Lapsang Souchong Braised Lamb

To celebrate Celestial Seasonings 40th year anniversary, Cindy Sutter, food editor for Daily Camera, wrote a tea-licious article entitled Kitchen teatime: Cooking up some tea-full recipes. She featured my Casanova Sliders, Green Roasted Tea Smoked Salmon, Corn off the Cob Quinoa Salad, Mango Tango Grilled Pineapple & Boulder Blues Muddler. 

Photo by MARTY CAIVANO

Along side my recipes were a few from Lenny Martinelli, proprietor of the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, an amazing hand-crafted teahouse, presented to Boulder by Mayor Maksud Ikramov, as symbol celebrating the establishment of sister city ties. Although the city of Boulder owns the building, Martinelli operates the restaurant. Martinelli is well-known for cooking with tea and has inspired me quite a few times during his annual cooking with tea class at the Rocky Mountain Tea Festival. 

Photo by Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

One of his featured recipes in the article is a Lapsang Souchong Braised Lamb, which sounds enticing and intriguing. At first glance, it seems like a stew since the lamb is cut into cubes instead of being cooked in larger pieces. You might also think about to brining the lamb overnight if cooking with tougher parts of the meat. 

Due to lack of time, sleep and energy, I'm posting the recipe before testing it. I plan to test it Sunday. So, tune in next week for a verdict. 

Lapsang Souchong Braised Lamb

For the rub:

2 tablespoons Lapsang Souchong tea leaves, ground

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the braised lamb:

2 pounds lamb cubed

Salt and pepper to taste

1 onion diced

1 carrot diced

1 celery diced

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

3 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups water

Directions: Combine all rub ingredients. Toss with meat and let sit in refrigerator for half a day. Heat oil in a dutch oven or large saute pan. Season lamb with salt and sear. When you turn the meat to sear on the other side, add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and cook 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and brown lightly. Add water, cover pot and cook on low heat for about 11/2 hours. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Source: Lenny Martinelli

Let me know how it is if you test it before me...