Lamb Paillard w/Kasha, Arugula, & Tomatoes

Lamb Paillard

We recently went to, Lucques,  a neighborhood restaurant that we haven't gone to in a while.  Chef Suzanne Goin has gotten quite famous since she first opened her restaurant in 1998.  We dined at her very first Sunday Supper which featured Bunny and the best Tarte Tatin that I'd ever had!  The butter was so good at the time that I had them wrap it up for me to take it home, I think it ended to be Plugra, but at that time it was very rare.  They also actually serve Lucques Olives to munch on while you peruse the menu.  This was also the restaurant that we picked to introduce mine & Hubby's parents before we got married.  Unfortunately, there was a power outage at the time, caused by a Mylar Balloon, and we weren't able to dine there.  They couldn't reach us in time to tell us that the restaurant was closed, but when we showed up they were still very hospitable to us.  My parents showed up first and when we drove up, my dad was standing in the street waving at us with a flute of complimentary Champagne in hand...lol  Then Lucques called around to other restaurants to find us another reservation (what service!!).  We ended up at Melisse that night.

I'm not much of a lamb person, but for some reason, I've been craving it.  At Lucques they had a Grilled Lamb Paillard  that was delicious!  I've only seen paillard made with chicken & veal, so was very intrigued with the lamb.  It was very tender with only a slight lamby flavor and I learned that it was made with the loin. It was served with  Farro that was mixed with spinach & onions.  I decided to try to duplicate the dish at home :o)

Lamb Loin Chops

When I went to the market, they didn't have any Boneless Loins only the Chops.  I wasn't going to get them, but I figured I could compromise and figure out a way to make thin cutlets out of them...

Cut Off the Bone...

Preparing to Pound...

After cutting the meat off the bone, I accordion cut it like I do to make Korean Short Ribs...

My technique:

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/search/label/Kalbi

Pounded...

Then I pounded them as thin as possible under Plastic Wrap...

Seasoned

I just seasoned them with Salt & Pepper and my Magic Dust :o)

Cooking...

I didn't want to fire up the grill, so I just seared them in a hot Cast Iron Skillet for about 1 minute on each side.  It's so quick and easy!!

Kasha

I didn't have Farro, but I had tried Kasha before and liked it, so I figured since it's another type of grain it would do :o)  The first time I had Kasha was at a Jewish Deli.  You can get it with their Matzo Ball Soup!  

w/Egg

Since I'm not very familiar with cooking Kasha I looked up recipes and many said to add a raw egg and salt & pepper to it, so the kernels stay separated.

20 Mins Later...

It dries up after 15-20 mins later.

Rice Cooker

I love my rice cooker, so decided to make the Kasha in it. I got this really informative Rice Cooker Cookbook that I've enjoyed tremendously.  The butter is melted first and then the Kasha & liquid is added then cooked on the Regular Rice Setting.

For Extra Flavor...

Swanson recently came out with these Flavor Boosts packets, so I added that to the Kasha liquid.  I know a lot of people don't like using products like this because of the high sodium content, but I like the extra kick of  flavor that it adds ;o)

Cooked Kasha...

I wasn't too happy that the egg got cooked and it looks like scrambled eggs are sprinkled in it, but you couldn't taste the egg. Maybe next time I may rinse the egg off before cooking it, but then that might defeat the process of separating the kernels...

Arugula

w/Onions & Garlic

I sauteed Onions & Garlic w/some seasonings and then added mature arugula w/a little water to steam it.

Tomatoes!

I then added tomatoes and cooked those a bit then added it all to the Kasha.

Kasha w/Arugula, & Tomatoes

Bon Appetit :o)

Hubby really liked this dish.  I thought it turned out good, but decided I still really don't like lamb that much, I prefer beef...lol