"GARGOULETTE" OF LAMB
SOURCE: PAULA WOLFERT. THE SLOW MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN: RECIPES FOR THE PASSIONATE COOK.
Djerba, Tunisia’s nexus to the Sahara Desert and North Africa’s largest island, offers a saffron-perfumed confit of lamb and potatoes stuffed in an unglazed terracotta amphora called a gargoulette or gollah as its sublime regional specialty. Traditionally, gargoulettes would slowly cook in the cindering blaze of hot charcoal that steamed up women’s bathhouses, and the freshened wives would bring their warm earthenware vessels home afterwards for their husbands to hack the necks and handles off with gentle smites of a mallet and chisel, an act that also provides a parallel explanation on the centerpiece role of the stew during circumcision rites. Djerbians show no concern on the “wastefulness” and dispensability of their broken gargoulettes when new and intact clay jars are readily available and cheap and damaged potteries are reusable as sustainable octopus traps along the surrounding gulf waters. For a home cook outside of Tunisia who lacks the “violent” luxury of shattering expensive and fragile potwares or the commercial access to even a glazed gargoulette that comes with a removable sealing lid and bakes in a sideward position in the oven, a brick oven dish or a Chinese clay pot can worthily take the place of the genuine article and still retain the flavor-enhancing features of clayware cookery.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds/680 grams lamb shoulder, bone-in, trimmed of excess fat and cut equally into 12 chunks
1/2 cup/25 grams finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons/18 grams finely chopped garlic
1 large sprig of rosemary, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results
1 bay leaf, preferably Turkish or Greek bay leaf
Pinch of saffron
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium-sized tomato, peeled, halved crosswise, seeded, juiced, and julienned
1 small green OR red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and julienned
4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and halved
1/4 cup/60 mL extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup/60 mL freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon/4 grams finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Specific Equipment
Tunisian gargoulette, brick oven dish, OR Chinese clay pot with a capacity of 3 quarts/2.9 L
Aluminum foil
Dough ribbon made from flour, water, and oil to seal the gargoulette or clay pot
Sharp knife
Serves 4
Instructions
1. Combine the lamb, 6 tablespoons/19 grams onions, garlic, rosemary, bay leaf, and saffron in a Tunisian gargoulette, brick oven dish, or Chinese clay pot. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and stir again until well-blended. Cover the gargoulette, brick oven dish, or clay pot and marinate in a refrigerator for at least 5 to 6 hours or overnight.
2. Remove the gargoulette, brick oven dish, or clay pot from the refrigerator and set to room temperature for 1 hour.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, bell peppers, and potatoes and drizzle in the olive oil until well-blended. Cover the gargoulette, brick oven dish, or clay pot with aluminum foil and set the the lid on top. Seal the lid with the dough ribbon made from flour, water, and oil.
4. Place the gargoulette, brick oven dish, or clay pot inside a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 450°F/230°C and bake for 90 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the gargoulette, brick oven dish, or clay pot inside to continue baking for 30 minutes.
5. Unseal the lid from by running a sharp knife around the hardened dough ribbon. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper according to taste. Transfer the entire contents into a deep-bottomed serving plate, if desired. Sprinkle the lamb with lemon juice, 2 tablespoons/6 grams onions, and parsley before serving.
