Herb-y Lamb and Lentils

This post is in partnership with Vermicular. All opinions expressed are purely my own, as always. Thank you so much for supporting the companies that support this blog.

There’s one thing about me that is no secret: I love trying out different products, especially when it has the potential to make my life easier. I started surgical residency and have been on nights for the past month – as someone who really appreciates routine, adjusting has been somewhat of a challenge for me, especially in the name of food. My husband has also started his residency, on days, so we basically did not see each other during the day – by the time I got home in the morning, he would be gone, and vice versa at night. Weekends were sacred to us. 
Making food has been a challenge – I use cooking as an outlet and just love cooking for us, but when you’re working 12+ hour days, sometimes all I want to do is… nothing. But we have to eat. I won’t deny we’ve succumbed and cooked frozen dumplings or wontons, or ordered in,  but on the days I want something freshly cooked with minimal effort, I use my Vermicular Musui–Kamado. I was honestly thrilled when the idea of a collaboration came up, because it seemed to answer a lot of my needs. I’ve had the Vermicular Musui–Kamado for awhile before residency, and I’ve used it so frequently – anything from making normal rice, crispy rice (think, like traditional claypot crispy rice along bottom and sides), what’s essentially sous vide without using plastic bags, slow simmers, and a personal favorite: tossing any vegetable and cooking it using the musui “waterless” cooking technique.

I should explain. The Vermicular Musui–Kamado doesn’t quite fit into any standard appliance model: it’s not a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or traditional rice cooker. Because it’s not trying to be like those – instead it references traditional Japan ovens, with three-dimensional cooking. It’s a cast iron induction cooker. It’s seal is incredible in its accuracy, which allows it to do what it’s known for – the musui waterless cooking I mentioned earlier. It’s absolutely delightful to throw in a bunch of vegetables with minimal seasoning, no water, and let it “steam cook” in its own juices, drawing out the best of its intrinsic flavors. 

As someone who (as you know) absolutely loves all things Japan and appreciate the thoughtfulness in Japanese design, I was really looking forward to trying it. It comes in beautiful packaging and also comes with a recipe book! The recipe book is incredibly helpful, because as I say, it’s not like other countertop appliances out there. However, it is quite straightforward once you understand what each button means! 

I’ve been making this particular recipe on repeat, as both Alex and I love lamb, love herbs, love lentils. In this, I wanted to meld bold flavors from nature (balancing tangy, fresh herbs with game-y lamb), and the precision seal and ability to do low temperature truly coaxes out these flavors to make a delicious, meltingly tender lamb. 

I actually first tested this with the EXT LOW heat setting (at 230ºF) for 4 hours, but then I became very curious about its precision cooking, using the WARM heat setting, which I set at 190ºF. With lamb, the lower temperature, the longer, the better, right? Well, I wanted to put that to the test. I set it at 190 and cooked for 7 hours, and oh my it is absolutely fabulous!!! I was already happy with the other outcome but this… this was magic. It was more tender, more full of flavor, and the intrinsic flavor of lamb with herbs really shined through – gamey yet not wild, if that makes sense. It was the simplest thing, too – once it’s set, I could walk away, go about my day. At the end of 7 hours, it was ready, and all I had to do was make the lentils.

RECIPE: Herby Lamb with Lentils

If you want to try this and do not have the Vermicular Musui–Kamado, you can adjust this and braise in the oven at 300F for about 2-2.5 hours. It will not be the same, but it will give you something.

Ingredients
1 lamb shank
Salt, pepper
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 fresh lemongrass stems, outer husks removed, crushed to release juices
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
½ tablespoon fennel seeds
1 star anise
3 bay leaves
1 bunch scallions, roughly chopped
1 piece ginger, crushed
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon black vinegar
3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1 handful Thai basil

1 cup cooked French green lentils (to al dente)

For the yogurt
½ cup thick yogurt, such as Greek or Icelandic
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
3 tablespoons finely chopped thai basil
Zest of one lemon
Sea salt, to taste

1. Trim excess fat from lamb shank. Season lamb shank well salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in Musui over the medium setting (445F). Sear lamb shank until browned on all sides. Set aside.

3. Add garlic, lemongrass, bay leaves, scallions, ginger, star anise, cumin seeds, and fennel seeds and toast until fragrant.

4. Add Shaoxing wine and deglaze

5. Add lamb back in with the chicken broth, and everything else up to the lentils. Bring to a boil, then set heat to WARM setting (at 190F), and cook for 7 hours, until super tender and easily flakeable with a fork (a bare touch will flake off meat). At this point, the broth will have cooked down to be a thicker, flavor-packed broth.

6. Strain broth and discard the solids. Flake off chunks of lamb from the bone and set aside.

7. In a skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil or butter. Add cooked lentils, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Add chunks of lamb to the pan with the reserved broth and quickly toss to combine. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Stir in fresh thai basil.

8. Combine yogurt with all the ingredients listed under “For the Yogurt”

9. Serve warm lentils and lamb with herbed yogurt!