SPEZZATINO (SICILIAN BRAISED LAMB CHOPS

Amarante

Fri, Dec 04 2015, 12:33 pm

This was easy and like all of Rachael Ray's recipes, easy. Any braised meat is even better the next day.

SPEZZATINO (SICILIAN BRAISED LAMB CHOPS)

Source: Rachael Ray - Everyone Is Italian on Sunday

SERVES 4 TO 6

This is a beautiful, fragrant family meal, especially perfect for springtime through early autumn. It is foolproof in that it is braised, which is code for ?always tender, cannot fail with flavor.? Serve the lamb with Lemon and Olive Oil Potatoes; they?re great with the sauce over them.

A fat pinch of saffron threads
3 cups chicken or lamb stock
4 pounds lamb shoulder chops (1 1/2 to 2 inches thick), at room temperature
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola)
2 medium red onions, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or pepperoncini
2 teaspoons grated orange or lemon zest (from organic citrus)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Leaves from 1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 large fresh bay leaf
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley tops, chopped

In a small saucepan, combine the saffron and stock and bring to a low simmer. Reduce the heat to keep the stock warm and infuse the stock with saffron.

Season the lamb liberally with salt and black pepper.
In a deep large skillet with a lid, heat the oil (1 1/2 turns of the pan) over medium-high to high heat. Add the chops and brown on both sides and the edges. Transfer to a plate.

Add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, citrus zest, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf to the skillet. Reduce the heat a bit and cook to soften the onions, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste until fragrant. Add the wine, increase the heat, and cook until reduced by half.

Add the saffron stock to the skillet and bring to a bubble. Return the chops to the pan, cover, and braise at a low simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer to thicken the sauce, about 15 minutes more. Transfer the meat to a warm platter. Whisk the sauce a bit and keep cooking if you wish to reduce and thicken it a bit more. Discard the bay leaf.

Stir the mint and parsley into the lamb sauce. Serve the chops doused in sauce.

Pass more sauce at the table.

LEMON AND OLIVE OIL POTATOES
SERVES 4 TO 6

6 medium russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into 6 wedges each
Salt
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1/4 cup EVOO
Flaky sea salt

In a large pot, combine the potatoes with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, salt the water, and cook until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot. Add the lemon juice and let it be absorbed into the hot potatoes. Drizzle in the EVOO (count to 4 while adding the oil in a slow, steady stream around the pot), carefully toss to coat, and season with flaky sea salt.