Sunday, March 20, 2011

Herbed Roasted Lamb with Cauliflower Gratin

Start by taking a head of cauliflower and separating the florets into one-inch pieces. Chop the core and place in a food processor.
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Blanch and shock the florets in salted boiling water, and process the core until minced.
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Dice a shallot and mince garlic, adding bay leaf, thyme, and parsley.
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Add the minced core, a bit of chicken stock, and some heavy cream. Simmer gently for several minutes to soften the core and extract the flavors.
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Remove thyme, parsley and bay leaf, and put the mixture in a blender. Add nutmeg and curry powder, and blend until smooth.
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Combine florets and puree, and then fill ramekins with the mixture. Top with emmenthaler cheese and panko breadcrumbs. Place in hot oven until bubbly and browned.
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Season the lamb with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Roast at low heat until internal temp is 145 or so, then sear in a hot skillet until browned.
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Ok, we're not done. Just for the hell of it, we decided to make an aioli sauce the original way. Mortar and pestle, garlic, a bit of sauce. Mash the hell out of it.
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Squeeze some lemon and make it a paste.
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Slowly add olive oil and keep grinding away. When I say "slowly", I mean drop by drop for about 20 minutes. Keep going until smooth and creamy.
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And here it is all put together, Yeah, I realize it could use some color for presentation, but maybe next time.
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