Emotionally, what this dish did to me needs no explanation. How could it not. The sweet and savory scent of rosemary and cognac permeated every room in the apartment. Me and the Mr. curled up in our jammies on the couch savored it spoon by spoon.

The stew was silky and luxurious with intense aromas of roasted lamb and braised carrots with pearled onions. Every step was given careful consideration to allow for flavors in full bloom. The lamb was seared for color and a caramelized flavor. The slow cooking allowed for fork tender pieces of meat in a gravy that was luminescent and clingy. As for the veggies, I add them in 2 stages. The first stage was to provide flavor and sacrifice themselves to the dish and discard them when their job was done. The second stage was to add par-cooked veggies that would be finished in the dish half way through. As for my choice of alcohol; the all too often wine was given a miss. Cognac added a butterscotch like flavor that makes this dish memorable.

Method For Cognac Braised Lamb And Pearl Onions

Ingredients

2lb. leg of lamb, cut in to 2” pieces, fat trimmed (keep the bone)
Plain flour for dusting
4 oz cut of bacon, cut in to chunks
1 large carrot, half kept in 1 piece and half sliced in to rounds
2 large celery stick, 1 whole and one sliced
½ cup pearl onions
1 tbsp. tomato puree
½ cup button mushrooms
4 cups chicken stock
Parsley for garnish
Salt and pepper
1 stick of rosemary
pinch of nutmeg
6oz cognac
2 tbsp. butter
pinch of sugar

Method

Heat oven at 400 degrees

1) Mix the lamb with salt and pepper and set aside for 15 minutes
2) Dust with a little flour and brown in a Dutch oven, remove and set aside

3) In the same pan, brown bacon and add the carrot stick and celery stick. Add the tomato puree and cook out to remove raw flavor for a couple of minutes
4) Add the cognac and rosemary stick and cook until reduced by half. Add the lamb back in to the dutch oven along with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then transfer to the oven, covered

Browned And Glazed Pearl Onions

1) Remove the skin of the pearl onions. The easiest way is by submerging for 10 minutes in warm water
2) In a sauce pan, add the onions, pinch of sugar, pinch of salt and butter. Fill with water half way up the onions. Cover and cook until water has evaporated. Uncover the onions and cook on high heat to glaze and brown the onions

Veggies For Finishing

1) In a saucepan, cook the veggies with a splash of water until halfway tender. Remove and add to lamb half way through cooking.

Once lamb is ready, discard the large carrot and celery stick. Serve with fresh parsley