Braised Lamb with Radishes and Mint (and Anchovies, but Don’t Tell Anyone)

I had a fantastic appetizer recently featuring lamb belly, radishes, anchovies, and mint, which inspired today's post. It sounded amazing, but I'd only glanced at the description, so when it came, I was more than a little surprised to see the radishes were fully cooked.

This was a new one for me, and I absolutely loved it. Like most root vegetables, radishes don't have a ton of flavor, but I found them slightly sweet, earthy (duh), and aromatic. Plus, they seemed to have effectively absorbed all the other flavors in the dish.

One thing led to another, and I adapted the approach to create one of the more interesting and delicious things I've had in a while. I called it a "flavor bomb" in the video, but "umami bomb" would be more accurate. This was as savory, as savory gets.

Because of all the sweet flavors going on, I decided not to add any sauteed onions or garlic, which is contrary to most braised meat recipes. It probably wouldn't have hurt anything, and I might try it next time, but to be honest, this came out so perfectly balanced, that I'm a little scared to change anything.

And no, you can't taste the anchovies. That doesn't mean you should tell anyone they're in there, but I did want to mention, in case you're scared. I would like to thank Aatxe for the inspiration, and I really hope you give this strange, but exciting braised lamb dish and try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 4 Portions: 4 lamb shoulder chops (10-12 ounces each) 1 tablespoon kosher salt (or about 2 tsp of table salt) 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon paprika 1/4 tsp cayenne 1 tbsp olive oil 1/3 cup sherry vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar 4 oil-packed anchovy fillets 1 1/2 cups low-sodium or no sodium chicken broth (the anchovies and spice rub on the lamb usually provide enough salt, plus you can add at the end after sauce is reduced) 1/4 tsp cinnamon 2 bunches breakfast radishes, trimmed 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

5 or 6 fresh mint leaves finely sliced 1 tbsp cold butter

- Braise at 275 F. for about 3 hour , or until meat is just barely tender, then finish at 425 F. to brown. Serve with de-fatted and reduced sauce.