Lamb Riblets

We'd had some lamb riblets in the freezer for a few weeks that'd I'd been wanting to cook before it got too hot. And, as today was relatively cool and rainy, it was an ideal day to cook some meat low and slow. Initially, I was thinking maybe doing another take on barbeque, maybe even a curried barbeque style. But that just wasn't screaming out as what I was after. I was kind of thinking some Spanish flavors might be nice -- some smoked paprika, maybe, onions, maybe tomatoes? So, I used Google to good effect, and came upon another blogger who was rather taken with a Dean and Delucca recipe for Spanish lamb stew. Now, it called for cubed stew meat cut from lamb shoulder, decidedly NOT thin, flat riblets. On the other hand, the riblets have a ton of fat and connective tissue, making it good for a similar approach. So, I cut each slab into individual ribs with some meat, seasoned 'em, and browned them off. Then, I cut up some smoked sausage, browned that, added a couple sweet onions, sliced very thin, and garlic. Deglazed with wine, some sherry vinegar, and then some stock. smoked paprika and some marjoram and a couple bay leaves for seasoning, and in to cook. I added some garbanzo beans and served it all wth some couscous. Very yummy!

The wine pairing was a serendipitous event, indeed. A day or so ago, we'd drunk part of a bottle of Spanish wine from Navarra--a blend mostly of tempranillo wth some grenache. it's a tasty, fairly fruit driven wine, not hugely complex, but very nice. But, with this rustic dinner, it just came to life, and showed off amazing earthy complexity, and brought out the sweetness of the lamb. It was a really beautiful pairing--one of those, 'oh wow!' moments--and one I had no expectation of being so exquisite.