Lamb Hash, Poached Eggs, Sheep's Milk Cheese Hollandaise

Markets:
- Overland Park Farmer's Market
(located on Marty between 79th and 80th streets)
- Wed. and Sat. @ 7am


Farmer's Market Items:
- Green Dirt Farm lamb shank
- Green Dirt Farm sheep's milk cheese
- red and orange bell pepper
- vidalia onions
- heirloom cherry tomatoes

Dish:
Lamb Hash, Poached Eggs, Sheep's Milk Cheese Hollandaise

Ingredients:
Lamb Hash
- 2 lamb shanks
- 2 large yellow or vidalia onion
- 1 rib celery
- 7 cloves garlic
- 1 sprig sage
- 1 bunch thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 cup chicken stock/broth
- 1/3 cup brandy
- 1/3 cup Boulevard Pale Ale
- Canola oil
- 3 yukon gold potatoes
- 3 red/orange peppers
- Extra Virgin olive oil

Hollandaise
- 2 egg yolks
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 Tbsp sheep's milk cheese
- cayenne pepper

- 1 box cherry tomatoes
- 2 whole eggs
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1.) If I'm slow braising, I feel I might as well take advantage of a low temp oven and slow roast other items. This time it is oven dried cherry tomatoes. By slow roasting them they turn out like sun-dried tomatoes, very sweet. First toss the cherry tomatoes in a bowl with some salt, pepper, 2 cloves garlic, a couple sprigs of thyme and extra virgin olive oil.

2.) Place the items on a sheet pan lined with a Silpat (this is a non-stick pad you can find at a restaurant supply story) if you have one. Set oven at 250º and cook for 2 hours. Take a peek every half hour to see that they don't burn, and toss them around a little

3.) Roughly chop 1 onion and 1 rib of celery, and liberally season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper.

4.) In a pot heat 2 Tbsp of canola oil on high. Right before oil starts smoking gently place the shanks in the pot, and brown on each side for about 4 minutes. You want a golden brown color. When the shanks are brown, set aside, and add the chopped onion, celery, and 5 whole garlic cloves to the pot. Saute for about 3 minutes until soft.




5.) When the vegetables are soft, add the shanks back to the pot along with the sage, a bunch of thyme, bay leaf, can of diced tomatoes, brandy, beer, brown sugar, stock,


6.) Put a lid on the pot, and place in the 250º oven for 5 hours

7.) Meanwhile dice the 3 peppers, 1 onion, and peel and dice the 3 peel the potatoes.

8.) If you are going to hold the potatoes store them in cold water so they don't turn brown. Before making the hash you want to blanch the potatoes. This means partially cooking them in water. Fill a pot with water and add the diced potatoes, and 1/4 cup salt to the water. Turn the burner on high, and bring the water to a boil. When it reaches a boil, turn it to medium and let it cook for a minute then strain the potatoes in a colander. The potatoes should be be tender, but still maintain their form and not turn mushy.


9.) When the lamb has cooked for 5 hours remove from the pot, and while it is still hot it should fall off the bone and shred easily, much like pulled pork. Cooking the lamb in a low temperature oven for long periods of time while it is partially submerged in liquid is called braising. Braising is the best method of cooking the tougher cuts of meet close to the legs like the shank, the shoulder, and the saddle.





10.) In a non stick pan heat 2 Tbsp of EVOO on high. Add the onions and peppers to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes until they soften. Add the blanched potatoes and the lamb next, and mix in with the peppers and onions. Let the hash cook on medium high for 5 minutes. The key to a good hash is getting a nice golden brown crust. To get this you must let it cook without over stirring it. After 5 minutes, flip the hash in the pan, and cook on the other side for five minutes.




11.) Strain the lamb braising liquid and place in another clean pot. Heat liquid on medium until it begins to simmer. Crack and gently add 2 eggs to the liquid and poach for 2 minutes on each side. Poaching occurs between 140º and 160º. You poach at a simmer. You don't want the liquid to come to a boil, because the turbulence of the eggs will tear the eggs apart. When the eggs are finished you want the whites cooked, but still want the yolks soft and runny inside. Poaching the eggs in the braising liquid gives the egg a rich and meaty flavor of the lamb.




12.) To make the sheep's milk cheese hollandaise sauce first melt and clarify the two sticks of butter. Butter is only 80% butterfat, the other 20% is water and milk solids. When you brown or burn butter it is the milk solids that are burning. To clarify butter melt and cook the butter on low. As the butter cooks a foamy white substance gathers on the top. This is the water and milk solids. Skim and remove the white foam from the butter until it looks clear. Keep the clarified butter warm on low on the burner.

13.) Heat a pot of water on medium. Place a stainless steel bowl on top of the pot of water, and add two egg yolks. Whisk and cook the yolks until they start thickening for 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and continue whisking. Next add the butter. Add only a few drops at first and whisk it in continuously. You are trying to create an emulsion between the eggs and the fat (butter) so whisking and going slowly is important. If the eggs start cooking too much over the pot of water simply remove it from the pot for a minute, and keep whisking. After adding the initial amount of butter you can whisk in the rest of the butter in a small ladles. Continue adding until the sauce thickens and forms ribbons. Next whisk in the sheep's milk cheese until melted, and season with cayenne, and salt and pepper.

Hollandaise has raw or undercooked egg in it, and it is usually held at a temperature that is advantageous for bacteria to form. Because this is the case it is best to not serve hollandaise fresh, and not save it.

14.) To serve plate the eggs on top of the hash, and drizzle the sauce over the eggs.