Recipe no. 265 from Jean-Baptiste Reboul's La Cuisinière provençale (1909), page 129.
Ingredients
- breasts of lamb
- bacon
- carrots
- onions
- bouquet garni
- white wine
- broth
- butter
- flour
- egg yolks
- lemon
- egg
- fine breadcrumbs
Preparation
- BraisingPlace 2 or 3 breasts of lamb in a saucepan at the bottom of which bacon rashers, carrots and onions in rings and a bouquet garni have been placed. Braise, covered, turning them from time to time.
- MoisteningWhen the vegetables start to catch, moisten with a glass of white wine and a few spoonfuls of broth, so that the breasts are well covered.
- PressingOnce cooked, remove them from their cooking liquid to take out the protruding bones, then place them under a press, on a large dish with another on top, weighted down.
- SauceWith the strained and skimmed cooking liquid, moisten a pale roux made with a knob of butter the size of an egg and 2 tablespoons of flour. Bring to a boil to obtain a thick sauce, then bind it with 3 egg yolks mixed with a squeeze of lemon juice.
- ShapingCut the pieces of breast into triangles with a rounded base, in a half-heart shape, dip them in the sauce and arrange them as you go on a marble slab to let the sauce firm up.
- Breading and fryingThen dip in beaten egg, roll in fine breadcrumbs and sear in smoking hot deep fat, barely a minute.
- ServiceServe with green peas, asparagus tips or any other vegetable garnish.
Reboul's text
Take 2 or 3 breasts of lamb; place them in a saucepan at the bottom of which you have put bacon rashers, carrots and onions in rings and a bouquet garni. Braise, covered, turning them from time to time. When the vegetables start to catch, moisten with a glass of white wine and a few spoonfuls of broth, so that the breasts are well covered.
Once cooked, remove them from their cooking liquid to take out the protruding bones, and place them under a press, that is, on a large dish with another on top, weighted down with something heavy.
With the strained and skimmed cooking liquid, moisten a pale roux made in a saucepan with a knob of butter the size of an egg and 2 tablespoons of flour; bring to a boil; you thus obtain a thick sauce which, after a few minutes of boiling, must be bound with 3 egg yolks mixed with a squeeze of lemon juice. Set this sauce aside, and dip into it the pieces of breast that you will have cut into triangles with a rounded base, that is, in a half-heart shape. Arrange them as you go on a marble slab to let the sauce firm up. Then dip them in beaten egg; roll them in fine breadcrumbs, and sear them in deep fat. This must be smoking hot, and the epigrams should stay in it barely a minute.
They are served, either with green peas, asparagus tips, or any other vegetable garnish.
Small Provençal glossary for this recipe
Reboul writes in French: no Provençal word appears in this recipe, apart from the dish's name itself. The table below gives the Provençal equivalents of the words used, in mistralian spelling, translated by Lingua Nostra. Each form is attested in our Provençal-English dictionary; click to open the entry.
| Provençal | English |
|---|---|
| lard | bacon |
| garroto | carrots |
| cebo | onions |
| vin | white wine |
| burre | butter |
| farino | flour |
| iòu | eggs |
| citroun | lemon |
| fregiduro | deep fat, frying |
Source: Jean-Baptiste Reboul, La Cuisinière provençale, Marseille, 1909, recipe no. 265, page 129. Public domain. Transcription, formatting and Provençal glossary by Lingua Nostra.