By David Tanis
- Total Time
- 2½ hours, plus overnight chilling
- Rating
- 5(157)
- Notes
- Read community notes
For a springtime stew, this classic Mediterranean lamb braise is perfect. Tart with lots of lemon juice and enriched with egg yolks, it’s especially good with succulent young lamb. For optimal flavor, it's best to make the stew the night before. Most gourmet food shops and Italian delis sell fregola, a large couscous-like pasta from Sardinia.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 4pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut in 3-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1large onion, diced
- 4large garlic cloves, chopped
- 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- Pinch of saffron, crumbled (optional)
- ½cup white wine
- 4cups good chicken broth
- 2sprigs thyme
- 2sprigs rosemary
- Bay leaf
- 1cup fregola, or use Israeli couscous
- 4egg yolks
- ½cup lemon juice, plus 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3tablespoons chopped parsley
- 3tablespoons chopped celery heart leaves
- 4hard-cooked eggs (8 to 9 minutes) at room temperature, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
1167 calories; 81 grams fat; 32 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 36 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 64 grams protein; 1414 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Season lamb pieces generously with salt and pepper. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottom soup pot over medium-high heat and brown the lamb lightly on each side. (Do this in batches so as not to crowd the pan.) Remove browned lamb from pan and set aside.
Step
2
Lower heat to medium, then add onions and cook until soft, allowing them to brown a bit, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, flour, tomato paste and saffron, if using, and stir to coat the onions. Stir in wine and broth, then bring to a simmer. Add the browned lamb pieces, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf.
Step
3
Cover pot and place on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees and cook for an additional hour. The meat should be meltingly tender when pierced with a paring knife or skewer.
Step
4
Remove lamb pieces with a slotted spoon. Strain cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, then return lamb pieces and strained liquid to the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cool to room temperature, then cover pot and refrigerate overnight; this makes removing the fat easier and improves the flavor.
Step
5
Remove the stew from the fridge and remove congealed fat. Place pot over medium heat and bring to a bare simmer.
Step
6
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook fregola until al dente, about 8 to 9 minutes, drain and put into a large serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with olive oil. Keep warm.
Step
7
Just before serving, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice together until well combined. Gradually whisk in some of the hot stew liquid to temper the eggs. Turn off the heat under the stew. Pour egg mixture back into the stew, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon. The sauce will thicken very slightly. Taste for seasoning. (Sauce may curdle if it gets too hot. If necessary, keep stew warm over a double boiler.)
Step
8
Transfer stew to a serving dish. Mix together parsley, celery heart leaves and lemon zest, and sprinkle abundantly over the stew. Garnish with peeled and halved hard-cooked eggs. Serve with fregola and, if desired, vegetables such as spring carrots, turnips, asparagus or peas.
Ratings
5
out of 5
157
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Cooking Notes
Roxane
Followed to the letter, and the 1/2 cup of lemon juice was far too much at the end; the braise is unpalatably tart now. I should have left it as-was - it tasted delicious before that final addition. In the future I'd start with half as much.
Chuck
For braises, it's best to stick to the suggested time/temp in the recipe, then check and adjust. For this recipe, I'd pull from the oven, then stick a fork in the meat. It should have little or no resistance. With a cut like shoulder, with all the intramuscular fat, it's hard to overcook it. If the fork "sticks" in the meat, it needs more time, so check in 15-20 minute intervals until tender.
Lee
Since this is a braise (Stew) it's really about when the meat is tender than internal temperature. And tender is best tested with a fork.
Laura G.
Any stew that can be cooked in the oven can also be cooked stovetop. And you don't need a dutch oven--just a saucepan of some kind with a lid. At step two, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and continue at a simmer until done--starting with the time given in the recipe.
Ian
read the very helpful comments and slowly added lemon. we didnt find the entire half cup overwhelming; about perfect for us
Mary
Superb recipe. Took advice from other reviewers and cut the lemon juice to 1/4 cup. Added carrots to cook along with the lamb pieces - they absorbed the flavors and were a nice addition. I also made one minor technique change: I refrigerated the strained broth separately from the meat, making it much easier to remove the fat the following day.
Will definately make again, perhaps as a dish for dinner guests. Worth sharing!
roxlet
When you're making stew, it isn't really applicable. Stew generally cooks until nearly a falling apart doneness.
Ruth
Made this to the letter except no zest and none of the garnish cuz family and buffet. It was amazing. Loved the lemon and the meat was fall off the fork tender. Wouldn’t change a thing. Everyone loved it.
Caroline Larose
David - any idea of how I could repurpose the skimmed fat? This was delicious! Made a half recipe as directed and liked the lemon as it was.
Michael
Great flavors, loved the egg-thickened lemony addition at the end. 4C stock may be too much for this amount of meat. Also, could increase the fregola for the volume of sauce.
David W
Used less lemon juice but still the lemon overpowered everything. No taste of the herbs. Used Israeli couscous which was pretty tasteless. Time, cost and effort involved we’re definitely not worth it. Thank goodness I tried this before serving it at a dinner party. Won’t be making it again.
Deb
My butcher told me that lamb shoulder is always on the bone, but the meat fell off pretty easily after cooking a bit longer.
LaurenE
I squeezed a large lemon, just under a 1/2 cup and it was delicious! We used ramps (sauteed), asparagus, peas and carrots - the latter three blanched. Didn't have celery heart leaves, nor use the zest. This was really wonderful for spring! Will make again next year, probably!
Renee
This was fabulous!
I used leg of lamb. I forgot to add the lemon egg mixture, used ketchup instead of tomato paste, added baby favas and cubed rutabaga. Easy, fast to put together and super tasty!!!
Delicious!
Mary
Superb recipe. Took advice from other reviewers and cut the lemon juice to 1/4 cup. Added carrots to cook along with the lamb pieces - they absorbed the flavors and were a nice addition. I also made one minor technique change: I refrigerated the strained broth separately from the meat, making it much easier to remove the fat the following day.
Will definately make again, perhaps as a dish for dinner guests. Worth sharing!
EB
I didn't have time to make this overnight, but it was still delicious. I took the lamb out at the end, ladled off the fat (I used a bit to cook the fregola with) and boiled it down. I skipped the tempered egg step, and instead zested in a whole lemon and added its juice, plus some cornstarch to thicken.
The lemon played well against the tomato & saffron, and brought out the slightly gamy side of the lamb (which I love). Hardboiled eggs as a side were unexpectedly good.
Jeff
Made this with venison shanks, it was excellent.
Cheffy Dave
Jeff, THAT sounds amazing
Ian
read the very helpful comments and slowly added lemon. we didnt find the entire half cup overwhelming; about perfect for us
Coastal cook
This was wonderful with the mix of flavors from the herbs, lemon juice mixed with egg, and the amazing garnish. We served with a side of roasted fingerling potatoes which went perfectly with the sauce.
Margaret
I found the 8 to 9 minute cooking time for the fregola to be much too short. I followed the package instructions instead and left it in the boiling water for 17 minutes. It is still "al dente", although maybe a little on the softer end. I'd start checking it at 14 minutes if you like it harder. It is worth it to get the fregola if you can - it is wonderful.
Carey Kirk
Perfection! and I would not make the saffron optional- it adds divine depth of flavor and aroma.
KPaul
I followed instructions exactly, EXCEPT I could only get lamb leg so took about 30 mins longer to cook and get tender. Loved the "lemoniness" of this dish. Putting this recipe into regular rotation at hone.
And fregola is one of my new favorite ingredients. Been using it in soup lately and compared to noodles it really holds it shape and bite well, even as leftovers.
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