My mother is the expert in preparing the vegetable sauce for this meat, and she’s the one who began using wine to give a bit of sparkle to the meal. It’s hard to decide what I love the most in this Hungarian food, the sweet and creamy carrot sauce, the tender and garlicky lamb or the spongy dumplings. Luckily we can enjoy all these flavours together.
Ingredients:
1 whole garlic
800 g carrot
400 g parsnip
1 large onion
100 g celeriac
olive oil for marinade
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
8-10 juniper berries
1 tablespoon marjoram
300 ml dry white wine
6-8 smoked bacon rashers
2-3 fresh rosemary
300 ml sour cream
2 teaspoon English mustard
pepper, salt
For the bread dumpling
6 bread roll
1 bunch of parsley
2 eggs
200 ml milk
150-200 g flour
1 onion
For best results marinate the lamb 2-3 days before. Clean the meat from all the fat and sinew. Peal the garlic and separate into cloves then pierce the meat with a think sharp knife several times and stuff the garlic into each incision. Season the meat with black pepper only, spread the whole grain mustard over it and put into a large container. put the juniper berries and peeled sliced onions into the bowl and pour over olive oil till covering the meat. Close the container and put into the fridge.
On cooking day peel the carrots, parsnips and celeriac and put into a deep roasting pan. For this dish I love using my clay roasting cooker which keeps the lamb moist. Take the meat out from the marinade, season generously with salt then lay vegetables on top and cover with the bacon rashers. Put the onion from the marinate on the top, pour 200 ml wine into the pan. Put the rosemary inside, seal and cover the deep roasting pan with the lid or with a properly sealed aluminum foil. Place into a preheated oven and cook on 190 °C for 2 1/2 hours then remove the cover and roast for another 30 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the dumpling by slicing the bread into 2 cm cubes. Spread them on a flat tray, sprinkle with olive oil and roast in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Brown the finely chopped onion over 1 tablespoon olive oil then add the finely chopped parsley. Cook for 2 more minutes then put aside to cool.
Mix the egg with the milk then add the roasted bread-cubes. Stir for a few minutes to let them soak in the liquid for a while and add the flour, onion and parsley mixture. Stir with a spoon till you get a sticky and lumpy dough, if you need add some more flour or water. Boil some salty water in a deep pan to cook the dumplings. With your wet palm form small balls and put them into the boiling water. Turn down the heat slightly and cook for approximately 10 minutes.
When the meat is ready, transfer all the vegetables into a deep saucer, add the sour cream, 100 ml wine and the English mustard then use a hand blender to make a creamy sauce. Season with salt. Carve the lamb into thin slices, cover with the sauce and serve with the bread dumplings.
Enjoy!
Cooking time: 180 minutes
Tip: Add a dash of white wine to the sauce, boil for 2 minutes to give more edge to the dish
Calories and nutrition:
Calories: 898 Carbs: 126.9 g Protein: 22.3 g Fat: 22.2 g
Orsis's Kitchen 