Braised Lamb Cheek Vol Au Vents with Creamed Mustard Greens and Gremolata

Mary had a little lamb. It was DELICIOUS. 

I’ve been going through my recipe files and trying to organize them into a cookbook for the iPad so that I have easy, portable access when I want to find something. This is all for my personal use, because most of my go-tos are recipes I’ve found online over the years, created by someone else and thrown into an email folder, never again to see the light of day. When I make a recipe and love it, it goes into a different folder and gets sent out to the recipe mailing list I’ve grown over the years. (Today, if you’re on that list, you get an update when I throw a new recipe up to Baketard, which is intended to replace that list.)

Digging through old files I found this recipe, which was one we made a while back when we had a friend coming to town. I was lucky enough to score some lamb cheeks at the farmers’ market, and this recipe was just pretty and fussy enough for me to want to give it a go. I mean, let’s be serious—who doesn’t love ANYTHING surrounded by a vol au vent of puff pastry? Looks fancy, but it is really easy to prepare. You just need to plan for some braising time.

If you can’t get lamb cheeks (and let’s be honest, they’re not easy to acquire), this recipe would also work well with shanks. The cooking time would need to be a little bit longer—just check the meat after 3 hours and see if it’s ready to fall off the bone. That’s what you’re going for here.

I’m looking forward to light, delicious spring foods soon. Right now, with our overcast skies and constant rain, I’m still craving this kind of grub.

Enjoy!

Braised Lamb Cheek Vol Au Vents with Creamed Mustard Greens and Gremolata

Adapted from a recipe by Michael Thurman, Martini House, St. Helena

Serves 6

6 4 oz. lamb cheeks

2 carrots, cut up

3 large onions, cut up

1 head garlic, minced

2 large cans chicken broth

1 bunch thyme

1 bay leaf

2 T black peppercorns

6 T whole mustard seed

Puff Pastry

Creamed Mustard Greens

4 bunches mustard greens

3 shallots thinly sliced

2 T butter

1 qt heavy cream

3 T whole grain mustard

2 T fresh ground

mustard seed

1 T fresh ground

nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Gremolata

1 lemon

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Lamb Cheeks

Season lamb cheeks with salt and pepper. Brown both sides on medium/high in 3 tablespoons vegetable oil. Set aside. Add 2 more tablespoons oil to pan, add vegetables, and sauté until golden brown. Transfer cheeks and vegetables to stock pot and cover with chicken broth.

Add thyme, garlic, and spices and bring to a boil. Cover with lid or foil and place in preheated 375 degree oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove cheeks from liquid and cover with plastic; set aside. Strain liquid and discard vegetables and herbs. Reserve braising liquid.

Creamed Mustard Greens

In 2 quart saucepan sweat shallots in melted butter until translucent. Add cream and whole grain mustard. Bring to a slow simmer on medium heat (cream will scald and boil over if too hot.) Reduce cream by half; set aside and keep warm. Skim any skin that continues to form and discard.

Bring 2 gallons of salted water to a boil and add mustard greens. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes (until tender) and remove and plunge into cold water. Remove greens and

squeeze out excess water. Place in food processor and puree while slowly adding cream mixture. When desired consistency is met add nutmeg and mustard seed. Set aside.

Gremolata

Combine garlic, lemon zest, and parsley in mixing bowl. Add olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Vol au Vent (Puff Pastry)

Puff Pastry sheets can be purchased in the freezer section of the grocery store. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Allow pastry to thaw for about 20 minutes. Cut into 2-inch squares and place on heavily buttered cookie sheet. In small bowl, whisk egg and milk together. Brush egg mixture lightly over pastry squares.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Once removed from oven, cut 1/2" x 1/2" in the middle of each pastry square, remove and set aside

Plating

Warm Vol au Vent in oven and place lamb cheeks in hot braising liquid until warmed through. Place pastry on middle of plate and fill with greens. Place cheek on the greens and spoon one tablespoon of gremolata on top of cheek. Garnish plate with any extra gremolata.

Spice-Braised Pork Belly, Cornmeal Waffle & Quail Egg

Ok, this one takes some work but the results are soooooooo worth it. Another Star Chefs Rising Chef Award winner, Chef Joshua Henderson also used to be a chef-instructor at the Art Institute where I went to culinary school. Unfortunately, I never had him as one of my instructors. 

This dish was my favorite at the Star Chefs event, and I made it the next weekend. It’s one of those recipes that actually worked and ended up tasting just as good at home as it did in a restaurant setting. It's SO SO SO worth the effort.

Spice-Braised Pork Belly, Cornmeal Waffle, and Quail Egg
Joshua Henderson of Skillet Street Food – Seattle, WA
Adapted by StarChefs.com
February 2009

Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients

Wet Brine:
1 gallon water
2 cups sugar
2¼ cups coarse salt
12 juniper berries
12 cloves
6 cinnamon sticks
12 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
4 pounds pork belly, cut into 6 ounce pieces

Spice-Braised Pork Belly:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups sliced onions
6 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
1 tablespoon allspice
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 quarts beef stock
1 quart apple juice
2 cups brown sugar

Cornmeal Waffle:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt

To Assemble and Serve:
8 quail eggs
Method

For the Wet Brine:
Bring the water to a simmer. Add the sugar and spices and steep for 1 hour. Allow the brine to cool and add the pork belly. Fully submerge for 24 hours. Remove the pork belly and reserve for braising.

For the Spice-Braised Pork Belly:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small roasting pan, heat the olive oil and sweat the onions until translucent. Add the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and thyme and make a paste. Add the remaining ingredients and the pork. The liquid should come about halfway up the pork belly. Remove liquid or add stock as needed. Braise for approximately 2 hours, or until fork tender. Remove the pork belly and strain the braising liquid into a saucepot. Simmer and skim the foam and fat that accumulates while the sauce is reducing. When the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, check seasoning and set aside for service.

For the Cornmeal Waffle:
Preheat the waffle maker. Put all the ingredients in a blender. Cover and process at medium-high speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over-blend. Pour ½ cup of the batter over grids. Close the waffle maker and bake until golden. Repeat with the remaining batter.

To Assemble and Serve:
Fry or poach the quail eggs. Place a waffle on each plate and top with a piece of pork belly. Place an egg on each piece of pork, and drizzle with the reduced braising liquid.