Honey-Glazed Lamb with Red Cabbage Confit

Today we welcome as a collaborator Carmen, author of the food blog Yerbabuena en la Cocina. Her first suggestion will make you take note, since you will surely see in this recipe a fantastic idea to delight the guests at your next family meal. Don't miss this honey lamb, which Carmen pairs with red cabbage jam to treat those present to a perfectly rounded dish.

Although I increasingly enjoy traveling and learning about the culture of the countries I visit through their cuisine, the traditional recipes that are tied to our heritage have become a true pleasure for me when I put on my apron day to day.

Lamb is one of the tastiest and most tender meats in our cuisine; culturally it has accompanied human history for 9,000 years, and depending on its geographic location it has a wide variety of very different flavors. This recipe comes from the Arab world, which was established in our country for centuries; hence the many nuances typical of the cuisine of that culture.

In my home, lamb has always been linked to family celebrations; since I was a child I remember my mother when these dates approached, thinking about the menu to prepare for Christmas where lamb could never be missing, a true delicacy in her hands, which she prepared in a thousand different ways for the enjoyment of my siblings and me.

So when Claudia and Julia asked me to collaborate with them, the first thing that came to mind was my mother's cooking and the gentle simmer of all her stews and what better than a Cocotte Le Creuset to achieve that gentle simmer and those meats so tender and flavorful when cooked slowly?

With it I have returned to my roots, I have rediscovered a new world where cast iron is the star in my kitchen, which is why I love cooking with the Le Creuset casseroles, I like their design, how they transmit heat to stews by distributing it evenly and consistently, their versatility since they adapt to all types of heat sources including the oven, and they are dishwasher and freezer safe. In short… it's no wonder they have been made for over 80 years. Are you going to miss them?

Ingredients: (for 4 people)

For the honey lamb:

• Suckling lamb legs cut into pieces
• 2 Onions
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 Carrot
• 200 ml White wine
• Water
• 50 g. Rosemary honey
• Flour for coating
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Fresh rosemary
• Thyme

For the red cabbage jam:

• ½ Small red cabbage
• 75 g. Brown sugar
• 50 g. Butter
• 50 ml. Vinegar

Preparation:

We season the lamb with salt and pepper and coat it in flour, shaking off the excess. We put the casserole over the heat and add a little extra virgin olive oil; when it begins to smoke, we add the lamb, turning it so it browns uniformly on all sides. Remove and set aside.

We dice the onions, garlic and carrot, and sweat them in the meat oil until they soften and begin to take color. We add the white wine and let it reduce for a few minutes.

Then we add the lamb, the rosemary, the thyme and enough water to cover everything and let it cook over low heat for around 30 minutes depending on the toughness of the meat. In my case, being suckling lamb it didn't need more time, but if it weren't so tender, we leave it a few more minutes cooking slowly and add a little water if necessary.

After this time, we add the rosemary honey and the vinegar, and let it cook for a few minutes so all the flavors integrate well.

We cut the red cabbage into very thin strips with a mandoline, sauté them in a pan over low heat with the butter for several minutes. We add the brown sugar, the vinegar and a splash of water, and let it cook slowly until it softens and becomes a kind of jam.

We present the lamb together with the red cabbage and accompany with some boiled or roasted potatoes with an aromatic herb.