Recipe: Sepulvedana Roast Lamb

the appetizer:

Learn Spanish cooking from Simone and Inés Ortega in their classic cookbook, 1080 Recipes, featuring Octopus with Paprika Pulpo con Pimenton; Partridges with Grapes Perdices con Uvas; Sepulvedana Roast Lamb Cordero Asado a la Sepulvedana; and Catalan Cream Crema Catalana.

Catalan Cream

Crema Catalana

Serves 6

Homemade custards and creams are delicious, but there is a trick to making them. From custard to confectioner's cream, many of them are used in the preparation of numerous desserts and also constitute desserts in themselves. They have a common denominator—their extreme fragility. Therefore you should use top-quality ingredients for them and eat them within hours of their being made.

Custards

Making a traditional egg custard requires a little patience and care. It acquires its characteristic consistency because heat causes the egg yolks to coagulate. Therefore, the more egg yolks added, the thicker the custard will be.
The usual proportion is 8 egg yolks for every 4 cups milk and 1-1/4 cups sugar, but add more yolks for a thicker custard
Rinse out the pan with cold water before pouring in the milk. This prevents the milk sticking to the base and sides of the pan
It is critical to be thorough when beating the egg yolks with sugar. Put the sugar in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs and beat quickly with a whisk until the mixture is smooth
Remember to wash your hands after breaking the eggs to avoid bacterial contamination
Be careful when heating the custard. It should thicken but not cook too much and should never boil, as it would spoil and lumps would form. However, if it doesn't cook enough, it will be too liquid. To find the ideal point, remove a little of the custard with a spatula and draw a line in it with your finger. The mark should be clear—if the sides rejoin, the custard is not yet cooked enough
If the custard spoils, it may be possible to rescue it. Put a little cold water in a bowl and gradually pour in the custard, a little at a time, stirring vigorously.

Confectioner's Cream

The base is the same as for custard, but it is usual to add flour or cornstarch to thicken it
Add the cornstarch very carefully, beating with a whisk, but do not mix too much or the cream will harden
To prevent a skin forming as the confectioner's cream cools, sprinkle confectioner's sugar over the top or cover it with plastic wrap.

Note: Crema Catalana is the best-known Spanish dessert and is said by some to be the predecessor of France's crème brûlée.

4 cups milk
2/3 cup superfine sugar
Thinly pared zest of 1 lemon
8 egg yolks
1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch

Pour the milk into a pan, add 4 tablespoons of the sugar and the lemon zest, and bring just to a boil. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of the remaining sugar and the potato starch. Gradually stir in the hot milk, then pour the custard into the pan. Lower the heat and cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Strain into a serving dish or individual dishes and let cool, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, sprinkle the remaining sugar on top and use a kitchen blow torch to caramelize it.