Cooking for Two - Bruce Weinstein [60]
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
One 1-pound rack of lamb (7 or 8 bones), frenched (see Note)
2 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil
1 pound red-skinned potatoes, the smallest you can find
1. Mix the tea, ground coriander, and ½ teaspoon of the salt in a small bowl. Rub the lamb meat with 1 tablespoon of the oil, then massage the tea mixture into the meat. You needn’t coat the bones. Place the herbed rack in a shallow roasting pan or baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably for 12 hours, but for no more than 24 hours. Bring the lamb back to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.
2. Position the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and boil for 5 minutes, or just until they begin to soften on the outside but still have a firm inner core. Drain and immediately toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and ½ teaspoon of salt.
3. Heat a flame-proof roasting pan or a high-sided, oven-safe medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the rack of lamb and brown it on all sides for 3 minutes, turning as necessary. Scatter the potatoes around the pan, then place it in the oven.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes for rare, turning the potatoes once, until the lamb registers 125°F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted in the thickest part of the meat without touching a bone. For medium-rare, add 3 minutes and roast to 130°F; for medium, add 8 minutes and roast to 140°F. Do not roast lamb to temperatures above 140°F or it will turn leathery. Allow the rack to stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before carving between the bones and separating the chops to serve.
NOTE: A frenched rack has had the fat, cartilage, and some of the meat pulled back from the ribs themselves, thereby separating them and leaving a round “eye” of meat along the bottom of the bones. In the United States, most racks of lamb are sold frenched. If for some reason yours isn’t, slice between the bones to the rounded eye of meat, then clear away the material between the bones by shaving it off the bone, being careful not to splinter the bones as you pull your knife across them. Or ask your butcher to french the rack for you.
Elegant Potatoes
Substitute 1 pound large, peeled, yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, for the red-skinned potatoes. Use a melon baller to scoop perfectly rounded balls out of the flesh. There is some waste, but the final presentation is quite dramatic. In fact, you can use this technique for any recipe that calls for small “new” potatoes.
Beef and Veal
Of all the things we’re likely to give up when we’re cooking in small batches, beef is surely at the top of the list. But there’s no reason it needs to be. Sure, steaks make an easy dinner for two. But most any beef dish, from hamburgers to rib roast, can be made for two: just buy a lean cut, add a few pantry staples, and dinner’s on the table in no time.
INSIDE-OUT CHEESEBURGERS makes 2 stuffed patties
If you put the cheese inside the hamburger patty, it infuses the meat—and it won’t drip all over the grill or the frying pan. Serve these burgers on the buns of your choice along with your favorite condiments.
¾ pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons shredded Cheddar (about ½ ounce)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about ½ ounce)
½ teaspoon caraway seeds, lightly crushed in a spice grinder or in a mortar with a pestle
1 tablespoon canola or other vegetable oil
1. Gently mix the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper in a medium bowl with your hands or a wooden spoon; do not mix until the meat fibers break down. Divide the mixture into four balls, each about 4 inches in diameter; pat each into a ¼-inch-thick patty.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the Cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and crushed caraway seeds. Place half this mixture