Serves 4
Ingredients
White wine-braised lamb cheeks
1kg lamb cheeks
1.5l sauvignon Blanc
100g sweet carrots
125g leeks
100g sweet onions
10g garlic
6g parsley stems
30g thyme
3 bay leaves
2g black peppercorns
Flour
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
3l lamb stock, heated
Lamb tongues
1kg lamb’s tongue
2.5l water
110g salt
40g pink salt
65g brown sugar
8g black pepper
2g all-spice
10g garlic
2g yellow mustard seeds
Fava bean pistou
100g fava beans
10g spinach
5g tarragon
60ml cream
10g grated parmesan
25ml basil oil
Black trumpet mushrooms à la grecque
500ml mushroom stock
100ml champagne vinegar
50ml white wine
1⁄2 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 strip orange zest
0.5g mustard seeds
Coriander seeds
Black peppercorns
Fennel seeds
Star anise
1 lemon, juiced
200g black trumpet mushrooms, sautéed, drained and coarsely chopped
5g parsley, roughly chopped
Armando Manni’s “per me” 2013 vintage olive oil
To serve
20 pieces garden radish
20 miner’s lettuce leaves
Method
White Wine-braised lamb cheeks
Place all of the ingredients except for lamb cheeks into a pot and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and chill. Once chilled, brine the lamb cheeks in the white wine marinade for 12 hours. After the 12 hours of brining, remove the cheeks from the marinade and strain the liquid from the mirepoix. Reserve the mirepoix. Dry the cheeks on a linen towel. Place the reserved marinade in a 2l pot and bring to a boil. lightly simmer and skim off the impurities. Season and lightly flour the marinated lamb cheeks. Lightly brown the cheeks in a small rondeau pot with a generous amount of clarified butter, flip and brown the other side. When the cheeks are perfectly golden brown, remove them to a resting rack and discard the cooking oil. Add fresh clarified butter to the rondeau pot and lightly caramelize the reserved mirepoix, stirring frequently. Nestle the browned lamb cheeks into the mirepoix and add 1l of the reserved marinade and 3l of the hot lamb stock. Cover then braise with parchment paper and a lid and cook slowly in an oven heated to 95c for about 5 hours. When the cheeks are perfectly tender remove them from the oven and allow them to cool in the cuisson. Remove the cheeks from the cuisson and lightly press them between two service trays and chill. Strain the cuisson and bring it back to a boil, skimming frequently and clear by passing it many times through a chinois and then through a passior.Reduce to a glaze, strain and reserve.
Lamb tongues
In a 4l pot bring all of the ingredients except for the lambs tongue to a boil, then chill rapidly. Add the cleaned lambs tongue to the brine. Cover with a linen towel and allow to marinate for 2 days. After two 2 days, remove the lambs tongue from the brine, bring the marinade to a boil and then chill rapidly again. Place the lambs tongue and the brine in a vacuum pack bag and cook in a regulated water bath at 64c for 48 hours. After 48 hours remove the lambs tongue from the bath and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Place the bag into a large ice bath and chill for 2 hours. Remove the tongue from brine. Then remove the skin and reserve.
Black trumpet mushrooms à la grecque
In a 2l pot, add all the liquids and bring to a boil. Add all of the spices and aromatics and infuse for 10 minutes off of the stove. Strain the cuisson through a passoire. Add the cooked black trumpet mushrooms, parsley and olive oil. Adjust the seasoning according to taste.
To serve
Place the lamb cheeks in a small sautoir pan with 200ml of the lamb cheek glaze and add a small knob of butter. Lightly glaze. Grill the corned lambs tongue and reserve. Place about 40g of the mushrooms à la grecque in the bottom of a small soup bowl and top with the glazed lamb cheek. Season with salt and finish with olive oil. Alternately plate the fava pistou in a small soup cup and top with garden radishes and the grilled lambs tongue. Garnish with miner’s lettuce and fava bean blossoms and serve.