Welcome back, friends and fans of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series!
Last week we introduced Quinn’s The Duke and I with a side dish recipe for minted peas cooked in Madeira inspired by The Bridgerton’s family dinner. Today we march onto the main course: Lamb à la Béchamel!
The Duke and I
Those uninitiated to book one of Julia Quinn‘s Bridgerton series, you can find a brief tease of The Duke and I in my last post. Today I want to talk about love, and more specifically, what it takes for it to survive.
The first thing I want to touch on is respect. I am not talking about authority. I’m talking about the recognition of others outside one’s own desires. Simon’s father continues to put his wife through dangerous pregnancies past the doctor’s warning about her health. His father then rejects him until he comes of age and proves himself “worthy” of the title. In turn, Simon is more than happy to teach Daphne about the pleasure of intimacy but keeps her in the dark about his ability to have children. I’m not saying Simon is all guilty, as Daphne also assumes her idea of happiness is a universal standard. But that also brings me to another thing love and marriage require: kindness.
Kindness is needed when expectations fail or when boundaries arise. Anger kills love, but anger met with or mitigated through kindness strengthens it. When Daphne discovers Simon’s dishonesty, she acts not to get what she wants but to spite him to make her feel as she does. Similarly, Simon refuses to have children, not because he doesn’t want them. Rather than create the loving family he was deprived of, he would rather spite the memory of a dead man and live perpetually in that anger.
Respect, kindness, and most importantly, patience are necessary to cultivate the first two. I don’t want to present the would-haves, could-haves, and should-haves in this story even though a modern author wrote it (20 years ago). The characters are supposed to mess up. In this context, that is the only way they can learn. Daphne and Simon would have far more time, education, and resources to develop a healthier relationship before marriage in a modern era. This story takes place in the Regency era, however, with different rules and situations.
When the society Daphne and Simon toyed with toys right back, it takes patience, respect, and kindness to deal with the ugly situations and create mutual happiness. That said, in my experience in a modern marriage, that cultivation never stops.
Cooking and sharing tasty meals help. Let’s get to the main course, shall we?
From Beeton’s to Bridgerton
Today’s dish comes from the same family dinner I mentioned in last week’s post from The Duke and I. We’ve made the famous flying peas from the dinner scene. We learn more about the rest of the meal from the previous scene below:
“I cannot believe,” Violet said, one hand fluttering on her chest, “that Anthony forgot to tell me he invited the duke to dinner. I had no time to prepare. None at all.”
Daphne eyed the menu in her hand, which began with turtle soup and marched through three more courses before finishing with lamb à la béchamel (followed, of course, by a choice of four desserts). She tried to keep her voice free of sarcasm as she said, “I do not think the duke will have cause to complain.”
“He knows this is an informal meal.”
Violet shot her an acerbic look. “No meal is informal when a duke is calling.”
Quinn, Julia. The Duke and I (Bridgertons) (p. 140-141). Avon. Kindle Edition.
As I mentioned, most recipes served in society households of the era likely passed back and forth from various servants and cooks — mostly requested by the lady of the house. Being that selecting an appropriate menu for the night was the lady’s responsibility, it’s a nice touch that Violet has Daphne assist her to prepare her for marriage. Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, published in 1861, is a compilation of these many recipes from the decades before. And Lamb à la Béchamel happens to be listed.
As you can see, it’s not the easiest recipe to follow for a modern kitchen. So that’s why I adapted it a bit for appliances but also cost. I looked all over. Finding a five-pound bone-in lamb leg is a pain in the butt. It’s also expensive and fussy to watch over. So with that, I decided to make this recipe with a boneless leg of lamb in a dutch oven.
My purpose was two-fold. Boiled meat can be tough as nails, but stewed meat in a covered pot gets wickedly tender. Also, in stewing my vegetables and herbs in the same pot, I get a flavorful base for my béchamel sauce.
Béchamel, one of the French mother sauces, traditionally features clove, onion, bay leaves, and dairy thickened with a light roux. Beeton’s recipe takes some liberties by including mushrooms and herbs. It certainly tastes delicious, though. And being that alfredo and cheese sauce are béchamel variants, get ready for some obscenely tasty leftovers!
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The printable recipe card and playlist for Lamb à la Béchamel will be available as a $2 donor reward on my Ko-Fi page until the next post goes up.
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“No meal is informal when a duke is calling.”.
Lamb à la Béchamel
Equipment: Oven, stovetop, large dutch oven, roasting pan, fat separator, wire whisk, small saucepan, carving fork and knife, slotted spoon, kitchen twine, and aluminum foil.
Ingredients:
- 4 to 5 lb boneless leg of lamb in mesh
- 3-4 carrots, 1-inch cubed
- 2 onions, quartered
- 4 mushrooms, halved
- small bunch of Italian parsley
- 4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 3 Tb ground arrowroot or cornstarch
- 4 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- pint of half & half
- 2 Tb unsalted butte
- rolive oil
- kosher salt
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Use the cloves to pin bay leaves to two of the onion quarters. Then tie the thyme, rosemary, and half the parsley into a bundle using kitchen twine. Pat the lamb dry in its mesh bag with paper towels.
- Preheat the dutch oven over medium heat on the stovetop for 3 minutes. Brush a layer of olive oil on the lamb and liberally season with kosher salt.
- Place the lamb in the dutch oven fat cap down for 5 minutes. Then flip it over with a wooden spoon to cook for 3 minutes. Add the vegetables and herb bundle to the pot and pour in water to just cover the meat.
- Cover the dutch oven with a lid and cook in the oven for one and a half to two hours, depending on the size of your roast and desired doneness.
- After baking, carefully transfer the roast with a carving fork and the vegetables with a slotted spoon to the roasting pan. Discard the cloves, bay leaves, and herb bundle. Then strain the stock into a fat separator. Cut the mesh off the lamb and discard. Cover the pan with foil.
- Pour the stock back into the dutch oven and bring it to a simmer. Discard the leftover fat.
- Melt the butter in the saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in the ground arrowroot. Pour in the half and half and stir until smooth. Heat for two minutes, then gradually whisk into the lamb stock. Simmer, stirring intermittently until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- In the meantime, remove the foil from the roasting pan and return the lamb and veggies to the oven on a low broil for 5-7 minutes. Then let rest tented under for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving with vegetables and sauce.
