Mellow Lamb Steaks

By Nigella Lawson

Mellow Lamb Steaks
Jonathan Player for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(84)
Comments
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Buy lamb steaks if you can -- though if you want to tack a bit, duck breasts also work quite well. While the garlic is poaching in its pan, fry the steaks in a scant amount of olive oil until they are flavor-sealed and heat-darkened outside, but still juicily tender within.

At this stage, slosh in the contents of the simmering pan. Add the juice of the half-zested orange and a slug of Marsala (though sherry, brandy or any wine you have open will do), along with some leaves stripped from thyme sprigs. Let everything bubble away a little, the sauce lapping the meat in the pan, before removing the steaks and reducing the liquid until it is a gorgeous, savory, shiny syrup.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 10cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise
  • Finely grated zest of ½ orange
  • 46-ounce lamb steaks
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1tablespoon olive oil
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • 1tablespoon Marsala, sherry or other wine
  • 1tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

428 calories; 32 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 547 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In small saucepan, combine garlic, zest and ¾ cup water. Turn heat to high. When mixture boils, lower to simmer, and cook until garlic is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Season lamb with salt and pepper to taste. Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, and add olive oil. When oil is hot, add lamb, and sear about 2 minutes a side. Reduce heat to low, and cook 5 minutes longer.

  3. Step 3

    Add garlic and its liquid, orange juice, Marsala and thyme. When liquid begins to simmer, transfer steaks to warm serving plate with slotted spatula. Raise heat to medium-high, and reduce sauce until it is syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour sauce and garlic over lamb, and serve.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
84 user ratings
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Comments

Mth

Easy to over cook ( less pink than I like) so would follow the times recommended exactly. I seared for closer to three minutes than two. But a great meal and quick to prepare

Rebecca Dauphinee

This one's a keeper. I didn't have fresh oranges (someone's spouse ate the last ones this afternoon) so I used bottled orange juice spiked with Grand Marnier. The aforementioned spouse enjoyed it very much. I also agree with the note on timing-don't be tempted to increase the time unless you want barely pink meat.

Wendy Hawkins

This was easy and delicious! I have, however, decided that cooking writers and chefs are stingy with sauces and ingredients that restaurants need to budget. In this one, for instance, I advise much more generous use of the garlic, orange and Marsala - the sauce is WONDERFUL! why stint?? And for amateurs, use a bit more water to buy more grace time before the sauce burns. A chef has to turn tables quickly. You can take a minute or two and relax.

Yasmin

I used boneless skin-on chicken breasts for this recipe - it was very good and the timing even worked perfectly. I'll use duck breasts next time. Definitely do double the sauce as everyone says - doubling it, in fact, is not quite enough but start with that, using a full 20 cloves of garlic. Can anyone suggest a wine to have with this?

KSWinCA

Must have done something wrong because I found this really underwhelming. Even though I added zest from the whole orange, I got very little orange flavor on the sauce. Kinda bland.

cathy

Add water. To sauté pan at end

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