Braised Lamb with English Pea Smash
After months and months of root vegetables and long-simmered soups, the brightness of spring is a welcomed exhale. The first bag of sugar snap peas or English shelling peas to hit the market makes me feel like a kid in a candy store, so giddy and piling big handfuls into my bags. But here in the city, foggy days are very common through the spring and summer so I love to pair cozy dishes with vibrant spring produce. This Braised Lamb with English Pea Smash leans into that vibrancy and pairs lamb and peas with their forever companion: mint. The peas are mashed with cream and Calabrian chilis to create a creamy, spicy bed for the tender lamb. It’s a pairing that feels fancy enough for a spring dinner party but easy enough for a cozy, chilly night in.
Braise, baby, braise
Braising has become my favorite way to cook meat lately. It’s patient, forgiving, slow, and always results in a delicious meal. This cooking method transforms tougher cuts like short-ribs, shoulder, or shanks into a rich and silkier texture with flavors worked all the way through. The key to braising is cooking low and slow in a flavorful broth to give the connective tissues time to break down and deepen the flavor. And while I’m still craving comfort and warmth but want the freshness and newness of spring produce, a braised meat paired with something green is my favorite way to embrace this in-between season.
Mary had a little lamb, and I have some tips
As a general rule, braise bone-in cuts of lamb for 40–45 minutes per pound so don’t rush it, the magic is in the slow cook!
You can definitely just use frozen peas for the smash but I love the mix of freshness from the fresh peas. Or swap them out for corn in the summer!
This dish can be made ahead! Just let it cool in its braising liquid, refrigerate over night then reheat at 350 until warm the next day. It’s a great way to get ahead if you’re hosting and will deepen the flavors.
Braised Lamb with English Pea Smash
We're celebrating spring with this Braised Lamb with English Pea Smash and pairing tender, slow-cooked lamb with a bright and creamy pea puree. Finished with mint and feta, it's the perfect Sunday roast for a fresh and vibrant spring dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 whole carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 5 garlic cloves
- 10 thyme sprigs
- 3-4 pounds lamb leg or shank, bone-in
- Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked pepper
- Olive oil
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups chicken or veggie stock
- ¼ cup crumbled feta
- Mint leaves, for garnish
- 1 cup fresh english peas, shelled
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoons Calabrian chili paste
- 1 pound frozen english peas
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Do some prep: roughly chop 1 of the yellow onions, 2 carrots, and 2 celery stalks into large chunks. Finely mince or grate 5 garlic cloves. Tie together 10 sprigs of thyme with cooking twine (if you don’t have any twine, you can skip—you’ll just be picking out the stems one by one later)
- Generously season the lamb all over with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
- Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a dutch oven or large cast iron skillet, bring up the heat to medium high and add the lamb. Sear until browned and a golden crust has started to form, about 4 minutes, then flip and brown the other sides. Remove the lamb from the pot and set aside.
- Drop the heat down to medium then add the prepped onion, carrot, and celery to the pot and sauté in the rendered lamb fat until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add 3 tablespoons of tomato paste in with the veggies and cook, mostly untouched, for an additional 5 minutes to carmelize the tomato paste and deepen the flavor (this is called a pinçage, promise not to rush this part). Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add 1 cup red wine to deglaze the pan, scrapping the bottom to release any stuck on bits. Toss in the thyme bundle and cook this over medium high heat to reduce the liquid by half, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add 2 cups chicken stock, 2 cups of water, and the lamb into the pot. Cover with a lid and place in the oven to cook until the lamb is fork tender, about 3 hours (approximately 40 minutes per pound)
- When you have 30 minutes left on your timer for the lamb, prepare the pea smash below.
- When the lamb is done braising, remove it from the oven and transfer it to a plate to rest. Discard the thyme and veggie chunks (these are definitely edible but they’ve served their purpose here).
- Return the dutch oven with the remaining braising liquid to the stove and simmer over medium heat until the liquid reduces by half to create an au jus, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter. Turn off the heat, add the lamb back into the pot and coat it in the sauce.
- Divide the pea smash onto a serving plate and place the lamb on top of the peas. Add 1-2 spoonfuls of the au jus over top of the lamb, sprinkle the crumbled feta over the pea smash and garnish each plate with a few mint leaves.
- Fill a large pot with water and add a heavy handful of kosher salt. Bring it to a boil while you prepare an ice bath by combining ice and water in a large bowl. Place the ice bath near the stove.
- Place the fresh english peas in a fine mesh sieve or strainer and submerge them in the boiling water for 30-45 seconds then immediately submerge them in the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once fully cooled, strain and set aside.
- Medium dice the remaining 1 yellow onion and finely mince or grate 4 garlic cloves.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes, keeping them moving around to avoid any browning. Add the minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of Calabrian chili paste and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add 1 pound frozen peas and 1 cup heavy cream. Stir to combine and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook until the veggies are soft and the liquid has reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and blend into chunky puree using an immersion blender. It should have a similar consistency to mashed potatoes.
- Fold in the blanched fresh peas, season with a few cranks of fresh pepper and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
