Continuing to struggle with keeping myself sane during the home quarantine… You just gotta occasionally treat yourself to something hearty, comforting and full of delicious fats. Today, I’m making Lamb T-bone Steaks with a side of creamy mushroom pasta, which I will elevate with a touch of black truffle.

Let’s get straight to the recipe…

I might do another post later for a more in-depth pasta making session, but for now I will run you through this quickly and you can just use store-bought if you don’t want to make your own.

• You will need:
  • 1/2 cup fine semolina flour (if you can’t find it, just substitute for the same amount of AP flour)
  • 1/4 cup regular AP flour (total of 3/4 cups if you don’t have semolina flour)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • a drizzle of olive oil

1. Mix all the flour and the salt together and make mound on your clean and disinfected kitchen counter-top. You can’t use a flimsy table for this because you will be kneading… hard.
2. Make a little well in the center of your flour mound and add the egg inside. (without the shell.. just making sure)
3. Get a fork and start whisking the egg. This motion will gradually incorporate the flour into the egg. When the dough starts to form a manageable mass, you can start using your hands and knead! If the dough is too crumbly or dry, you can gradually add a few tablespoons of water at a time to soften it. A drizzle of olive oil will also make your dough much softer and easier to manage.
4. After 10 minutes of kneading, you should have a smooth ball of dough. Put it in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. This time allows the gluten to relax and makes for easier shaping.
5. Roll out half of the dough into a flat shape and start using your pasta machine to create whatever thickness or shape of strands you like. If you don’t have a pasta machine, you could just roll it out with a rolling pin, flour it well, fold it and cut it into equally thin strips using a knife.
6. Flour your finished pasta strands well, to prevent them from sticking together. You can store them in small batches in your freezer for months!

Now for the lamb T-bone steaks…

You can just buy them from The Right Cut and they really are gorgeously tender every time! I just seasoned them with salt & pepper, gave them a good 2-minute sear in a hot pan on either side and then thew them in a hot oven to keep them warm while I prepare the pasta.

• For the pasta you will need:
  • 200g of your homemade pasta (or store-bought… you lazy person)
  • 100g of sliced button mushrooms
  • half an onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • some parmesan cheese (about 30 or 40g)
  • 150ml of heavy cream
  • 50ml of white wine or chicken stock or water
  • Black Truffle Sauce (from ZUMRA)
  • some chopped parsley for garnish

1. DON’T FORGET THE LAMB STEAKS ARE IN THE OVEN! If you will prepare the pasta in longer than 15 minutes, then take them out at the 15 minute mark max.
2. Boil some salted water in a pot to be ready to cook the pasta in it. It will only take a few minutes.
3. Use the fat in the pan from searing the lamb steaks to cook the mushrooms (if you had already thrown it out and cleaned the pan, then you could use a couple tablespoons of butter as a start, but most of the flavor of this dish will have been lost… sorry.).
4. When the mushrooms have browned nicely, add the onion and garlic to the pan. Season with a touch of salt & pepper and sauté until the onion becomes translucent.
5. Once the fat has been fully absorbed by the mushroom, onion and garlic, deglaze the pan with the wine or the stock or the water. Let the liquid bubble away.
6. Throw your pasta in the boiling water and cook it for 4-5 minutes.
7. Once the liquid has reduced by about half, it’s time to add the heavy cream. Let it simmer away for a few minutes.
8. Drain the pasta (not all the way though…)
9. After the cream has thickened (you know it has the right thickness when you glide your spatula through it and it leaves a trail of naked pan behind), you can go ahead and add the pasta along with a tiny bit of the pasta water because the starch in it will help thicken the sauce even further.
10. Finally add the parmesan and truffle sauce and stir to finish the pasta.
11. Serve next to your lamb steaks and sprinkle with a little parsley for a fresh touch!

I hope you enjoy this guys and remember to share your experience with photos! Stay home and stay safe 🙂