By David Tanis, The New York Times
I’ve always been a big fan of cooking today for tomorrow.
A lot of meals taste better if they are prepared and allowed to rest a day before serving, and spreading the work across two days makes many cooking projects easier. It can also mean the difference between a frazzled and a relaxed host.
This menu, a warming meal for a winter’s night, brings out the best in everyone: It lets you enjoy the feast, all while flavors develop and textures improve.
The centerpiece is a savory lamb stew, my favorite kind of cold-weather food. Cubes of lamb shoulder are simmered slowly, flecked with briny olives, splashed with red wine, bumped up with crushed red pepper and kissed with rosemary and garlic.
It’s not the kind of dish that’s ready in 10 minutes; it takes a fair amount time to prep and needs a good hour or so of simmering to meld all those flavors. But it can be prepared well in advance — a few hours, or preferably, a day before serving. Indeed, most stews of this sort are only improved upon reheating. You’ll want a hearty loaf of bread, or perhaps rice or roasted potatoes, to accompany.
For this meal, I like a simple salad served alongside rather than as a course enjoyed beforehand. It provides a cooling counterpoint. I suggest crisp leaves of Belgian endive, dressed with a lemony shallot vinaigrette and just a touch of anchovy. Adding a few green leaves, like wild arugula, watercress or spinach, makes the salad more colorful.
For a dinner party, it can be fun to have a somewhat lavish dessert. Why not crepes? With practice, they can be handy to have up your sleeve. They feel fancy, but they’re not too difficult once you get the hang of them.
These are filled with an orange-scented ricotta. It’s best to make the crepes at least a day ahead and, if time permits, the filling and the orange caramel sauce, too. You can even have them filled, folded into triangles and ready to pop in the oven. While they are heating, warm the sauce.
Be assured, your lucky guests will be happy to be served this feast — and you’ll be especially happy to have done most of the cooking well before the party.
Recipe: Lamb Stew With Rosemary and Olives
This warming lamb stew is good any time of year, but especially great in winter. Best of all, it can be prepared well in advance, even a day before serving, and reheats beautifully. You can ask a butcher to cut the lamb shoulder into cubes; there will be less waste, but avoid precut lamb stew meat, which is made from leg and often too lean.
By David Tanis
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 1 3/4 hours
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more if needed
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
- Salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus a sprig for the pot
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- Large pinch of crushed red pepper
- Pinch of cayenne powder
- 1/2 cup dry red or white wine
- 5 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth or water
- 6 medium carrots, peeled, in 3-inch chunks
- 3/4 cup pitted green olives, such as Castelvetrano, halved lengthwise
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley
Preparation
1. Put olive oil in a Dutch oven or wide, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the onions to a bowl and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, season lamb chunks generously with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with crushed fennel. Add more oil to the pot and lightly brown lamb over medium-high heat, working in batches, about 10 minutes total. Don’t crowd the pot or the meat will steam, not sear. Return all meat to the pot, sprinkle flour over and stir well to coat.
3. Add browned onion, tomato paste, all the rosemary, garlic, red pepper and cayenne, and stir to combine well. Add wine and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a brisk simmer, cover pot with lid ajar and cook for 30 minutes. Add carrots and olives, and cook for 30 minutes more, or until lamb is fork-tender. Turn off heat. Skim fat from surface, then let stew rest for an hour at room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
4. To serve, reheat stew. Taste broth and adjust seasoning. Stir in parsley, then spoon into wide shallow bowls or rimmed dinner plates.
Recipe: Endive and Arugula Salad
This simple salad is meant to accompany a main course, served alongside a hearty stew like this lamb version with rosemary and olives. Toss the salad just before serving, and if you like — and arugula is less to your taste — you can use spinach, small mustard greens, watercress or more arugula, if you like.
By David Tanis
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small shallot, finely diced
- 2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 Belgian endives, bottoms trimmed and leaves separated
- 6 ounces arugula
Preparation
1. Put lemon juice in a small bowl. Add mustard and stir to dissolve. Add shallot and anchovy, along with a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Leave for 5 minutes, then stir in olive oil.
2. When ready to serve, put endives in a salad bowl and season very lightly with salt and pepper. Add dressing and toss lightly. Add the arugula leaves and toss again. (This keeps the arugula crisp and fresh-looking, not soggy with dressing.) Serve.
Recipe: Orange Ricotta Crepes
Servings of orange ricotta crepes, finished with an orange caramel sauce. Crepes can make for a fancy-feeling dessert, and they’re not too difficult once you get the hang of them. food stylist: Simon Andrews (David Malosh, The New York Times)
Knowing how to make crepes is a great back-pocket trick, letting you whip together a lovely dessert (or breakfast, or even afternoon snack) in not very long at all. This orange-ricotta version is best prepared in advance, even the day before. (If you do, stack crepes, wrap and refrigerate.) Count on one or two crepes per person. Spread each with filling and fold into quarters well in advance of serving.
By David Tanis
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 12 3/4 hours
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups/280 milliliters whole milk, more if needed
- 1 cup/140 grams all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more softened for cooking
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
For the Filling:
- 2 cups/16 ounces ricotta, well drained
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Pinch of salt
For the Sauce:
- 1/2 cup/113 grams unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup/50 grams sugar
- 1 cup/236 milliliters orange juice
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 2 tablespoons orange liqueur or brandy
Preparation
1. Make the batter: Beat eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in milk, flour, butter and salt. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl. The consistency should be that of heavy cream; thin with milk as necessary. Let rest 30 minutes before using or cover and refrigerate overnight. (If the batter isn’t thin enough, crepes will be too thick and won’t spread properly in the pan.)
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Make the filling: Put ricotta in a bowl. Stir in zest, sugar and salt with a wooden spoon and mix well until smooth and spreadable.
4. Make the crepes: Set an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. (Alternatively, use a steel crepe pan or cast-iron skillet.) With a paper towel, rub the pan with softened butter. When hot, pour 1/4 cup batter, then lift the pan and quickly swirl with one hand to distribute a thin layer all the way to the edges. Leave pan on the heat for 30 seconds or so, until the crepe starts releasing at the edges. With a spatula (or quickly grabbing edge with fingertips), flip crepe and cook for 15 seconds. Remove crepe to a plate and repeat until all batter is used, stacking crêpes on the plate as you go.
5. With the browned side down, spread the bottom of each crepe with about 2 tablespoons ricotta filling. Fold crepe over to make a half-moon, then fold once more to form a triangle, and place on a buttered baking sheet. Repeat with remaining crepes. Set aside at cool room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. Make the sauce: In a small saucepan, place butter, sugar, zest, orange juice over medium-high heat. Bring to a brisk simmer and cook, stirring, for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Turn off heat and stir in liqueur.
7. To serve, put 1 or 2 warm crepes on dessert plates. Spoon about 3 tablespoons sauce over each. Serve hot.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.