Leftovers! Even our dog, Buzz, won’t eat anything stored overnight in the fridge. Usually, when we give him some yummy leftover steak, he goes to his dog dish, looks at it, makes a pass at sniffing its aroma, drops his head, and with a heavy audible sigh and plodding gait shuffles away yet once again betrayed by the owners he so dearly trusts. Once, in exasperation, I whined, “but Buzzy, these are Mario Batali leftovers!” He looked at me with a why-didn’t-you-say-that-in-the-first-place shrug, and returned to his dog dish to enjoy his prize. (True story)
There are leftovers and there are leftovers! A thought that made me reconsider of an old cookbook – MICHAEL FIELD’S CULINARY CLASSICS and IMPROVISATIONS: Creative Leftovers Made From Main Course Masterpieces.
When I have the time, I love trekking through the dust of old cookbooks. I have some books that go back to Depression cooking – with such titles as GAS Cookery Book and The Progressive Farmer’s Southern Cookbook. (One never knows when a tasty recipe for Raccoon will come in handy when guests arrive unexpectedly: “First you shoot a raccoon…“)
One of my favorite inspirations is the above-mentioned Michael Field’s book on leftovers, published in 1965. Firstly, I like it because I like the concept of improvisational cooking, and secondly, if you are cooking for two, you need to consider ways to deal with the aftermath of a large baked ham or roast beef. (Though, I implore you not to consider for a moment that if you bake a ham you will find ways of finishing it off; hams grow as you eat them – not shrink!)
It is easy enough to take steak leftovers and do some Mexican or Chinese makeover… half a steak can make a family meal of beef fried rice or beef enchiladas, but to come up with something as fine as the original is a challenge.
MICHAEL FIELD’S CLASSIC LEG OF LAMB IN THE FRENCH STYLE:
6 or 7 pound leg of lamb (ask the butcher to retain the “fell” the thin parchment-like covering around the leg which will encase the meat in a fine crisp crust)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into ½ inch slivers
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons “crystal” salt -gross sel (There are so many wonderful sea salts now available)
2 large onions thinly slivered
2 large carrots thinly sliced
4 stalks celery cut into 1-inch pieces
1½ cups stock: canned beef and chicken bouillon in equal proportions
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Remove the meat from the refrigerator about 2 hours before you plan to roast it.
Preheat the oven to 500°F. With the point of a small knife make 6 or 8 short incisions along the length of the leg and insert into each a sliver of garlic. Brush the meat thoroughly with the vegetable oil and pat it with crystal salt. Place the leg, fat side up, on a rack set in a shallow roasting pan just about large enough to hold the meat comfortably. Roast, uncovered and undisturbed for 20 minutes in the center of the oven. Then turn the heat down to 375°F, scatter the cut-up onions, carrots, and celery around the meat and continue to roast without basting (and still uncovered of course) for about 50-55 minutes longer.
At its best, a roast leg of lamb should be served medium-rare. Let the meat rest on a heated platter for 15 minuets.
Meanwhile make the sauce. Add to the roasting pan the 1½ cups of stock and bring it to a boil on top of the stove. Let it boil briskly for about 3-4 minutes and scrape into the juices all the brown sediment clinging to the bottom and sides of the pan. Boil down until it reaches the intensity of flavor you prefer. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve set into a small saucepan, pressing down hard on the vegetables with a spoon to extract all their juices. Skim the sauce of most of its surface fat, add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and stir in the lemon juice. Reheat the sauce before serving.
IMPROVIZATIONS:
Michael's Lamb Curry
5 tablespoons butter, 2 for sautéing onions and garlic and 3 for frying lamb
2 cups onions thinly sliced
1 teaspoon garlic finely chopped
2 cups cold roast leg of lamb, cut into 1½ -2 inch pieces, trimmed of all fat and gristle
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons imported Madras curry powder
1 tablespoon flour (Combine curry powder and flour)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup stock (beef or chicken)
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 2-3 quart heavy flameproof casserole that has a tight-fitting cover. Add the onions and garlic and fry them over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, stirring every now and then, until they are soft and lightly colored. Transfer them from the casserole to a small bowl.
Dip the pieces of meat in the lemon juice, sprinkle with a little salt, then roll the lamb pieces in the combined curry powder and flour, coating them heavily. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and the tablespoon of vegetable oil in the casserole. When the foam subsides, fry the lamb over moderately high heat, a few pieces at a time, until each piece is a deep golden brown. Return the onions to the casserole pour in stock and bring to a boil stirring gently, to combine all the ingredients. Then cover the casserole tightly, and bake in the center of the oven for about an hour.
Serve this extraordinarily simply and fine curry with a bowl of plain boiled rice, a cucumber-yogurt sauce and a bowl of chutney.
My Lamb Couscous
4½ tablespoons unsalted butter
Olive oil
Leftover lamb cut into 1½-2inch pieces
1 large onion crudely chopped
3 celery stalks sliced casually 1-2 inches
3 large carrots cut as the celery
1 hefty pinch of saffron
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
Cayenne pepper to taste
Bouquet garni of thyme and parsley
Chicken broth… about 3-4 cups
1 cup red wine
Optional ½ cup orange juice
I can stewed tomatoes
2 cups couscous
Loosely chopped fresh mint leaves as a garnish
In a large skillet lightly brown the carrots in a little butter. Add a tablespoon of sugar and a bit of broth to create a glaze. Set aside.
In a large casserole, lightly brown the onions. Add the meat and sauté for a few minutes. Add the carrots, celery, most of the broth, the wine, (orange juice if you are using any), stewed tomatoes, herbs and spices and gently simmer uncovered for about thirty minutes – or longer if necessary. Add more broth if becomes too dry.
Prepare your couscous as directed (I cook mine in chicken broth).
Take aside about a cup of the broth and strain. Add cayenne pepper to taste. This becomes the hot sauce served along with the stew and couscous. Garnish with mint.
Nancy Ellison, award winning photojournalist and celebrity portraitist, has authored fourteen books of photographs, including "Romeo and Juliet: The Love Story in Dance" and "Starlet". Her newest book, "Wagner's Eternal Ring" will be published this September by Rizzoli.