Roast Lamb with Braised Vegetables and Salsa Verde

Among the three items in this week Cook-the-book-Fridays David Lebovit’z’s dish, roast lamb with braised vegetables and salsa verde, my favorite is the vegetables. In all fairness, the lamb, the vegetables and salsa verde work best together than on their own individually. At the end, I leave out the chickpea puffs — which is what David would have liked — since there is plenty to make for one meal.

The roast lamb is easy to put together, but it takes time and planning to execute. To begin with, you make deep slits in the meat of the bone-in lamb shoulder. Then stuff them with anchovies and garlic, in the manner reminiscent of Provence, and refrigerate overnight. It’s a new technique to me. Basically, it builds flavor to let anchovies and garlic mellow in the lamb. After a long two-hour roast, all the seasonings melt into oblivion and add a remarkable umami flavor to the meat. What a neat trick?

Another interesting idea is to serve braised vegetables with the roast lamb ragout. Whether you think soft and moist vegetables would pair well with the ragout or not — it obviously does. My everyday default is to roast vegetables. However, when the meat is roasted, it surely benefits from some tender and moist vegetables.

David suggests cutting the vegetables (such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, shallots and new potatoes) into cubes, wedges, slices or thick coins. The key is to let the form and the shape of the vegetable determine how you cut it. Furthermore, cut all the root vegetables to about the same size, so they cook evenly. I’ve heard him say that more than once, and I’m getting it!

Braising vegetables is faster than roasting them. First, melt some butter in the pan with the aromatics (onions and thyme) in a large skillet. Cook until they are browned slightly and add in the rest of the vegetables. Then glaze them in butter with a few grinds of salt and pepper. Finally, add the stock and water to partially cover the vegetables. Put the lid on and cook in a steady slow boil for about 20 minutes. Toward the end, I add zucchini and green peas for some shades of green in the vegetable stew. They turn out really tasty.

In the interim, I prepare the good-old salsa verde standby in the food processor. It’s one thing I like to make more than I’d need. Use whatever seasonal herbs you have on hand. Even kale can go into the mix. Invariably, the salsa verde delivers a flavor punch — to meat, vegetables, grains, soups, or almost anything. It works like a charm each time; it’s a work-horse. And it keeps.