Last time I was at the Coop I bought a lamb leg steak, which if it was beef would basicaly be like osso buco, but instead of needing the slow cooking of same can be cooked like, well, a steak, since it’s a section of a leg of lamb and is thus best rare to medium. So, having brought it to room temperature, I rubbed both sides with herbes de Provence, salt, pepper and seared it up in the selfsame cast-iron pan from last night.
Earlier, I had scrubbed and sliced some parsnips and celeriac which I steamed, then once really soft, whipped with the remaining steaming water, some plain whole-milk yogurt, and a bit of truffle oil. The stick blender was perfect for this (make sure there’s not too much of the cooking water; it’s a good way of getting the nutrients you steamed out back into the food, but you don’t want a runny purée.)
While the meat was resting, I filled the steamer with chopped kale and let it go for a couple of minutes, then tossed it in olive oil and cider vinegar with the requisite Celtic salt and pepper. I deglazed the meat pan with a couple spoons each of the remaining smoked duck broth and the Marquis Philips 2002 Cabernet S2, which is a good lamb wine and has their characteristic funky richness (but less so than the Shiraz 9, which is like a mutant dessert wine but not sweet.) It doesn’t take much of a pan sauce like this to complete the plate.
I ordered some of the Artisan Salt that Liz got for Xmas which should further improve the finishing of certain things. It might seem frivolous, but good salt, pepper, oils, vinegars, and other condiments make good seasonal organic ingredients taste their best and thus satisfy you more, reducing cravings for less healthy food.