I had a lamb shank in the sous vide hot tub for a coupla days, and we broke it out tonight. It was pretty "lamby" tasting (more later), and was definitely "fall-off-the-bone tender," as you can see below. I also made a mushroom/leek/thyme/garlic compote to go on the lamb; I put the lamb juices from the sous vide bag into this, and it tasted, well, pretty dang lamby/gamey. So I decided to redirect the taste profile a bit, and used quite a bit of smoked paprika in the compote. This worked out well: when smothered with the compote, the lamb meat and sauce all gelled nicely and tasted like a smoked dish.
I made roasted artichoke halves, and roasted asparagus with Asiago cheese topping. Finally, I also made orzo (i.e., small pasta grains) in a risotto style (with shallots, sherry, and ho-made chicken stock), and then added lots of grated Asiago cheese and minced parsley.
This was all washed down with a 4-yr old CC Showcase Rosso Fortissimo.
), but then she pulled the fat out of the fire and crafted a nice bean puree with tahini, cumin, and unctuous fats. (She is a better cook than I am, but I have kind of muscled her out of the kitchen of late.) For another veggie, I reheated the charred/braised baby bok choy from the other day. However, the star of the show was some of those lamb shoulder-chops-that-are-practically-rib-chops I am always prattling on about. They were cut nice and thick this time, so I was able to get a nice crust on them while still keeping them medium rare. I also made a "Poor man's Bearnaise sauce." I cooked up shallots in vinegar and white wine, with tarragon, but then did NOT add the egg yolk. Rather, I just mounted half a stick of butter or so for a delicious topping for the lamb.
