The Benefits of Doing Business

The last time I bought meat from my favorite farmer he tossed a couple of lamb leg steaks into my bag, “Because you’re a good customer.” This is yet another argument for buying local and direct. However nice the people are at Food City (and they are nice folks, I enjoy shopping there), they aren’t permitted to give anything away — however good a customer I might be.

My tomato lady often gives me a tomato or two — particularly if she’s trying a new variety. Admitted, she expects me to critique the tomato and let her know what I think, but I’m happy to do that. And a few of the growers I buy from tend to round down and never up. It’s good business, at least in my case, because it makes me loyal. Donna, the tomato lady, is always swamped with customers at the farmers’ market, but I wait patiently anyway even though I could buy from someone else more quickly.

However nice the people are at Food City, they aren’t permitted to give anything away — however good a customer I might be.

Donna hasn’t shown up at the market yet, it’s still a bit early in the season, but I hope to find her there tomorrow with some early tomatoes, cukes, and baby squash. So far the market has been almost completely live plants (tomatoes, herbs, peppers, and flowers).

At any rate, back to the lamb steaks. I decided to bread and then fry them (in other words, treat them like pork cutlets) and top them with an orange sauce.

Lamb Steaks with Orange Sauce
Serves 4.

4 lamb steaks (about 4 oz each and 1/2″ thick, bone removed)
1 egg — beaten
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c bread crumbs*
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 c dry vermouth
2 oranges — zested and juiced
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 c chicken broth
1 tsp arrowroot (optional)

Season cutlets generously with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess, dip in egg and then dredge in bread crumbs. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, fry cutlets on both sides until browned (about two minutes per side). Set cutlets aside.

Deglaze skillet with vermouth and reduce by half. Add orange juice and zest, thyme, and chicken broth and reduce by half. The sauce should thicken slightly, but if it doesn’t, mix the arrowroot with a couple of tablespoons of cold water and whisk slurry into the sauce. Cook another couple of minutes.
Spoon sauce over steaks and serve.

*Whenever I have bread going too stale before I can eat it, I cut it into 1/2″ cubes, leave them on the counter overnight, and then freeze them in a big plastic bag. At any time the bag might contain homemade sour-dough, Pepperidge Farm rye, homemade hamburger buns, and whole wheat from the supermarket bakery. These cubes are already the right size for croutons and tossed in the food processor quickly become bread crumbs.

Try this XXXX with…
Asparagus Parmigiano
Fried Green Tomatoes
Lemon Chiffon Pie

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | lamb | main dish

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