California Farm Valentine’s Lamb Saddle Roast
I saved the lamb saddle roast from last years’ farm butchering for Valentines. I am combining the family recipe for lamb saddle from Julia Child with a recipe of my favorite greek chef, Michael Psilakis, called rack of venison with leeks and candied cherries, on this tender lamb. The Valentine’s Day’s camelia flowers are blossoming two weeks early, so Valentine’s dinner is two weeks early.
I f you do not have lamb, this recipe works well with a half a bone-in pork loin, too.
#february2026
California Farm Valentine’s Lamb Saddle Roast
I saved the lamb saddle roast from last years’ farm butchering for Valentines. I am combining the family recipe for lamb saddle from Julia Child with a recipe of my favorite greek chef, Michael Psilakis, called rack of venison with leeks and candied cherries, on this tender lamb. The Valentine’s Day’s camelia flowers are blossoming two weeks early, so Valentine’s dinner is two weeks early.
I f you do not have lamb, this recipe works well with a half a bone-in pork loin, too.
#february2026
Cooking Instructions
- 1
Place the Valentine Camelia flowers on the dinner table
- 2
Make the avocado shrimp appetizer from ripe avocado halves. Mix fresh peeled chopped shrimp with mayo, shallot, lime juice, flaked seasalt, ground pepper, stuff avocado halves, serve.
- 3
Make the chicken broth with sherry wine : heat chicken consommee, add Tbs sherry wine per cup, serve.
- 4
Make the avocado fruit salad with avocado slices on butterleaf lettuce, sweet paprika rings, sliced roma tomatoess, green onion snippets, mango slices, button mushroom slices, slivered fresh basil leaf and meyer lemon juice.
- 5
Make the leek oil confit. Keep oil confits sterile, they will last forever. Wash and trim leek, use white part with 1” green trim only. Put in mason jar, top with 1” of oilmix. Make leek baked beans with leftover green parts. Slice white part lengthwise, stuff in mason jar. Add spices, cover with oil mix, bake 1 1/2 hour at 375F degrees, cool, store in mason jar. Make sure leeks are not exposed to air in jar, by adding oil to jar if needed.
- 6
Mix half a pound of ground lamb with chopped mushrooms, onion, saffron, pepper, salt, make 4 sausage. Sear the lamb koobideh sausages with leek confit oil in cast iron pan. Sautee one minute together with the leek confit pieces. Add sage, add thyme, sautee another minute. Deglaze the pan with sherry vinegar and water. Cut sausages in four, swirl sausage and leek in cold butter and tomato paste and glaze till butter has melted.
- 7
Make the crackling crust. Crisscross the fatcap on the meat. Rub saddle with leek confit oil and very freshly ground black pepper. Broil 15 minutes at 500F degrees in a large oven roasting pan, crisscrossed side up. Take out baking tray, pour off the fat and save, flip meat with tenderloins up. Bake at 250 F degrees, cook till internal temperature is 135F degrees at medium. Estimate half an hour per pound for cooking, 3 hours total. Rest ten minutes.
- 8
The tenderloins are on the bottom on each side of the saddle bone. Trim off the tenderloins, flip the saddle. The steaks are on the top. Trim off the steaks.
- 9
Place sausage on center plate, leek on top. Use long and short carving knife. Carve roasted lamb saddle on its back along the center bone with the short knife, then fold meat back, then use long knife to carve and serve the tenderloins in slices. Arrange slices around leek and sausage.
- 10
Heat the cherries and syrup in sauce pan to room temperature. Use to decorate around the lamb. Serve dinner.
- 11
Make tarte tatin apple pie. Slice apples horizontally 1/4” thick, peel on. Bake upside down, 350F degrees. Butter, brown sugar, to make caramel base, bake till foaming. Apple slices on top. Filo dough on top to seal with butter. Bake 45 minutes. Flip onto large platter, cool, serve.
- 12
Use the leftover lamb bones and fat to make leftover lamb stew with smokey beans, leek and onion in the dutch oven.
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