Rain Rain, Go Away…
You know what day it is? It’s June 30th, the last day of June and well into the official start of summer. Unfortunately, someone forgot to send Massachusetts the memo. It has been cold, wet, and miserable for almost the entire month of June and now that we are edging into July things don’t seem to be changing.
At this point I’m getting to the end of my rope. I suffered through the long winter dreaming of the beautiful summer to come. Instead Massachusetts seems determined to extend its “April Showers” weather forecast come Hell and high water (high water being the operative term). The foods of summer seem as distant now as they did when the snow was still falling in March.
As for my own potted-plant-garden in the backyard, things are grim. My tomato seedlings remain just that, seedlings two inches high. My herbs are frozen in childhood inedibleness, my eggplant is stunted, my zucchini are just presenting their very first blossom, and my beans and peas are no more having drowned in the past two week deluge.
Farmers not confined to a graveyard of planters are doing slightly better, but the pickings at the markets are still slim. It’s a field day for lettuce lovers, but those of us craving the real flavors of summer are stuck. Other than the foodie vacation to NC I’m planning for the July 4th weekend, beans, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and broccoli are still far, far away. It’s a sad state of affairs here in the North East.
Last week I got sick of the whole thing. It was raining for the 8th day straight and the house was dim, cold, and damp. I wanted an excuse to heat the place up and roasting seemed like a good one. I wanted the taste of summer (or at least late spring), and lamb with garlic and lemon zest sounded like it might do the trick. Combine that with some artichoke ravioli and you’ve got a meal that will bring warmth and light into the darkest of kitchens.
For anyone else stuck in the eternal purgatory of this eternal not-summer here’s the recipe:
Ingredients for the lamb ~
- 1 2-lb bone-in lamb shank
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Zest from one lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions for the lamb ~
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
- Pat the lamb shank dry with paper towels and rub the shank down with the olive oil.
- Mix together the garlic, lemon zest, oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture over the shank.
- Put the shank on a boiling pan and roast in the oven for 1.5-2 hours, until it reaches an internal temperature of 155.
- Allow the roast to rest for 10 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise about 5 more degrees and the juices will redistribute.
Ingredients for the ravioli ~
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella, finely diced
- 1/2 Parmesan, finely grated
- 14-ounces artichoke hearts, finely diced
- Zest from 1/2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3/4 lb fresh pasta sheets
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions for the ravioli ~
- In a large bowl mix together the cheeses, artichoke hearts, zest, salt, and pepper.
- Cut the pasta sheets into 1.5″ x 1.5″ squares.
- Put a ball of the cheese mixture between 2 teaspoons and 1 tablespoon in the center of a pasta square.
- Brush egg mixture on the edges of the pasta square (I usually just use my finger to do this).
- Fold the pasta square over so it forms a triangle with the cheese filling in the center. Press the edges together to seal.
- Repeat steps 3-5 until either the filling or the pasta squares are used up.
- Boil several quarts of well salted water. Use lots of water so the pasta doesn’t stick together.
- Boil the ravioli for about 4 minutes. It will begin to float when it’s done cooking.
- Drain the ravioli and serve with a light cream sauce or pink sauce. A straight tomato sauce is too acidic and will overwhelm the flavor of the pasta.
The Noble Decathlon…
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What I'm Reading:
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Food blogs and Local Foodies:
- 100 Mile Diet
- 101 Cookbooks
- 10 Signs Like This
- Delicious Days
- Cricket Bread
- Eat Local Challenge
- The Almond Bean
- Orangette
- Roots & Grubs
- LaLaLa Blog
- Sin Noticias de Stew
- Tea And Cookies
Eco & Gardening Blogs:
- Deliberate Every Day
- Earth Friendly Gardening
- No Impact Man
- Organic Schmorganic
- U.S. Food Policy
- Slowly She Turned
- I Heart Small Farms
- Alix in Wonderland