Easter : Spring Lamb

Lamb has long been the springtime meat of choice in much of Europe and the Mediterranean area. It’s only natural that it has become a time-honored entree for Easter.

Families in Rome enjoy Easter lamb baked with artichokes, potatoes, carrots and sage or stewed lamb with black olives. In Athens, spring lamb is prepared in many guises--braised with peas, with green beans, with artichokes, with zucchini, or with green onions and dill.

The best cut for many home-cooked lamb specialties is the shoulder. In our markets, lamb shoulder chops are often featured as reasonably priced specials. This succulent cut can be cooked in several ways. Baking or braising the lamb with liquid are ideal techniques to use. The lamb produces a delicious sauce and cooks much faster than comparable beef dishes because lamb is more tender.

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Since lamb has a good, meaty flavor, there is no need to add stock when braising, although you can add the bones from shoulder chops to reinforce the sauce’s taste. Wine and tomatoes are the preferred braising liquids, while garlic, onions and assertive herbs such as rosemary, sage and bay leaves are the most popular seasonings in northern Mediterranean countries.

If baking the shoulder chops, brown the lamb in the oven.

When braising, brown the meat in a pan before adding liquid. Browning produces a sauce of deeper color and richer flavor, but to save time, you can skip this step.

Rice and pasta are delicious with lamb and benefit from the meat’s braising juices. Serving lamb with pasta or grains has another advantage--you can eat smaller amounts of meat. You still enjoy the wonderful flavor but by eating a modest quantity of lamb, the menu will still be nutritionally balanced. To reduce the amount of fat, trim as much of the visible fat as possible when cutting the meat into pieces.

Match flavorful lamb with asparagus, peas or other seasonal vegetables. This is a time-tested formula for putting you and your family in a festive springtime mood.

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For this traditional meal-in-one-dish, rice-shaped pasta, called orzo or riso, is baked in a sauce from the lamb juices, then becomes a bed for the meat. White wine and a subtle hint of cinnamon give the sauce a lovely flavor. Steamed asparagus is a great accompaniment.

GREEK-BAKED LAMB WITH ORZO

2 to 2 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder chops, 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick, fat trimmed

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup dry white wine

1 small cinnamon stick

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 cup tomato sauce

2 teaspoons dried leaf oregano

2 cups boiling water

1 pound orzo or riso pasta

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Place chops in 10-cup gratin dish or large baking dish. Sprinkle lamb with oil and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn chops to coat evenly. Bake at 400 degrees 10 minutes, turning once. Reduce heat to 350 degrees.

Add wine, cinnamon stick, onion and garlic. Bake until meat is still pink inside but not red when cut, about 15 minutes longer.

Remove chops. Cut meat from bones, keeping meat in large pieces and reserving bones. Reserve meat on plate and cover. Return bones to pan and stir. Continue baking until onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick and bones.

Add tomato sauce, oregano and boiling water to pan. Season well to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in orzo. Bake 20 minutes without stirring. Set meat pieces on top in 1 layer and press gently into mixture. Bake until orzo is tender but firm to bite and meat is done to taste, 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

516 calories; 365 mg sodium; 59 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 28 grams protein; 0.65 gram fiber.

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This savory stew features Mediterranean flavors of olives, tomatoes, thyme, marjoram and garlic. Serve the lamb with potatoes or rice.

HERBED LAMB RAGOUT WITH ARTICHOKES

2 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder chops, fat trimmed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 (28-ounce) cans plum tomatoes, drained and chopped

2 tablespoons minced fresh marjoram or 2 teaspoons dried

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 3/4 teaspoon dried

Water

1 bay leaf

Cooked Fresh Artichoke Hearts or 1 (10-ounce) package frozen artichoke heart pieces

1 teaspoon lemon juice (if using frozen artichokes)

1/2 cup pitted black olives, drained

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Cut lamb into 1 1/4-inch pieces and pat dry. Heat oil over medium-high heat in heavy flame-proof casserole. Add lamb in batches and brown on all sides. Transfer lamb to plate, using tongs. Add onion to pan and cook over low heat, stirring often, 5 minutes.

Return lamb to pan, reserving juices on plate. Add garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, marjoram and thyme. Bring to boil. Add lamb juices from plate, 1 cup water and bay leaf. Bring to boil, stirring. Cover and cook over low heat until lamb is tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour.

If using frozen artichoke heart pieces, cook in boiling salted water in medium saucepan with 1 teaspoon lemon juice until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain well. Set aside.

Remove lamb from casserole with slotted spoon. Continue to stir and boil cooking liquid until reduced to 2 cups. Discard bay leaf. Return meat to sauce. Add Cooked Fresh Artichoke Hearts and olives and cook over low heat 2 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

430 calories; 876 mg sodium; 111 mg cholesterol; 21 grams fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 39 grams protein; 2.63 grams fiber.

Fresh Artichoke Hearts

1 lemon

Water

4 artichokes

Salt

Squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon into medium bowl cold water. Break off stem of 1 artichoke and remove largest leaves at bottom. Place artichoke on side on board. Cut lower circle of leaves off, up to edge of artichoke heart, holding very sharp knife or small serrated knife against side of artichoke (parallel to leaves), turning artichoke slightly after each cut. Rub cut edges of artichoke with cut lemon.

Cut off leaves under base. Trim base, removing all dark-green areas. Rub again with lemon. Cut off central cone of leaves just above heart. Place artichoke in bowl of lemon water. Repeat with remaining artichokes. Keep artichokes in lemon water until ready to cook.

Squeeze juice from remaining lemon half into medium saucepan of boiling, salted water. Add artichoke pieces. Cover and simmer over low heat until tender when pierced with knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to lukewarm in liquid. Scoop out hair-like “choke” from center of each artichoke, using teaspoon. Cut each artichoke into 4 pieces before adding to lamb stew.