Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (87 page)

1)
The mushroom duxelles and spinach stuffing—farce Viroflay

½ lb. (1 quart) fresh mushrooms

1 Tb butter

½ Tb cooking oil

A medium (10-inch) frying pan (no-stick recommended)

Salt and pepper

A 3-quart mixing bowl

Make a
duxelles
as follows: Trim, wash, and dry the mushrooms, and cut into
¹
⁄
₁₆
-inch dice with a large knife. A handful at a time, twist hard in the corner of a towel, to extract as much of their juice as possible. Heat oil and butter to bubbling in pan, add mushrooms, and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until pieces begin to separate from each other, and start to brown very lightly. Stir in salt and pepper to taste, and scrape into mixing bowl.

1½ cups cooked spinach (or a 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed in a pan of cold water and drained)

2 Tb butter

3 Tb minced shallots or scallions

A large clove garlic, mashed

Salt and pepper

A handful at a time, squeeze as much water as possible out of the spinach; chop fine with a large stainless-steel knife. Melt the additional butter in the frying pan over moderately high heat, stir in the shallots or scallions, and cook for 1 minute. Then stir in the spinach and garlic, and cook, stirring, for several minutes to evaporate remaining liquid from spinach. When it begins sticking lightly to bottom of pan, remove from heat; season to taste with salt and pepper, and scrape into bowl with mushrooms.

½ cup (1½ ounces) not-too-fine stale crumbs from nonsweetened, homemade-type white bread in a small bowl

2 to 3 Tb stock, bouillon, or milk

⅔ cup (4 ounces) finely diced ham fat, fresh pork fat, or blanched bacon

1 egg

8 to 10 large fresh basil leaves, minced, or ½ tsp fragrant dried basil, thyme, or rosemary

Salt and pepper

Soften the crumbs with the stock, bouillon, or milk and let stand for a few minutes. Beat the ham fat, egg, and herbs into the mushrooms and spinach. Squeeze excess liquid out of crumbs and beat them in too. Taste stuffing very carefully for seasoning.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: May be done a day in advance; cover and refrigerate.

2)
Stuffing the lamb

A 5- to 6-lb. shoulder of lamb, fell intact, all excess fat cut out; bones removed, chopped, and reserved (ready-to-stuff weight about 3½ lbs.)

A trussing needle or skewers

White string

Spread boned shoulder on a board, fell (skin) side down. Tuck stuffing into pockets left by bones, and pile rest of stuffing in a loaf shape down center of meat. Sew or skewer edges of meat together to enclose stuffing completely. (Do not overfill lamb.) Tie into a sausage shape with loops of string at 1-inch intervals around circumference. Dry thoroughly with paper towels before browning, next step.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: When both lamb and stuffing are chilled, the meat may be stuffed a day in advance; wrap and refrigerate.

3)
Browning the lamb

2 to 3 Tb rendered pork or goose fat, or cooking oil; more if needed

A heavy, flameproof casserole just large enough to hold lamb comfortably

The chopped lamb bones

A large, sliced onion

A large, sliced carrot

For sauce consistency: A 6-inch square of blanched pork rind, Volume I, page 401, and/or 1 cup chopped veal knuckle bones

Preheat oven to 325 degrees in time for Step 4. Heat fat or oil in casserole to very hot but not smoking, add bones (including optional knuckle bones at end
of list) and sliced vegetables; sauté over moderately high heat for 5 to 6 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to a side dish. Film pan with more fat or oil if necessary, set lamb in it, seam-side down, and brown for several minutes, lifting occasionally with spoon to prevent lamb from sticking. Turn and brown on another side, and continue turning and browning until lamb is nicely colored on all sides and the two ends. Strew the browned bones and vegetables around the meat, and add the optional pork rind.

4)
Braising the lamb—2½ hours at 325 degrees

Salt

1 cup dry white wine or dry white French vermouth

2 or more cups brown stock or bouillon

The following tied in washed cheesecloth: 6 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf, ½ tsp thyme, 2 cloves garlic

A piece of waxed paper or foil

Casserole cover

Salt the lamb, add the wine and enough stock or bouillon to come ⅔ the way up the lamb. Bury herb packet in the liquid, and bring casserole to simmer on top of stove. Lay paper or foil over meat, cover casserole, and set in middle level of oven; regulate oven heat so that lamb simmers quietly for 2½ hours. Turn several times during cooking, and baste with liquid in the casserole. Lamb is done when a fork will pierce it fairly easily.

5)
Sauce and serving

A hot serving platter

A sieve set over a saucepan

1 Tb cornstarch blended to a paste with 2 Tb wine or stock in a small bowl

A warm sauce bowl

Parsley, watercress, or whatever vegetable garnish you wish

Remove lamb to hot platter. Do not untie yet; cover with waxed paper or foil and set in turned-off oven with door ajar while finishing sauce as follows: Strain braising liquid into saucepan, pressing juices out of ingredients. Skim surface fat off liquid, bring to simmer, skimming off additional fat, and taste carefully for seasoning and strength. Boil down rapidly, if necessary; you should have about 2½ cups. Remove from heat, and beat in starch mixture; return over heat and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove string and trussings from lamb, pour a spoonful of sauce over the meat to glaze it, and pour rest of sauce into warm bowl. Decorate platter with greenery or vegetables, and serve.

To carve, cut down in bias (diagonal) slices across the grain, first from one side of the short end, then from the other, and spoon a little sauce around the edge of each serving. (If the stuffing does not hold in place, carver should arrange meat attractively around it on plate, for each slice.)

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTES
: If you are not to serve the lamb at once, replace it in the casserole, pour the sauce around, cover loosely, and set in a 120-degree warming oven, or over barely simmering water, where it will keep nicely for at least 30 minutes.