Crown Roast With Spring Rice Pilaf Recipes

CROWN ROAST OF LAMB WITH PILAF STUFFING

Steps:

• Roast:In a small skillet over medium-high, toast coriander seeds until dark brown and fragrant, 3 minutes. Grind in a spice grinder, or crush with a mortar and pestle.
• Place racks of lamb, fat-side down, on a work surface. Cut one-third of the way through flesh between each rib bone. (This will allow racks to fan open into a crown shape.) Stand racks upright, with fat sides touching. Thread a trussing nee- dle with kitchen twine, and run it horizontally through meat just below last rib bone on one rack, and straight through meat of opposite chop. Form a half-circle by pulling ends of twine together as tightly as possible; tie. Repeat process on opposite ends of racks to finish crown. Where racks are joined, tie rib bones together. Crown can be made up to a day in advance and stored, uncovered, in the refrigerator. (Or just ask your butcher to pre- pare the crown.)
• Stir together ground coriander, lemon zest, garlic, thyme leaves, oil, 4 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper until a paste forms. Spread mixture evenly over roast. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in bottom third. Place lemon wedges, thyme sprigs, and broth in a roasting pan. Place a flat rack over lemons, then center lamb on rack. Roast until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of roast (near but not touching bones) reads 140 degrees for medium-rare, 35 to 40 minutes. (Prepare pilaf while roast is in oven.) Transfer lamb to a platter; let stand 15 minutes. Remove rack, lemon wedges, and thyme from pan, reserving pan for gravy.
• Pilaf:Heat a large saucepan over medium-high. Swirl in 2 tablespoons oil. Add bulgur, rice, and onion; season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture hasa nutty aroma and rice turns golden in places, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in broth and 1 1/4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until liquid has evaporated and bulgur is tender but still slightly chewy, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork, then stir in parsley, pine nuts, currants, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Spoon pilaf into center of finished crown roast on platter, if desired.
• Gravy:While lamb is resting, place roasting pan across two burners on medium-high. Add 1 1/2 cups broth; bring to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk remaining 1/4 cup broth with flour, then whisk into pan. Continue to boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan, until gravy thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter until melted and combined. Strain gravy through a sieve and serve, with lamb and pilaf.

CROWN ROAST OF PORK WITH WILD RICE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place racks on a work surface. Using a sharp knife, cut a third of the way through the meat between every two rib chops. (This will help the roast bend and stand upright.) Using a trussing needle and cotton kitchen twine, tie the ends of one rack to the ends of the second rack, being sure that the meat side of each rack faces outward. Tie a second piece of twine around the crown directly below the rib bones. Season with salt and pepper; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine olive oil, zest, garlic, parsley, and sage; rub herb mixture evenly over meat. Transfer roast to a flat rack placed in a large heavy-duty roasting pan.
• Roast for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue roasting, rotating halfway through, until meat is well browned and an instant-read thermometer registers 140 to 150 degrees, about 2 hours 15 minutes. (Insert thermometer into meaty center of crown, avoiding any bone. Take several readings to ensure roast is cooked all over.)
• Remove from oven; let stand 20 minutes on the rack before transferring it to a serving platter. Remove twine and fill with cooked Wild Rice Stuffing. Garnish with rosemary and plums.

CROWN ROAST OF PORK WITH DIRTY RICE STUFFING AND CREOLE MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine well the thyme, the salt, pepper to taste, and the oil and rub the mixture all over the pork, patted dry. Arrange the pork on an oiled round of heavy-duty foil slightly larger than the bottom of the pork in the middle of a lightly oiled shallow roasting pan and fill the center of the crown with some of the stuffing, mounding it. Roast the stuffed pork, the stuffing covered with another oiled round of foil, in a preheated 450°F. oven for 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 325°F., and roast the stuffed pork for 2 1/4 hours more, or until a meat thermometer registers 160°F., or for 2 1/2 hours more, or until a meat thermometer registers 170°F., for well-done meat. In a 2-quart shallow baking dish bake the remaining stuffing in the 325°F. oven during the last 30 minutes of the pork'1s roasting time. Transfer the pork to a platter and let it stand for 15 minutes.
• While the pork is standing add the wine to the roasting pan, deglaze the pan over moderately high heat, scraping up the brown bits, and strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup water and boil the mixture until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup. Add the cream, boil the mixture, stirring, until it is reduced to about 3/4 cup, and whisk in the mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Discard the foil from the stuffing, arrange the parsley and the tomatoes decoratively around the pork, and serve the pork with the mustard sauce and the remaining stuffing.