Cycle 3 – Item 191

14 (Sat) July 2012

Fricadelles d’Agneau with Farce aux Olives

2.0

by me

at home

-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

solo

In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the section on fricadelles d’agneau (lamb patties) suggests combining the meat with any of the stuffings for stuffed leg or shoulder, such as farce aux olives (olive stuffing).  On the positive side, the brininess of the black olives paired well with the gaminess of the lamb – this particular cut of rump seemed especially gamy and needed something for balance.  Also, being rather tough, grinding made the meat reasonably pleasant in texture.   But in the end, each patty ended up tasting like lamb and tasting like olive, no synergy between them.  The improvised topping of onions and garlic and basil in olive oil and butter didn’t help.  The patties would work better in a Mediterranean-style burger, say, with grilled eggplant and feta cheese.

(See also FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)