Slow things right down with this all-day lamb dish created by Éric Fréchon for Brasserie Lazare in the heart of Paris – the tender meat and aromatic flavours are well worth the wait.
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All aboard at the Gare Saint-Lazare
Brasserie Lazare became the talk of the town when it opened in the autumn of 2013 in Paris’s Gare Saint-Lazare.
The brainchild of Éric Fréchon, it might strike you as odd that one of France’s most revered chefs should choose a lowly train station for his venture but it’s actually in-keeping with French tradition. Back in the mid-19th century, when France’s rail network was expanding and more people were starting to use this new mode of transport, addresses in or near stations were a choice spot for canny restaurateurs.
Fréchon himself has said that eating in Parisian stations reminds him of the excitement of visiting the city as a young man from the Normandy provinces.
Find out more at www.lazare-paris.fr
Recipe card
Seven-hour lamb confit with olives, lemon & bulgur
Ingredients
- 1 large 2 kg lamb shoulder
- 1 onion
- 3 litres of veal stock
- 1 splash of olive oil
- For the marinade
- 1 lemon
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 bunch of thyme
- 5 stars of star anise
- 1 pinch of cumin powder
- 50 cl of olive oil
- 1 litre of white wine
- For the bulgur
- 250 g of bulgur
- 40 cl of white stock
- 1 bouquet garni thyme, bay leaf, parsley stems
- 60 g of Taggiasche olives
- ½ bunch of fresh coriander
- 80 g of dried tomatoes
- 1 dash of olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- The day before, wash the lemons and cut them into slices, and cut the head of garlic in half.
- In a high-sided pan, pour the olive oil, white wine, lemon slices, thyme, star anise, cumin powder and unpeeled garlic. Mix everything together to obtain a marinade.
- Then place the lamb shoulder in the tray, making sure to coat it with the marinade.
- Place it in the refrigerator and marinate for 24 hours, turning the shoulder in the marinade from time to time.
- On the day, preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Peel and chop the onion. Drain the lamb shoulder and season with salt and pepper.
- In an hob-proof casserole dish, pour a dash of olive oil. Place the shoulder in the dish and sear it over high heat, turning it quickly to brown all sides. Remove the shoulder and drain it.
- Sweat the minced onion for 2 minutes without browning. Put the meat back in the dish and pour the marinade halfway down the pan. Then put the meat in the oven and cook for 3 ½ to 4 hours, taking care to baste the shoulder regularly with the marinade and topping up with the veal stock as necessary during cooking.
- While the shoulder is cooking, prepare the bulgur: heat a saucepan with the white stock and the bouquet garni, and when it boils pour in the bulgur. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove the bouquet garni and pour the bulgur into a dish. Cover with cling film and leave to swell for 5 minutes. When the bulgur has swollen, remove the seeds with a fork, adding the olive oil as you go. Add salt and pepper.
- Once the shoulder is candied, golden and crispy and the cooking juices have been reduced, place it in a serving dish with the juices at the bottom. Arrange the bulgur around it, and place the Taggiasche olives, dried tomatoes and crushed coriander leaves over the top.
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Veal stock is shown in ingredients, but never mentioned in the instructions.