Whilst I also long for the spring and consequent summertime, I miss these bolstering, stick to your ribs meals that send you to bed happy, contented and full. So, utilising the ‘winter’ meat that I still have left in the freezer (which includes, mutton, shin of beef pork hocks and sausages), I have been experimenting with ways to, quite conversely really, bring a touch of winter to these warm Spring days, if only for the benefit of our bellies.
A slow cooked dish that I have been thinking about for some time, after reading about it in The Fish Store by Lindsay Bareham, was for shoulder of lamb cooked with saffron and rhubarb. I didn’t have any lamb but I did have a shoulder of mutton in the fridge and several lithe, pink sticks of rhubarb going limp in the fridge.
I have never tried Rhubarb in a savoury dish, but I adore its slightly astringent flavour that is tempered beautifully with gently stewing and a whisper of sugar. It is certainly one of those fruits that would suit a rich, fatty meat like mutton or lamb perfectly.
It couldn’t be simpler to make either. Sweat down a couple of large onions, thinly sliced, in some butter until they start to softly meld with the butter. Add some diced shoulder of mutton or lamb that has been browned in a little oil (this step also helps to rid the mutton of it's excess fat), a good pinch of saffron, grind of pepper, generous squeeze of lemon and simmer slowly for an hour. A wrinkly skin will appear on the top of the mutton stew but don't be tempted to stir this in. This lack of movement is allowing the meat to tenderise completely.
The rhubarb is cut into large chunks and quickly stir fried over a low height with lots of fresh parsley and mint (thus revealing the dish to be Persian in origin) which are then stirred into the stew. Cook until the Rhubarb collapses. Adjust seasoning adding more lemon if needed and some fresh parsley. Serve with plain boiled basmati rice that has tipped into a hot frying pan and the bottom allowed to go crusty.
The final flavour is slightly tart, the fruit is not overpowering and the meat is curiously turned a glorious shade of pink. It is also meltingly tender.
Incidentally, this is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, held this month by Sher over at What Did You Eat? I have been woefully bad at entering in recent weeks so hopefully this will be a return to form.If you want to recreate this dish in your own kitchen, or, if you share my love of winter food even in the summer, here's how:
MUTTON BRAISED WITH RHUBARB AND SAFFRON serves 2
Ingredients:
3 Large Sticks Rhubarb, cut into 2" Chunks and stripped of stringy bits if necessary
400g Diced Mutton or Lamb, removed of any excess fatty bits
2 Pinches Saffron dissolved in a little boiling water
2 Large Onions, peeled and thinly sliced
Juice of one Lemon
70g Fresh Parsley (flat leaf), chopped finely
Handful of Fresh Mint Leaves, chopped finely (although I didn't have fresh so I used a tablespoon of dried mint)
Salt and Pepper to taste
60g Butter or Olive Oil
METHOD:
In a large stockpot, gently heat a third of the butter or oil and gently cook the onions until they collapse. Don't allow them to colour. These will probably take about 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, trim the meat and using another third of the butter or oil, cook the diced meat in batches until richly coloured and much of the fat has rendered off.
Add the meat to the soft onions and stir in the saffron and water.
Add half the juice of the lemon, a good grind of pepper and bring to the boil.
Immediately turn down to the lowest setting and leave to simmer, without a lid, for an hour.
You can prepare the chopped herbs and trimmed rhubarb whilst you wait.
Finally, add the herbs and rhubarb to the stew, and cook for another 30 minutes or until the rhubarb has collapsed. Taste for seasoning and add more lemon juice if necessary.
Serve with plain boiled rice.
Enjoy!
P.S. DON'T FORGET TO DIG OUT THE CHARCOAL FOR PAULS BIG BURGER BALLYHOO!
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