Saturday, January 31, 2009

Lamb and artichoke hearts in egg-lemon sauce

Get a leg of lamb, about five pounds, and trim about three pounds of the leanest meat off in no bigger than three by three chunks. Save the bone and the rest of the meat.

Chop a large onion fine. In a seven-quart pot, put in two tablespoons or so of olive oil and sautee the onion until it's translucent but not burned. Put in the lamb and brown it until it’s not bloody anymore and it’s simmering in its own juice. Add some water to cover it and keep on simmering it. Stir in salt, pepper, some dill (fresh or dry, it doesn’t matter) and keep simmering. The seasonings strictly according to taste. The water is critical. Make sure to add enough as the meat simmers to keep it covered but no more than that. You’re not making soup. It’s going to simmer for at least an hour. You want to be able to cut the meat with a spoon.

Three pounds of frozen artichoke hearts from Trader Joe’s are perfectly fine. Peeling your own artichokes is a big pain and it turns your hands black. Put them in when you think the meat is tender enough. You should not need to add water. Simmer on low heat. They will add their own water. When they are tender enough for you, turn off the heat and keep it covered and hot.

Squeeze out the juice of two lemons. Separate out eight egg yolks. Beat the egg yolks as fine as you can in a largish bowl. Add the lemon juice and keep on beating. Turn the heat back on your pot which should still be boiling hot. Spoon hot broth from the pot into your egg-lemon bowl. Lots. And keep on beating. Spoon in several times. You want as much broth as eggs and lemon and for it to be very warm, even hot. Pour the broth-egg-lemon mixture into your pot, stir in well, and turn off the heat. Done. Eat it whenever. It’s just as good rewarmed.

You have a lamb bone with meat on it, left. I boil it in low heat, skimming off the brown stuff. After a couple of hours I have a wonderful broth. The dog gets the bone and scraps of meat on it and loves you forever. I cut up a couple or three of potatoes, throw in a pinch of salt and oregano, boil till the potatoes are soup-soft, and have a soup. I squeeze in a little lemon, too, on my plate.