Weekend Recipes: Bread, ‘Bagas, & Irish Lamb Stew

Posted by Jolie O'Dell on November 13, 2011 · 7 Comments 

I have been cookin’ up a daggone storm on the weekends lately.

This weekend, I kicked Saturday off with fresh-baked oatmeal bread (made from scratch in under an hour, more on that later). I also made a truly killer roast lamb with jus & roasted red potatoes for dinner that night.

Sunday morning brought Blackened Breakfast Rutabagas, a new treat I invented all by my little self. For a late lunch, I made a savory Irish Lamb Stew (post-church, in the Crock Pot just like my ol’ Momma woulda done).

So, here are my four recipes to share with you: One-Hour Oatmeal-Honey Bread, Blackened Breakfast Rutabagas, Leg of Lamb + Jus, and Irish Lamb Stew (Crock-Pot style).

Love y’all and bon appetit!

One-Hour Honey-Oatmeal Bread

Truly, this recipe renders two gorgeous baguettes of fragrant, semi-sweet bread in one hour, start to finish. No one will ever know you’re cheating. If you’re feeling extra sweet, throw in a handful of raisins, dates, or dried cranberries.

Blackened Breakfast Rutabagas

This humble root vegetable comes to sweet and savory life in a simple morning preparation that takes a few minutes longer than breakfast potatoes but yields golden results. You owe it to yourself to try it at least once, and it’s a super simple recipe with just 4 ingredients.

Irish Lamb Stew (Crock-Pot Style)

This stew will knock your socks off. It’s simple and fast, but so rich and comforting. It’s fragrances and flavors are earthy, meaty, and perfect for fall and winter.

But the main ingredient is the lamb joint. That recipe (also a quick and easy Crock Pot preparation), is something I will share with you below. Between the sliced lamb with jus (and oven-roasted lemon-herby red potatoes) and the stew, you can get a lot of mileage out of the leg of lamb.

Leg of Lamb + Jus

Leg of lamb (duh)
Enough fresh rosemary to cover the bottom of your Crock Pot
10-12 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
Half a lemon, quartered
Yellow onion, quartered
A couple teaspoons of fresh or dried thyme, basil, oregano, or herbes de Provence
A half cup to a cup of “meh” red wine
Pepper and the best salt you have lying around (I used applewood smoked salt for an extra “wooh” of flavor)
A few tablespoons of flour

Buy you a Crock-Pot sized leg of lamb. Any leg but a boneless leg will do.

If you’re starting the day before, set the Crock Pot to low; if you’re cooking in the afternoon for a late dinner, set that sucker to high.

Layer the bottom of your Crock Pot with a bed of rosemary, the onion, the lemon, and all but a few teaspoons of crushed garlic.

Toss the joint in on top of all that goodness, and rub the top with the remaining garlic, your salt and pepper, and the dried herbs. Gently pour a half cup or so of the wine around the sides and over the top (without disturbing the rub), and cover the Crock Pot. Then, walk away and let it work its magic.

In 2-4 hours, depending on the size of your crockery and the setting you chose, your joint will be cooked. Use the Internet to help you calculate for your exact timing, keeping in mind that the reason my Momma and yours loved the Crock Pot is that it’s a lovely, inexact, set-and-forget way to cook a roast, among other things. So don’t sweat it too much.

At the point of doneness, the joint will likely be a disgusting, grayish color on the outside. Fish it out of the pot and cover it lightly with tin foil. Don’t fuss over the color.

Strain the pan drippings into a skillet, and throw in a quarter cup to a half cup of the wine. Boil the dickens out of it until it’s reduced in volume by half; this will take some time. Whisk frequently if not constantly.

Using a sifter, add the flour to the jus just a pinch at a time, whisking all the while. Watch it carefully, and the minute it’s slightly less runny than it was originally, pull it off the heat and pour it into a gravy boat (or whatever passes for a gravy boat at your house; I am reduced to using a little white bowl).

Uncover the lamb and slice it up; you’ll see it’s a pretty pink lamb color on the inside. Plate those beautiful slices and drizzle with the jus, which will be succulent beyond imagining. If you’ve roasted some red potatoes with the rest of the lemon, onion, herbs, and garlic in the oven, you can drizzle jus over that, too. And if you haven’t roasted any potatoes, that’s ok, too; just wilt some spinach and call it a night.