So, last week I had about a pound of leftover leg of lamb. Cooked leg of lamb. My imagination failed me – I couldn’t come up with anything very innovative, nor did I really come up with anything ELSE to do with this except Shepherd’s Pie. Now, I love the stuff, but as I sat there in my kitchen typing up this post, although the A/C was set at 75, I was sweating because I’d been working in front of the oven, and stirring over the hot stove. Not a happy camper did this make. But, it had to be done. A quick dip in the pool was in order that evening. Our outside temp is in the mid 80’s most days. Somehow, Shepherd’s Pie just didn’t fit the mold for a summer dinner on the patio. But oh well. That’s what I had! And that’s what I made.

I have a fantastic Shepherd’s Pie with Latin Twist that I posted – oh, probably last year – that has a southwest flair to it and uses mashed sweet potatoes and regular potatoes on the top. It’s a spicy hot mixture. But the leg of lamb leftovers didn’t suit me for that recipe, so I went online and found one at Epicurious. Other testers had made some comments, so I took those into consideration as I chopped and minced, stirred, and thickened the mixture. My version is a very loose adaptation of that recipe.

My understanding is that Shepherd’s Pie was one of those things British home cooks did with the leftover Sunday roast and the leftover Sunday mashers. And likely the leftover gravy as well. At least that’s the way I’ve made it many times in the past. But I didn’t have anything except the leftover lamb, so needed to improvise with all the other ingredients. I don’t like turnips. I didn’t have leeks. So, I used what I had on hand (onions, carrots, celery, the lamb and potatoes). I totally forgot to add the frozen peas. But then, I’m not all that crazy about overcooked peas; and that’s why sometimes I sprinkle the just refreshed frozen peas to the TOP of the dish after it’s come out of the oven. That way you still have bright green peas. They’re kind of a mandatory ingredient in my book.

This made enough for one deep dish pie plate and two single crocks full of it for the freezer. If you have he-men eating, maybe this won’t serve 8, but if you round out a meal with a salad perhaps, this would certainly serve that many normal servings. Verdict: really, really good. The sauce was finger-lickin’ good with the use of red wine and some of the chicken broth concentrate (the paste stuff I buy at Penzey’s).
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At Costco the other day I purchased a small boneless Australian leg of lamb. I don’t buy them very often because even the small ones are simply too much meat for us to use. And I like to prepare them whole – not cut it in half with freezing part of it (because I think the frozen pieces never are as good as the freshly prepared ones). So I have to be creative in using the leftovers. And we generally invite somebody over for dinner when we fix it. Our son, his wife, and our young year-old grandson joined us this time. I wasn’t motivated enough to make a salsa or sauce this time, but opted to serve it simply, as is. But I did serve it with the watermelon tomato salad, the BBQ macaroni (pasta) salad, and some grilled pineapple (see below).

First I brined it. The experts say red meat (beef and lamb) doesn’t require brining, but I thought it would be a good thing to help retain moisture. I used a spicy herb brine mix that I buy from Whole Foods. As a side note, I use a whole lot less of the salt mixture than the jar indicates (if I used their proportions I’d use up the mixture in about 3 brinings. And if you’re not sure how salty to make it, add some salt to whatever quantity of water you think you need to cover the meat, then TASTE IT. If it’s mildly salty, that’s perfect. Very salty – add more water. You want it to be pleasantly salty. If you can’t really taste the salt, add a bit more.) I’m very sensitive to salt, so I prefer a mildly salt brine, but it’s completely up to your palate.

I let it marinate (turning it several times) for about 4-5 hours, drained it, then Dave threaded it onto the rotisserie probe. The roast was covered in one of those elastic mesh thingies – that held firm all through the grilling process. Because the brine was already spiced, I opted not to use the lemon marinade from the recipe (below) I referred to (Rotisseried Leg of Lamb with Lemon and Butter, from Steven Raichlen’s book, The Barbecue Bible). The recipe includes, though, a basting mixture of oil, lemon juice, white wine (I used just lemon juice), garlic, oregano and pepper, which Dave slathered on the meat every 15 minutes of its grilling. The recipe indicates to grill until the meat reaches 170 F. That’s way too long if you like red-hued meat. We took it off the grill at 140 F, and let it sit. It was still blood rare, so I might opt to cook it just a tad longer (like 145 F). We let it sit loosely covered with foil for 5 minutes (should have been 10) before carving and serving. It was delicious.

As with most legs of lamb, some parts of the meat are more tender than others, but it was cooked very nicely, and I liked the flavor. The combination of the lamb with grilled pineapple was really great.

THE GRILLED PINEAPPLE: We sliced the peeled pineapple in full rounds about ¾ inch thick and grilled just long enough on each side to get lovely grill marks and be hot throughout. If you’ve never had grilled pineapple, may I nicely tell you – NOW – get yourself to a market with good-quality, ripe pineapples and buy one. It’s one of the simplest sides (or dessert with vanilla ice cream if you’re so inclined) that you’ll ever make. I mean – you cut off the skins, remove most of the eyes, slice and grill. If you do it for dessert, maybe put a tiny amount of brown sugar on one side. Either way, the pineapple gets this unctuous caramelized appearance AND caramel flavor. Not to be missed.

As for the lamb: Now we’ll see what I can concoct for the leftovers. Any of you have favorites? My first go-to would be shepherd’s pie, but it’s awfully hot weather for that. So, we’ll see what I can invent this time.
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Well, no, Martha wasn’t there. But one of her big fans was the hostess, who prepared a dinner using four of Martha’s highlighted recipes from the Martha Stewart’s Living July ’08 issue. Kathleen invited us to her home for dinner, and we had such a fun evening. We had wine (of course) and I helped just a little bit in the kitchen with the aioli sauce. Other than that, Kathleen had done all the work ahead.

Each magazine always includes a four-recipe perforated card in the issue; color pictures on one side, recipes on the back. The recipes are designed to go together to make a full meal. Here’s the delicious menu. Click on each title to link to Martha’s website for the recipes:

Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops with Herb Aioli

The lamb shoulder chops were grilled briefly (perfectly) and served with the cold herb aioli on the side which took but a couple of minutes to whiz up in the food processor. It was delicious – the hot meat and the cold sauce were great together since it was a warm evening.

Couscous Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

Israeli couscous is different than ordinary (fine-grained) couscous. The Israeli version is more like the size of the large round tapioca grains. Traditional couscous is kind of irregularly shaped, but the Israeli are perfectly honed little globes. They make for a very pretty bowl. This is prepared just before serving (it can sit at room temp for awhile, so the recipe says). And this is an extremely low fat dish – only one tablespoon of oil for the entire salad for four people.

Minted Watermelon Salad

In Martha’s version, you use ricotta salata cheese. Kathleen couldn’t find it, so she used feta instead, which was wonderful. I’d never have thought to pair watermelon with feta. It was delicious, especially with the fresh mint too. I’d probably use more mint, but then I like the stuff in lots of things.

Raspberry and Lemon Sorbet Floats

Kathleen couldn’t find sorbet, so she used sherbet instead. These were just delicious with Vernors ginger ale poured over the sherbet. I mean it – so easy – and so refreshing on a hot summer’s night. She served them in brightly colored glasses, and we just sipped away. I looked up some info about Vernors – they claim to be the first American soft drink. The story is interesting – James Vernor went off to fight in the Civil War, leaving behind an oak cask in the pharmacy where he worked. It was filled with ginger, vanilla and spices. When he returned 4 years later, the cask was still there and ginger ale was born. And even more interesting to me, was that from 1866 to 1991 Vernors ginger ale was sweetened with stevia, but when stevia was banned by the FDA in 1991, they began using corn syrup. An even more obscure factlet, being the English nut that I am, is that in 1950 the company decided to drop the apostrophe from Vernor’s.

Thanks, Kathleen, for a very tasty Martha dinner and an altogether lovely evening.

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On those occasions when I bake or rotisserie a roast, often I don’t know what to do with the leftovers. Well, sometimes anyway. With a beef roast, I suppose you could make hash or sandwiches or open faced sandwiches. A roast chicken is another thing altogether – I don’t have any difficulty finding options for that. I’m talking about a lamb roast or pork roast. Often the meat isn’t all that moist anymore, so unless I’ve made some kind of sauce for the meat the first go-around, I’m left with a hunk of meat and big question marks in my head about what to do with it. We’re certainly not going to waste it, but serving just slices of cold roast pork or lamb doesn’t work around my house. Maybe once, but that’s it. My DH doesn’t complain – he’s SO good about eating whatever I put in front of him, generally, but dry, sliced, cold meat isn’t something that ranks high in his book of good meals. Or mine either, for that matter.

So, I have two recipes to share with you today about this leftover meat problem. The first one, the Marchand de Vin, comes from a favorite little book I own that’s eons old. I bought it used, years and years ago for $2.88. It’s called Sumptuous Sauces in the Microwave, by Patricia Tennison. If you click on the link above, you’ll get to a Google search results page with dozens of listings for her book. It’s out of print, but you can buy it used – cheap – if you’re interested. I love this little book which contains recipes for stocks, white sauces, veloutes, brown sauces, hollandaise, butter sauces, wine and beer sauces (that’s the chapter this recipe came from), gravies, pasta sauces even, a few barbecue sauces, even some veggie and salad dressings and condiments. And, last but not least, some dessert sauces (which I’ve made many times). And every single one of them is cooked (in part or full) in the microwave. What I like about them is that they’re quick and easy. When I’m preparing a leftover meal, I’m usually into QUICK things. Knowing I have leftovers makes me lazy – often I don’t start preparing dinner until 15 minutes before I want to eat. So these sauces work for me.

This particular recipe, the Marchand de Vin, in French, means Wine Merchant’s Sauce. It’s simple – shallot, butter, red wine, stock, cognac, lemon juice and thickened with cornstarch. Ideal for any grilled or roasted meat, really. You’ll find lots of different versions of this sauce if you search on the internet – some contain ham, and mushrooms (they are a nice addition to this, actually, if you have them). You can heat up the meat in the microwave, then pour the sauce over it. In and of itself this sauce isn’t something from a gourmet restaurant, but it’s tasty enough – will give meat some moisture. Be careful and don’t add too much lemon juice. If it’s too thick when you’re done, just stir in some hot water until it’s the right consistency for pouring.

The rosemary-garlic stuffed pork loin roast leftover slices heating in a skillet. I made this along with our favorite garlic green beans.

The Leftover Sauce (now, isn’t that a glamorous title? – I should give it some high-fallutin’ new name instead) is a tomato juice-based sauce, but has onion and celery in it, and a bit of chili powder and a little plop of vinegar to give it some zing. My only caution – tomato juice (or sauce if you use that instead) often contains lots of salt. Try to choose one with no or little salt in it to begin with, then you can season it however you’d like to. This one is made in a frying pan and once it’s simmered for 25 minutes or so, you add the meat slices to the pan just to heat through. If you have leftover mashed potatoes too, make more sauce so you can spoon it over those as well. This recipe came from a friend of my mother’s, Mary W., from about 1971. Tried and true, that’s what it is.
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I don’t know about you, but I don’t cook lamb all that often. It’s expensive, for one thing. And it doesn’t appeal to everyone’s taste. We’ve been known to barbecue a butterflied leg of lamb on many a family get-together, but it makes a lot, and I never seem to do well with the leftovers. Cold barbecued lamb just doesn’t lend itself very well, to me, to very many recipes. I haven’t made that in a long time.

But I was reading Food and Wine the other day and a Catalan lamb stew recipe jumped out at me. You know how that is – it just literally jumped off the page with my scissors and demanded to be made. Whole Foods had some nice boneless shoulder roasts, at $5.99 a pound, so that was an easy decision. It’s New Zealand organic lamb, which is even better. Although I do like our Colorado lamb a lot too.

In case you don’t know about Catalan cooking – it’s an area of Spain that borders on France. And it contains the city of Barcelona (pronounced bar-tha-lona). Much of the area is mountainous. Lots of sheepherders. Therefore, lots of lamb, I’m certain. Lots of fish also since the lower triangle of Catalonia is the coastline containing Barcelona. My DH and I spent 4 days in Barcelona some years ago. All by ourselves. It’s a very cosmopolitain city – and European. The restaurants of Catalonia are legend, with many world-renowned chefs having come from there.

Having grown up in San Diego, right on the Mexican border, I assumed Spanish food was much like Mexican. Altogether wrong I was about that. Spanish cuisine is based a lot on fish, actually, but with fairly simple preparation of things, and not a lot of seasoning.

The core of Catalan cuisine still comes from the trio of ingredients introduced into the region by the Romans. The trinity of bread, wine and oil has been used ever since in daily life. In Medieval times Arab influences were also to leave their mark on Catalonia and classic Moorish combinations of sweet and sour can still be seen today in favourite dishes such as rabbit with pears and duck with fruit. (from ezinearticles.com)

What’s important from this culture to this recipe is the combination of meat and fruit. Very common there. One trip to France introduced me to the affinity of meat and prunes. Prunes are a very common filling for a whole roast chicken. So I was very open to the suggestion of prunes with lamb.

This stew was relatively easy to make – you do have to tediously brown the lamb chunks so they get browned on all sides (I made nearly a double recipe), and not crowded in the pan, either, or they steam rather than brown. But once that was done, it’s a very simple amount of preparation (onions, garlic, red wine, carrots, prunes and pine nuts). And a little sprinkling of ground ginger and ground cloves, plus some grated lemon zest.

It was absolutely delicious. I made it a day ahead, separated the meat from the broth to chill it, then was able to remove all the fat before reheating it and adding vegetables (I used carrots and parsnips). Confession time: I forgot to brown the pine nuts, but they added a nice little crunch to the finished dish. I liked the way they looked in the bowl. I added water to the stew when reheating in order to get the vegetables under liquid to finish cooking. The broth was very flavorful (helped, I am sure, by the overnight chilling) and it was nice to thin it a bit. I’ll definitely make this again.
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Ah, Shepherd’s Pie. A favorite of mine. But not something that particularly comes to mind when the temperature is in the 80’s, does it? I made a batch of this last winter and one lone casserole was still languishing in the freezer awaiting a night when I can’t cook. I’ve been diagnosed with a broken toe (1) and a very severe ankle sprain, and have been advised to use R.I.C.E.: R(est), I(ce), C(ompression), and E(levation). So, frozen Shepherd’s Pie was a godsend last night.

So, just what is Shepherd’s Pie? Traditionally it’s a ground or minced lamb dish with some vegetables, always some peas, a bit of gravy or sauce, topped with mashed potatoes and baked until hot. Its lineage is British. Cottage pie means it’s made with ground beef. Here’s a bit of history from HGTV (yes, really):The magic of pies dates back to King Henry VIII. Legend has it that the British ruler was livid when he found out that one of his abbots was building an elaborate and expensive kitchen. The wise abbot took the wind out of the King’s anger by sending him a delicious, warm pie. Early pies were predominantly made with meat. Two early examples were shepherd’s pie and cottage pie. Shepherd’s pie was made with lamb and vegetables, and the cottage pie was made with beef and vegetable. Both are topped with potatoes.

I had Shepherd’s Pie when I visited England for the first time in 1977. Fell in love with it at first bite. It’s comfort food, to be sure. Kind of a casserole, if you will, but delicious. Great made with leftovers; in fact, I think that may be part of its origin too, since our Shepherd’s Pie doesn’t include a crust, just the thick layer of mashed potatoes. You have a leftover lamb roast and mashed potatoes? What better use of it than to make a leftovers Shepherd’s Pie.

I had Shepherd’s Pie when I visited England for the first time in 1977. Fell in love with it at first bite. It’s comfort food, to be sure. Kind of a casserole, if you will, but delicious. Great made with leftovers; in fact, I think that may be part of its origin too, since our Shepherd’s Pie doesn’t include a crust, just the thick layer of mashed potatoes. You have a leftover lamb roast and mashed potatoes? What better use of it than to make a leftovers Shepherd’s Pie.

So, some years back I read a recipe in Cooking Light for a jazzed-up version of the dish, and tried it. It added zucchini among other things and contained quite a few vegetables; probably more than the original version would have. It may have used ground chicken, but over the years I’ve reverted back to the lamb. But what’s unique about this is the addition of chipotle pepper AND the use of sweet potato and regular potatoes mixed together. I always – always – make a large batch of this because it’s a great dish to freeze. If you’re not so sure you’ll like it, just make a half a recipe and you’ll have sufficient for several people. If you like Shepherd’s Pie, then you’ll undoubtedly love this dish. If you’re not crazy about hot, spicy food, leave out the chipotle. It’ll be fine that way, just not quite as zippy. The sweet potatoes and Maui onion add a sweetness to the overall dish and some people are turned off by meat tasting sweet. If that’s your M.O., just use white potatoes and regular onions and you’ll have a traditional pie with a zip. I’ve served this to guests on more than one occasion, to great raves.
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