Navarin d’Agneau: a French lamb stew for spring

Lamb Navarin combines lamb, peas, carrots, new potatoes and turnips for a spring stew that is hearty, but lighter tasting than beef stew. Recipe below.

MANY RECIPES HERE ARE INSPIRED BY COOKBOOKS. THIS ONE WAS INSPIRED BY A NOVEL. The World at Night is set mainly in Paris, in the early 1940s, during the time of German occupation. To call it a tale of intrigue and romance is accurate enough, but falls far short of doing it justice. Continue reading “Navarin d’Agneau: a French lamb stew for spring” →

Six warm dishes to beat winter’s chill

As winter rages on, this mix of stews, soups and hearty oven-made dishes from the Blue Kitchen archives will keep you warm.

After years of slacking off, winter is officially back. Across the country, places that normally don’t see snow are getting it. And places that do normally get it are really getting it. Here in Chicago, even before the latest snowstorm that started last night, we’d had more than four feet of snow already this season. Usually, we get about three feet for the entire season. And the cold can be best summarized this way. Yesterday morning as I was heading out, I saw that the temperature was 12ºF and thought, “Oh, not bad!”

With winter playing hardball, it’s time to fight back in the kitchen. Fire up the oven for a long braise or a roast. Cook up a hearty stew or soup on the stovetop, the kind of meals my grandmother called “stick-to-your-ribs” food. Here are six dishes that fit the bill nicely. Continue reading “Six warm dishes to beat winter’s chill” →

A nose for cooking: Lamb with Celery and Cumin

Sautéed and quickly braised with whole cumin seeds, garlic, lemon juice and crushed red pepper flakes, normally mild-mannered celery upstages the supposed star of this dish, ground lamb. Recipe below.

First, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Celery? Stealing the spotlight from lamb? Yes. As I sit here writing this post about this dish cooked and eaten last night, I am Pavlov’s dog, and he is going to town on that bell. And it is because of the celery.

Celery is woefully underrated, I think, largely because people mostly eat it raw. Cooked, it can become a valuable ensemble player. In soups, it adds a fresh note; in a pot of chili, it amplifies the taste of the cumin and provides nice, slightly crunchy bites. And, as in the case of Lamb with Cumin and Celery, it can burst with big, bright flavor. Continue reading “A nose for cooking: Lamb with Celery and Cumin” →

A hearty winter meal with a hint of spring: Lamb Thyme Meatballs with Vegetables

Lamb meatballs, peas, carrots and potato wedges, all flavored with fresh thyme, satisfy in winter, taste like spring. Recipe below.

Last week’s recipe was inspired by boredom. This week’s was born of disaster. I spent much of Sunday afternoon in the kitchen, filling it—and the entire apartment, in fact—with heavenly smells, if I say so myself. The taste of the finished dish delivered on the aroma, and the dish was acceptably photogenic. Sadly, it was also irreparably dry and chewy.

At moments like this, I sometimes question what I’m doing here in the food blogosphere. On occasion, as on Sunday night when I lay in bed wondering what I was going to do now for a post, the question takes a succinct and, well, non-question form: “I suck.” Continue reading “A hearty winter meal with a hint of spring: Lamb Thyme Meatballs with Vegetables” →

The unexpected rewards of culinary boredom: Moroccan Lamb Chops with Chickpeas

A Moroccan spice rub with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and other spices is used to flavor both pan grilled lamb chops and a side of chickpeas with golden raisins. Recipes below.

Boredom is underrated. To me, it’s often a critical part of the creative process. When I’m cooking for Blue Kitchen posts, I’m always actively looking for new ingredients, techniques and ideas—or at least new to me. But when I’m just cooking to get something on the table for a weeknight dinner, I can fall into a rut, cooking reliable favorites over and over.

Such was the case when I grabbed a couple of lamb shoulder chops at the supermarket recently. These flavorful, cheap cuts of lamb see lots of action at our house. I was planning the next night’s dinner and went through the current kitchen inventory in my head. We had potatoes and lettuce at home, so the lamb was all I needed. I would pan grill the chops after tenderizing them with kosher salt, the way I almost always do. And I would serve them with garlicky mashed potatoes and a salad. The way I almost always do. But then boredom kicked in. Continue reading “The unexpected rewards of culinary boredom: Moroccan Lamb Chops with Chickpeas” →

Lamb, onions and potatoes become comfort food with an English accent: Lancashire Hotpot

This take on Lancashire hotpot—traditional English food at its most comforting—is made with lamb, onions and carrots topped with sliced potatoes and baked until fork tender. Recipe below.

DON’T YOU HATE IT WHEN A GOOD MYTH GETS DEBUNKED? Turns out one of Mark Twain’s cooler quotes may never have been uttered by him. I say ‘may’ because while no one can find it in his writings anywhere, they also can’t find anyone else who said it. Continue reading “Lamb, onions and potatoes become comfort food with an English accent: Lancashire Hotpot” →

The (sort of) French connection: Grilled Lamb Chops with Lavender

Fresh lavender blossoms, rosemary, thyme and garlic deliver complex depth with a slight French accent to Grilled Lamb Chops with Lavender. Recipe below.

Cooking with lavender got me thinking about some of the strange things we humans put in our mouths. Whether out of desperation or sheer culinary curiosity, we’ve eaten just about everything, from grasshoppers to poisonous blowfish, stinging nettles and even Marmite. And while much has been comedically made of how hungry the first person to eat a lobster must have been, I’m far more impressed that anyone ever decided that there might be something worth eating inside a sea urchin.

By comparison, cooking with lavender seems downright tame. Continue reading “The (sort of) French connection: Grilled Lamb Chops with Lavender” →

A month of loving lamb: Lamb Chops with Cherry Marsala Sauce

Lamb chops topped with a sauce of dried tart cherries, Marsala wine, shallots, rosemary and garlic are a perfect way to celebrate Lamb Lovers Month. Recipe below.

THERE ARE LOTS OF REASONS TO LOVE LAMB. So many, in fact, that the American Lamb Board has proclaimed the entire month of February Lamb Lovers Month. All month long, you’ll find recipes, lamb trivia and more on their website. You can even enter a recipe contest and win Date Night Dinner Packages of lamb (of course) and paired wines. Continue reading “A month of loving lamb: Lamb Chops with Cherry Marsala Sauce” →

Easy to make, easy to love: Lamb Chops with Dijon Mustard and Thyme

Dijon mustard adds a surprisingly delicate touch to these simple, flavorful lamb chops, pan seared and finished in the oven. Recipe below.

Our love affair with lamb is pretty much a year-round thing. So when the American Lamb Board asked us if we’d like to help get the word out about an actual Lamb Lover’s Month—February, as it happens—we jumped at the chance.

There are a lot of things to love about lamb, starting with its distinctively rich, mild, sweet taste. Too much has been made of its gaminess, I think. As I said when I wrote about lamb stew, “that gamy flavor—as the dictionary defines it, ‘having the tangy flavor or odor of game’—is what makes lamb special. It’s the same quality that separates venison from beef and duck from chicken. And while I love a good steak or roast chicken, there’s just something exciting about the ‘wildness’ of game.” Even though lamb has a more intense flavor than beef, it also seems somehow lighter than beef to me.

Lamb is also lighter on the environment. Sheep are generally raised in ways that are easier on the planet Continue reading “Easy to make, easy to love: Lamb Chops with Dijon Mustard and Thyme” →

Let us now braise, part 2: Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops and Tomatoes

Inexpensive lamb shoulder chops become the star of a flavorful meal when you add thyme, garlic, tomatoes, wine and oven braising. Recipe below.

There are so many thing I love about this dish. First and foremost is the distinctive, mildly gamy flavor of lamb. As I’ve said in these pages before, that gaminess is the same quality that separates venison from beef and duck from chicken. I also love the straightforward simplicity of this meal—a handful of ingredients, simple preparation and time are all that’s required. And most of the time is the meat cooking unattended in the oven—prep time is minimal. And maybe most of all, I love the way it transforms a humble cut of meat into something delicious and satisfying.

In last week’s post about Oven-braised Asian Short Ribs, I talked about oven braising and how its even heat tenderizes flavorful but chewy inexpensive cuts of meat without drying them out. Lamb shoulder chops are another cut perfect for this treatment. Continue reading “Let us now braise, part 2: Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops and Tomatoes” →