This mouth-watering spring-lamb stew is light, lovely
Every Saturday, Chef Mark McEwan, one of Canada’s most celebrated chefs, serves up everything you need for a special weekend meal, including a recipe and expert at-home cooking tips.
Braised meats are often thought of as the cornerstone of heavy autumnal meals, yet this light lamb stew instead speaks softly but most assertively of springtime. This dish is a classic: it’s a basic recipe but the addition of lamb, peas and a hint of mint is just so perfect. Whether during pea season or out of season with frozen, it never disappoints — lamb and peas are two of my favourites.
I’ve made this dish so many times for friends and family, and it’s very versatile, too; I often will sub in high-performance mashed potatoes, with excess cream and butter. Make a little well in each dollop of mashed potatoes, and in goes the stew. Add grilled bread and you’re eating well. My choice of wine for this dish would be a burgundy, but merlot would work as well. I actually had a bottle of Sancerre last time we ate this recipe, and it was also amazing.
Chef tips
1. When making ravioli, I like to make sure my dough is a bit softer than when I am making straight pasta. This will help seal the dough better and prevent leaking or separation.
2. The best part of a stew is the making of the dish: browning, sautéing, deglazing, and building flavour. I always start with a great stock, concentrated but low in sodium. This is the game-changer, with richness and meatiness, but without the excess salt buildup.
3. Some people are not a fan of lamb; if that’s the case, veal or young beef is a great substitution. Want some other ravioli-filling ideas? Parsnip is good, as well as caramelized onion or charred spring onion. All those flavours would blend perfectly.
4. When choosing lamb, try and buy fresh lamb shoulder versus frozen, if possible, and make sure it has a good meat/ fat ratio and colour. Usually, on a good shoulder, 20 per cent to 25 per cent will be fat — and that’s a good thing!
Spring-Lamb Stew with Mint-Infused Sweet-Pea Ravioli
1 medium Spanish onion
1 leek, some green included, washed
4 celery stalks
1 medium carrot, peeled
2 lb (1 kg) boneless lamb
shoulder
2 tbsp (30 mL) basic marinade (combination of olive oil, chopped rosemary, sage, thyme and parsley) salt and cracked black pepper
3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
4 bay leaves
1 cup (250 mL) white wine
6 cups (1.5 L) white chicken stock
3 tbsp (45 mL) whipped butter
Ravioli
11/2 cups (375 mL) flour
3 eggs
1 tbsp (15 mL) salt
2 cups (500 mL) sweet peas, blanched
1/4 cup (60 mL) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup (60 mL) lemon juice
8 mint leaves, cut into chiffonade
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil salt and pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten flour
Vegetables
2 cups (500 mL) some combination of sweet peas, carrots, young parsnips, and pearl onions, blanched
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) white wine salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
To make the pasta dough for the ravioli, sift flour into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the eggs, turn on the mixer at low speed and add the salt. When the dough clumps together in a ball, turn off the mixer. The dough should only be vaguely tacky. If it is sticky to the touch, incorporate a little more flour. On a floured work surface, knead the dough quickly for 2 or 3 minutes. Cover in plastic wrap and set aside to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Dust the dough with flour again before passing it through a pasta rolling machine. Add more flour if pasta sticks to the rollers (pay special attention to this in summer, when humidity is at its highest). After rolling the dough, let it rest again at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.
Coarsely chop the onion, leek, celery, and carrot. Massage the lamb all over with the marinade and season it generously. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven on medium-high, then sear the lamb well — about 5 or 6 minutes per side. Remove the lamb, then lower the heat to medium-low. Add the vegetables, garlic and bay leaves. Season the vegetables and cook, stirring now and then, until they begin to caramelize. Return the lamb to the pot, raise the heat and deglaze with the wine. When that has almost completely evaporated, add enough stock to cover, bring to a simmer, adjust seasonings, cover pot and transfer it to the oven. Cook for 90 minutes, then check lamb for fork-tenderness. Keep cooking for another 30 to 45 minutes if necessary.
To make the ravioli, whiz the peas, Parmesan, lemon juice, mint, olive oil, and seasonings together in a food processor. Roll the pasta into thin sheets and spread on a flour-dusted work surface. Use a 3-inch (7.5 cm) circular cutter to cut pasta into discs. With a 1-inch (2.5 cm) melon baller, place a scoop of filling at the centre of half the pasta discs. Brush their edges with egg wash, place a second pasta disc on top of each one, and press the two pasta sheets together to seal while carefully pushing as much air from the ravioli as possible. Cut the ravioli with a 2 1/2-inch (6 cm) cutter. Dust the ravioli lightly with flour and set aside.
Place the lamb pieces in a bowl with some braising liquid, cover and keep warm. Discard the bay leaves and then whiz the braising liquid in a blender. Strain the sauce into a large measuring cup and leave it to settle. Skim the fat, and then transfer the sauce to a clean pot. Reheat and adjust seasonings.
Lightly oil the tray of a steamer, place the ravioli inside, dab with a little butter and steam for 2 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Meanwhile, quickly sauté the blanched vegetables in the olive oil and then deglaze with wine and season. Add whipped butter to the lamb sauce and froth with a hand wand. Portion out lamb onto plates, scatter vegetables over top, and top each portion with 3 ravioli. Pour the sauce over the ravioli and garnish lightly.
Makes 4 servings.
Chef Mark McEwan is a Torontobased