consumed on 8/20/05

After a very successful doufeu debut with pork, I decided to try the doufeu out on lamb. I was feeling a little reckless (… or was it lazy?) and opted not to use a recipe. I chose some survival spice, coriander and cumin out of the cupboard and applied a nice coating to the lamb. I sautéed some onions, ginger and garlic and the browned the roast on all sides. I added a few cups of chicken broth and slid the doufeu into the oven to let it do its thing.

After a few hours I pulled it out of the oven and inspected the lamb. I know it sounds like I’m exaggerating, but when I tried to slice the roast it fell into shreds. Honesty. I never knew lamb could get that tender, but it was also odd because the meat was dry. I think I made the mistake of cooking it like it was a pork shoulder, but the lamb didn’t have nearly enough fat content to cook that long.

Luckily, the flavor was great—although next time I’d use way more survival spice and less cumin (I went nuts with the cumin). I served the lamb shreds with truffled mashed potatoes (potatoes with Casina Rossa Truffle & Salt) and beautiful yellow beans with butter and Sel Gris with Herbs.

Stick with me; this is where it gets good. The next day I thought, “What can I do with leftover lamb shreds and mashed potatoes?”

Shepherd’s pie was the natural choice.

I mixed the leftover stewing juices with the lamb and layered them into the bottom of a casserole. I topped it with a thick layer of mashed potatoes and a fresh sprinkle of truffle salt. Then I spread a layer of panko on top and drizzled it with melted butter. The combination of the crisp topping, creamy potatoes, lamb and truffle salt was outstanding. Plus the potatoes completely masked the fact that the lamb was dry. Rarely have I ever said this, but… the leftovers blew the main dish away!