Check the seasoning before finally stirring in the parsley. Serve this complete meal piping hot.
breast of lamb baked with onions
serves 4
2¼ lb boned, rolled and tied lamb breast
salt and freshly ground white pepper
a little dripping or oil
2¼ lb onions, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp vinegar
2–3 tbsp anchovy essence, or to taste
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
The Rhône meets Ramsbottom! Well … that’s how I like to see the connection between a dish that Elizabeth David wrote about in
An Omelette and a Glass of Wine
, possibly my most favorite of all her books. In one chapter she describes a dish of beef and onions, ever so slowly braised in the ovens of barges, cooked by sailors on board, as these huge vessels chugged up and down the Rhône river. It brings to mind a romantic vision of an older France, together with the simple fact that strong, hard-working men need sustenance, but that it should be truly delicious sustenance and easy to cook in cramped, overheated conditions.
The basic premise is this: sliced beef, huge amounts of onions and no liquid. Cook for hours until done. In other words, great trays of this assembly are pushed into huge ovens and forgotten about. However, a magical thing happens when onions and meat are put together with added heat; they simply make their own gravy.
Once the beef is soft and tender, together with onions all slippery and golden, other flavors of the region are put into play, making the dish a work of genius. Chopped garlic and parsley (called “persillade” in the Midi), vinegar for piquancy, some chopped anchovy for salt and finally, of course, local fruity olive oil for essential lubrication. Just perfect for the sunny Rhône valley, but maybe not for rainy old Ramsbottom, the Lancashire mill town very near to where I grew up.
That which I wanted to achieve was to turn the dish into a simple, inexpensive and homespun meal using breast of lamb. The particular ingredient used to season the barge beef, anchovies, brought to mind awonderful bottle of pale brown British condiment, “anchovy essence.” I have always loved this. The brand Burgess used to be my favorite, but I can’t find it any more. So Geo Watkins it must be, for me; not as pink as Burgess, but it does the job. I felt that the garlic needed to go (you may disagree, and that’s fine), but bay leaves I have added. No olive oil either, just a little natural, seeping fat from the lamb (the beef for the sailors was lean, so needed the oil). The inclusion of vinegar is unchanged, except that I am tempted to suggest a good shake of Sarson’s, rather than “un gout de vinaigre du vin,” but that is entirely a matter for you, too. However, and finally, the parsley is unanimously essential to both.
Note: if you would like to prepare the leftover dish that follows from the lamb braise (see page 124 ), make sure you cook extra meat or feed
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