First place: Game Creek Club
Lamb Bisteeya with Cardamom-Spiced Green Papaya & Tomato-Ginger Vinaigrette
This Moroccan dish, conceived by executive chef Thomas Newsted and executed by chefs Canyon Jacob and Douglas Klacik, epitomizes the term “chef dish.” They cooked the lamb in a gallon of duck fat to make a confit, decorated the plate with tomato aspic cubes and served it with a puff of spun sugar on top. We have cut fat, calories and hours by streamlining the recipe, while maintaining the flavor. Serves 10-12.
Ingredients
Lamb:
1 tablespoon star anise, ground
2 cups kosher salt
3 cups sugar
5 tablespoons black peppercorns, cracked
8 bay leaves, crushed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
5 tablespoons fennel pollen (sold at some grocery and specialty stores – gives an anise flavor)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons canola oil
6 1/4 pounds leg of lamb, boned, rolled and tied
3-4 cups red wine
3-4 cups beef stock
Papaya:
3 shallots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded, minced
4 whole cardamom pods
Oil
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tablespoons green chartreuse liqueur
4 green papayas, cut into thin sticks or or diced
Zest from 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Tomato-Ginger Vinaigrette:
1/2 (about 1/2 cup) red onion, sliced
1 (about 2 tablespoons) green onion, chopped, whites only (1 green
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon clarified butter or oil
3 tablespoons herb vinegar
1 cup tomato purée (fresh or canned)
1 cup corn oil
1 tablespoon lemon balm, chopped (or equal parts mint and cilantro)
Salt and pepper to taste
Phyllo:
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Zest from 1 orange
Zest from 1 lime
1 cup hazelnuts, pan-toasted and crushed
1 pound phyllo dough
Rendered lamb fat or melted butter, warmed
Powdered sugar, cinnamon,
almonds, macadamia nuts, optional garnish
Directions
Lamb: In a medium bowl, combine anise, salt, sugar, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic and fennel pollen.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Rub rolled lamb with olive oil to just coat, pat on spice mix to cover well. Heat canola oil in a large Dutch oven or high-sided frying pan until hot but not smoking. Sear lamb on all sides until golden. Add red wine to deglaze pan, followed by beef stock, to cover lamb by 2/3 with liquid. Bring to a simmer, cover, and place in oven.
Cook about 4 hours or until lamb is tender but not disintegrating. The meat should pull apart with little or no effort.
Cool and shred lamb and add some of the braising liquid (pan juices) to moisten. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Papaya: Sauté shallots with garlic, jalapeño and cardamom pods in oil until aroma becomes apparent.
Deglaze the pan with lime juice and chartreuse; simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat; fold in papaya and zest, cool to room temperature.
Season with salt and pepper. Taste and set aside for later use.
Tomato-Ginger Vinaigrette: Sauté onions with ginger in butter or oil until aroma becomes apparent. Add herb vinegar, simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool, purée in a blender with tomato purée. With the motor running, add corn oil in a slow stream to emulsify.
Pulse in chopped lemon balm or cilantro-mint. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
Phyllo: Combine sugar, cinnamon, orange and lime zest, and nuts. Mix well using a wire whisk. Set aside for later use.
Keep phyllo dough under a damp towel. Remove one sheet and brush with warmed lamb fat or melted butter to coat. Lightly sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over the fat or butter.
Layer another sheet of phyllo on top and repeat process with sugar mixture.
Repeat this process once more so you have three layers.
Cut layered phyllo dough with a knife or wheel cutter into strips about 1 1/2 inches wide by 2 inches long. Keep refrigerated until needed.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Overlap the two cut pieces of phyllo to form a plus sign. Fill center with about 2 tablespoons shredded lamb. Fold bottom strip of phyllo to the center so it overlaps filling. Repeat process for the other strip of phyllo. Turn “purse” over, so that the seam is facing downward.
Bake bisteeya “purses” 10-12 minutes or until they become golden brown. If oven is not available, they may be pan-fried.
To serve: Place papaya salad on serving plate. Place the bisteeya atop papaya. Drizzle or strategically place the tomato-ginger vinaigrette around the bisteeya.
Garnish with a dusting of powdered sugar and cinnamon before serving, fresh toasted nuts (almonds or macadamia) may also be used as garnish.
Wine ideas: Exotic and rich, this dish needs a wine that can stand up to it but not overpower – a perfect excuse to pull out a pinot noir. Check out Hangtime, if you can find it, an Oregon pinot that’s a bargain at about $15; also look for French Rabbit, a new wine that comes in an environmentally (and wine-) friendly paperboard Tetra Pak. At $10 per liter, it’s a steal. | -Tara Q. Thomas
Second place: Grouse Mountain Grill
Salt-Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint-Garlic Relish
Chef Chris MacGillivray is from Santa Fe and has been cooking professionally since he was 17, starting at the Inn at the Loretto and working his way up in New York City and now in Vail. His recipe serves 6-8.
Ingredients
5-6-pounds leg of lamb, boned, rolled and tied
2 pounds kosher salt
4 egg whites
Relish:
1/2 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped mint
5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
(2 tablespoons)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Mix salt, egg whites and enough water to make a pastelike consistency.
Place lamb in a roasting pan and cover completely with salt crust mixture, cook 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer reads 120 degrees. Let rest for 30 minutes while it continues to cook in the crust.
Meanwhile, make relish: Mix all ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. When lamb is done, break open salt crust and shave lamb with a slicing knife.
Serve with relish and garnish with shoestring potatoes or watercress, and a drizzle of nice olive oil.
Wine ideas: Whether it’s the gamey flavor of lamb or the mint sauce that so often comes with it, there’s something about lamb that just asks for syrah. When grown in Australia, it’s called shiraz, and the grape often picks up a minty note; in France, its homeland, it tends more toward scents of thyme, rosemary and bacon fat. Look for wines from Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Cornas to try the French style. -Tara Q. Thomas
Third place: Two Elk Restaurant
Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Vegetable Couscous
Australian chef Bernard Clancy of Two Elk Restaurant says this is a typical Australian pub recipe, and in relaxed Aussie style, if you like one ingredient more than another, just throw in more of that ingredient to tailor this recipe to your own style. He used pearl-
sized Israeli couscous, and served the lamb with a red wine demi-glace sauce and garnished with deep-fried leeks. This adapted recipe serves 8.
Ingredients
4-5 pounds leg of lamb, boned, rolled and tied
1 pound Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
4-5 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Whatever vegetables you like
Couscous
Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cut Roma tomatoes in half, toss with 1/4 cup olive oil and roast in the oven 1/2 hour. Remove from oven, raise temperature to 350 and set tomatoes aside to cool.
Chop tomatoes, basil, 1 tablespoon rosemary and garlic, add about 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Stuff inside of the leg of lamb. Roll it back up and tie with kitchen string. Place in a roasting pan and rub top of lamb with olive oil, thyme and rosemary.
Cook at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 hours. Let lamb rest before carving to allow juices settle.
Select type of vegetables you like and cut into small cubes. Toss with about 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a cookie sheet. Roast at 350 degrees until tender, about 1/2 hour, depending on vegetable and size.
Cook couscous according to package instructions. Toss veggies into couscous.
To serve, slice lamb and place on top of couscous.
Wine ideas: A basic Aussie shiraz fits this dish in both its exuberant flavors and its relaxed, Sunday-dinner feel. Check out one from Lindemans or Rosemount Estates, or look for the Vintners Blend Shiraz that the Californian winery Ravenswood makes from Australian grapes. All run less than $15. -Tara Q. Thomas
Bow Ties with Asparagus, Blue Cheese and Pine Nuts
The latest dish from DinnerOnTime.com, a recipe service by former Denverite Janne Taubman, makes a perfect Easter side dish. “Sorry, this is not kosher for Passover because of the grain pasta, but save it for another day,” says Taubman. “You can serve this as a main course as well. Just add some toasted garlic bread on the side and you have a complete meal.”
Ingredients
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
3 slices French bread
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound fresh asparagus
6 large shallots
1 pound bow ties
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
Fresh cracked pepper to taste
Kosher salt to taste
Directions
Toast pine nuts in a toaster oven or in a small skillet on the stovetop. No need to add any oil but watch closely as they can burn quickly.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Cut the bread into big chunks and whirl in a food processor to make breadcrumbs. Place in a small bowl, drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and work with a fork until well combined. Toast in the toaster oven or brown in a small skillet, stirring frequently, until brown and crisp. Set aside.
Clean asparagus and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside
Mince shallots. Heat a small skillet and add the rest of the olive oil. Add shallots and sauté until soft. Set aside.
Cook pasta until almost al dente. Add asparagus and continue to cook 1 minute or until asparagus is still crisp but hot. Save a cup of the pasta water.
Drain pasta/asparagus and place in a large mixing bowl along with rosemary, blue cheese, shallots and pine nuts. Add about 1/2 cup pasta water and stir until well mixed and the cheese begins to melt. Add more water if needed to get a creamy consistency. Place in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Serve immediately.
Tip: Asparagus will keep for a week or so in the refrigerator if you cut a half-inch off the bottom of the stalks and place them in an inch or so of water. Do not cover with plastic. When you are ready to use the asparagus, place in a sink and cover with water. “Swoosh” around to remove any sand or dirt. Snap off the bottom. It will break naturally where the stalk becomes tender.
Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Cumin Dressing and Orange Yogurt Sauce
Ellie Krieger, registered dietitian and host of the new Food Network series “Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger,” created this recipe for Easter menus. Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
4 cups baby spinach leaves
Yogurt With Orange Essence:
1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves, optional
Directions
In a medium bowl combine chickpeas, parsley and onion. In a small bowl whisk olive oil, lemon juice, zest, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over the chickpea mixture and toss to combine.
In a small bowl, stir yogurt, orange zest, orange juice and honey.
Serve chickpea salad over a bed of spinach leaves. Top with the yogurt sauce and a sprinkle of mint, if using.
Lemon-Rosemary Gnocchi
At Panzano in the Hotel Monaco, chef Elise Wiggins serves these Italian dumplings with grilled zucchini, oven-dried tomatoes, nicoise olives and garlic chips in a lemon-olive oil broth. They go with any type of sauce. Makes 6-8 servings.
Ingredients
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
2 eggs
1 cup ricotta
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
2 teaspoons lemon zest
Salt and white pepper to taste
Directions
Bake potatoes until soft. While still hot, peel them with a knife and rice them. (If you do not have a ricer, mash them with a fork.) It is important to do this while the potatoes are still hot so the gnocchi do not get overly starchy.
Put the riced potatoes on a mixing board and make a well in the center. Add all ingredients into the well and mix with your hands until just incorporated. Do not overmix, they dough should form a nice ball that holds together. Taste mixture and adjust seasoning.
Roll out a small portion at a time on a floured surface into 1-inch diameter logs. Cut the logs on the bias with a knife (dip knife in flour to keep it from sticking). Lightly press cut pieces with the tines of a fork to create ridges. Place gnocchi on a baking sheet.
Bring salted water to a boil in a large, shallow pot with a wide surface area. Decrease temperature of the water so it simmers gently.
Drop gnocchi into simmering water and cook until they float. Skim them out gently and shock in ice water. When they are cool, place on a tray that has been coated with olive oil.
More online: For a photo guide on how to shape gnocchi, go to gourmetfood.about.com/od/cookingtechniques/ss/gnocchistep.htm
