lamb

Posted by Greg Henry
making d'agneau champvallon

Meat & Potatoes Day 2 goes continental! Lamb Champvallon.


According to the Larousse Gastronomique, this classic French dish dates from the reign of Louis XIV. It was supposedly invented by one of his mistresses. But which one? There are 14 (quatorze) officially recognized mistresses. That’s a lot of ladies to give credit for this dish to.


The French seem to have a lot of these stories attached to their most traditional foods. It’s hard to say how much truth there is in any one of them.


Take this recipe known to the French as Cotes D’agneau Champvallon. If it was indeed a lamb dish brought to the King’s attention by a mistress, it seems to make sense that her name may have been Champvallon. But most mistresses get short shrift in the history books. I can find no references to any of Louis’ lovers with that name.


So I decided it was time for me to take hold of this lore and redefine the history behind this dish to suit my own needs and my own cooking style. While I am rewriting history I think I’ll do a bit of tweeking to the recipe too. Something more suited to the modern palate.


Sippity Sup Continues »
Posted by Greg Henry
lamb champvallon
lamb champvallon from the oven

According to the Larousse Gastronomique, this classic dish dates from the reign of Louis XIV, and is typically made with lamb shoulder chops. I used boneless lamb chunks as an updated alternative.

Sippity Sup Continues »
Posted by Greg Henry

These make a great appetizer. The fresh tastes pair wonderfully with the lamb and the mini size makes it the perfect party food.

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Posted by Greg Henry
Bachelor's Stew Marrakech with Lamb

This is basically a tangine. In India, people would prepare something similar to this and it would sit in a communal baking area, awaiting that moment of enjoyment.

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Posted by Greg Henry

flatbread with lamb, onions mint and fetaSo here we are on day 4 of mint.

We did a mint tea that highlights the simplest essence of the herb. Then we used it as part of a medley of bright notes in a fruity tomato salad. We continued coaxing its distinctive flavor out by infusing mint into a classically French Cherry soup.

But I never really discussed why it is I chose mint in the first place. There certainly are more glamorous herbs in this world. What about shiso? Everybody is talking about that exotic little leaf.

It seems I have had a French flair going on here lately. So why not feature the most classic of the Provençal herbs, rosemary?

But I chose mint.

Partly because I wanted to prove it’s not just for Tic-Tacs and toothpaste, but also because I have a deep and abiding respect for mint. It took me a lot of years to get there though.

Sippity Sup Continues »

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