LAMB FEST 2021 was a delicious day for lamb lovers and connoisseurs of good flavor. Seven of our nine teams shared their recipes for TABLE readers to try at home.

The chef teams who competed for the top prize at TABLE Magazine’s Lamb Fest 2021 brought their experience, their imagination, and their talents to SouthSide Works last October. The results…nine fantastic variations on deliciousness. Each entry was unique in its flavor profile, in its textures, and in its presentation. It was a tough choice, but the many hundreds of attendees voted their taste buds. Guest Judge Hal B. Klein supervised the count and announced the verdict. And the rest is lamb history.

TEAM WOODFIRE

The crowd at Lamb Fest 2021 spoke clearly: the winning dish was the lamb-filled lettuce cup dreamed up by Chris Bonfili of Bonfire Food & Drink and Cory Hughes of Fig & Ash Woodfire Kitchen. Braised Elysian Fields lamb shoulder melded with yam, pomegranate seeds, curry aioli and the crunchy, gently bitter contrast of iceberg lettuce. These were bites to remember! 

Lettuce Cups with Elysian Fields Lamb, Pomegranate, Yam, Curry Aioli & Almond Brittle

Recipe by Chris Bonfili (Bonfire Food & Drink) and Cory Hughes (Fig & Ash Wood Fire Kitchen)

For the lamb shoulder:

• 3 lb Elysian Fields lamb shoulder

• 2 sprigs rosemary

• 2-3 tbsp olive oil

• 4 cups mirepoix (portion: ½ onion, ¼ carrot, ¼ celery)

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• ¼ cup Pinot noir

• 2 qt lamb stock (sub with chicken or light beef stock)

1.     Season the lamb shoulder with salt, pepper, and minced rosemary.

2.     Take a roasting pan and add about 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Heat on medium-high heat until the oil starts to lightly smoke. Add the lamb shoulder and sear on all sides until golden brown. Pull the lamb out and reserve.

3.     In the same pot you just cooked the lamb in, add the onions and carrots in the roasting pot. Cook until soft. Add the tomato paste and stir for around 1-2 minutes until fully melted and coating the mirepoix. Deglaze with the Pinot noir and cook until the flame goes out.

4.     Add the celery and stir for 15 seconds. Place the lamb back in the roasting pan and cover with the stock. Heat it until just below simmering. Lay a piece of waxed parchment paper on top of the lamb and cover with foil.

5.     Bake at 350 degrees for 3 hours. Check with a fork to make sure the meat is falling apart. If not, let it go another 15-20 minutes. Place the entire roasting pan in the refrigerator in the liquid (or it will dry out) and let cool overnight.

6.     The next day, heat it until lightly simmering. Strain the stock through a colander and reserve the liquid. Pull the lamb pieces apart and reserve. Reduce the lamb stock in a saucepot until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the lamb pieces back in and hold.

1 head baby iceberg lettuce

Pull apart into lettuce wrap-sized pieces. 

1 pomegranate

Cut in half and smack the rounded edge with the side of your knife. The pomegranate seeds will fall out. Collect them in a bowl with any pomegranate juice you can squeeze out.

1 yam

Peel and dice the yam. Roast at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until soft enough to eat but hard enough to maintain its shape. 

For the Curry Aioli:

• ½ cup Duke’s mayonnaise

• 1 tbsp yellow curry powder + add more to taste

• ½ lime, juiced 

Place the mayo in a bowl and add the curry powder and stir in with a rubber spatula. Add the lime juice and taste. You might want to add some kosher salt or more curry powder depending on preference.

For the Almond Brittle:

• ¼ cup butter

• ½ cup almond slices

• ¼ cup sugar

• ½ tsp light corn syrup

Take a sheet tray and line it with waxed parchment paper.

In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the almonds, sugar, syrup and stir until combined. Keep stirring over medium heat until a caramel color is achieved. Pour the batter on the wax paper and cool overnight at room temperature. The next daybreak the brittle into small edible-sized pieces.

 To assemble:

With the picked lamb and reduced stock, keep warm on a stove. Take your lettuce cup and add the hot braised lamb with au jus and put about 2 tablespoons’ worth of lamb in your cup. Add 4 pomegranate seeds, 1 tablespoon of Curry Aioli and a pinky-sized piece of brittle crumbled on top. Serve and enjoy.

Story by Keith Recker/ Photography by Laura Petrilla/ Styling by Ana Kelly