From Kazakhstan, I brought the main secret of lamb: to be tasty, you need to cook it with an open heart, and serve it in the same hospitable atmosphere as the Kazakhs do. So that food is a joy and I want to treat my friends with the best pieces.
Before the culinary tour in Alma-Ata, I could not decide for a long time what to cook. I wanted, on the one hand, to bring something modern and sophisticated, and on the other hand, not to deviate from local traditions. So we included a couple of lamb dishes on the menu – and the results amazed me. We had already made more than a hundred servings of lamb when the products ran out and we had to urgently buy more. But our pasta with truffles turned out to be unnecessary … Such devotion to our own traditions surprised me, especially since I was always skeptical about lamb. But now the turn of Alma-Ata chefs has come to treat us. We sat on carpets and drank tart red wine when they brought us a huge vat filled with all kinds of pieces of lamb: boiled, fried, stewed, deafening with the smells of herbs and spices. We did not even notice how we ate all this fantastic platter. Incredibly delicious! Almaty residents amaze with their good nature and openness. Being friendly to guests, treating them to the best dishes is not just a tradition, it is a law that cannot be broken. In each house you will be fed and watered at any time. When serving a dish, the hosts are sure to tell a lot of stories related to the treat. And it doesn’t matter what is true in these stories and what is fiction, because they are all imbued with the spirit and traditions of this people.
Lamb shank with rosemary
On 4 persons.
Preparation: 10 minutes.
Preparation: 2 hours.
- 4 lamb shanks (700 g each)
- 2-3 liters lamb or chicken broth
- 4 heads of onions
- 2 carrots
- 1 head of garlic
- rosemary and thyme
- sunflower oil
- salt and pepper
Rinse and dry the shins, cut off about 3 cm of tendons in a circle from the top to expose the bone. Salt, pepper and fry in sunflower oil. Cut and sauté the vegetables, then place the meat with vegetables and herbs in a roasting pan and pour in the broth so that it completely covers the meat. Bake in the oven for 1,5–2 hours at a temperature of 160–180 ° C. Arrange the meat on plates. Strain the remaining broth, reduce it a little and pour it over the meat to make it juicier. Garnish with herbs and serve.
It must be admitted that for many of us lamb is a specific product. There are many prejudices associated with it, the most common of which is an unpleasant smell. I can’t agree with this: in fact, a well-cooked lamb will destroy all the stereotypes of picky gourmets. It’s just that there are breeds that are grown specifically for wool, and they cannot be used in cooking. If, when choosing lamb, you feel that same “mutton” smell, then something is wrong here: either the meat is stale, or the animal is of the wrong breed. It is best to choose tail-tailed breeds: they have a lot of fat on the sacrum, which makes the meat especially tasty and prevents it from burning. And one more little secret: yarochki (sheep) are tastier and more tender than rams.
In the south, they have no idea how to cook lamb without adding fresh herbs to it. Greens play a huge, if not the main role here! Cilantro is best, but you can also add tarragon, parsley, dill, or basil—whatever you like. When, after sprinkling a leg of lamb, pilaf or shish kebab with herbs, you open the lid of the pan, your head is spinning from the combination of flavors. However, do not overdo it with spices – in this case, they will only clog the taste of meat, and not emphasize it.
Mistresses often complain that lamb meat is dry and tough. The secret is simple: for soup it is better to choose a shoulder blade, for baking – a drumstick, for a barbecue – a thigh and a loin. You can’t, for example, bake a loin, because it will be dry anyway. It is best to undercook it slightly (with blood), then the dish will be much tastier. And, for example, lamb tongues should not be cooked fresh, then they will turn out to be too tough. They need to be kept in the refrigerator for a day so that they “rest”! And of course, with any method of cooking lamb, you need to add a little fat to it. The only disadvantage of lamb fat is that it is very difficult to digest. That is why it should be washed down with hot green tea. Kazakhs eat lamb meat even in extreme heat, but thanks to tea they never feel heaviness. And when it’s cold and damp outside, lamb will warm you up perfectly, give you strength, and disperse the blood throughout the body. It’s so easy to please your guests with a leg of lamb or a spicy fried loin – nothing could be better on a chilly November evening!
Lamb tongues with couscous
On 4 persons.
Preparation – per day.
Preparation: 2,5 hours.
- 1 kg lamb tongues
- 500 g of couscous
- 3 bulbs
- 1 carrots
- 200 g green beans
- 5 stalks of celery
- 1 chili pepper
- 200 g dried tomatoes
- 1 head of garlic
- 100 g butter
- sunflower and olive oil
- salt and pepper
- mint and watercress leaves for garnish
Put fresh tongues in the refrigerator for a day. Rinse well and dip into boiling water. When the water boils again, add the peeled carrots, 2 onions, celery and garlic. Salt and cook for 1,5-2 hours. Cool the tongues in cold water, peel and cut in half lengthwise. Salt, pepper and fry in sunflower oil. Steam couscous in 700 ml hot water, add butter. Slightly boil the beans. Grind the remaining onion, chili peppers and dried tomatoes, sauté everything in sunflower oil. Put the steamed couscous into the sauteer, warm it up, add the beans, salt and pepper. Divide couscous among plates, top with tongues, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with mint and watercress leaves.