For one or for a crowd, lamb is a winter wonder Dish also works with pork shoulder steaks
Posted by Kim Davaz • 01/24/12 • 11:28pm
Carl Davaz
Lamb Shoulder Steaks Over Herbed Potatoes is easy to make.
Lamb has always been a favorite of mine. A roasted leg of lamb was my first choice for childhood birthday dinners, and it’s hard to imagine anything that smells better than crispy grilled lamb chops on a bed of rosemary.
On a cold winter evening, this recipe from the Cordon Bleu in Paris is just what I want. When you lift the lid on the cooking pot, a cloud of herby, garlicky, lamby steam is released, revealing browned chops on a bed of sliced potatoes.
For this recipe you want the larger, flatter blade-cut shoulder chops that take well to braising, not the chubby rib chops.
This dish is easy to make for any number of people, from one to a crowd. Figure one chop and one potato per person, plus one potato for the pot. It could also be prepared in a slow cooker, four hours on high or six to eight hours on low. The lamb will probably fall off the bone, making it almost a stew.
It’s on the wet side, so serve it in a shallow pasta bowl with a green vegetable or a salad on the side and some crusty bread to sop up the broth. If you’re feeling fancy, which I often am not, add a sprinkle of fresh thyme to each serving.
If lamb isn’t your favorite, try this with blade-cut pork shoulder steaks.
Lamb Shoulder Steaks Over Herbed Potatoes
Serves 4.
- 1 14-ounce can low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 lamb shoulder chops
- Salt and pepper
- Flour
- Olive oil
- 5 medium baking potatoes (Yukon Gold or russet)
- ¼ cup dry white wine (pinot grigio is good here)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat broth, garlic and thyme over medium heat to a simmer. Lower heat and keep warm.
Season lamb on both sides with salt and pepper. Dust lightly with flour.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Let heat about 10 seconds, then add the lamb and brown it on both sides. Remove the pan from the heat.
Cut the potatoes in ¼-inch slices, keeping the potatoes together.
Place the potatoes in a baking dish large enough to hold the lamb in one layer, then press them lightly to fan slightly in overlapping rows.
Place the lamb on top of the potatoes. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup white wine or some of the hot broth.
Add the deglazing liquid to the warm broth and pour over the lamb. Cover the baking dish with either a lid or a piece of parchment paper cut to fit and then cover tightly with foil.
Bake about 45 minutes, though a little longer won’t hurt anything.
Kim Davaz of Eugene writes the biweekly Eating In column.
