suricattus

To celebrate both the Finishing of the Draft for Grail Quest#3 (yay!) and the Feeding of the Agent (who was in town for meetings), I tried a new recipe which passed muster even with me. So I hereby share it with y'all.



Risotto with Lamb
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Lamb Ragu:
olive oil*
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 lb lamb loin
handful of parsley, chopped
2 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
double splash of tomato sauce
1 cup chicken stock

(note: I used my own garlic and rosemary-infused oil, which added to the intensity of the taste. Also: all measurements are, well, approximate.)

Risotto:
olive oil (again, the same infused oil)
1 onion, chopped
1 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (the same one we were drinking -- Beringer's Alluvium Blanc 2000)
2 cups simmering chicken stock
2 tbsp butter


Preparation:

Lamb Ragu:
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, stirring for 5 minutes or until garlic just begins to turn brown. Add lamb, parsley and rosemary. Brown over high heat until it has just lost its raw color. Stir in the tomato paste and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer; place cover on, slightly ajar, over low heat until meat is pink inside. Cut the lamb into cubes, and let rest.

Risotto:
In another large saucepan, olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook until onion is translucent. Add rice, stirring constantly, and cook 5 minutes more. Add wine, stirring constantly, and let totally evaporate. When wine is evaporated, begin adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, letting the liquid evaporate before adding the next cup. Rice should be al dente, not overly mushy. At that point, remove from the heat and stir in the lamb mixture. If it needs thickening, put it to simmer another minute, but it probably won't need it.

You can add some cheese or salt and pepper at this point, but ours didn't need it. If I'd had any pignoli around I might have added them, though.


Serve with (ideally) a nice, smooth shiraz, green salad, and good conversation.