Leg O Lamb with Mole and Butternut Squash

        Another Fall dish. Of course this one would be very good during winter as well. I spent the last 2 years in San Francisco where the weather never changed - it was always spring and 50 degrees; no seasons, no snow, no heat, very few leaves changing, very dull. Not that San Fran didnt have its good points, but that was something I really missed about living on the east coast, or as me and my friends like to call it "The Right Side" (not as in right in left but as in right and wrong hah). So, do I like the freezing cold? NO! BUT the changes in mood, visuals, activities, etc bring excitement, variety, and  frame of reference into your life.
         One of my goals here is to give inspiration for everyday dishes at home as well as dishes for special occasions - the goal is of course to always savor the meal and get nourishment from it; and everything I post is healthy for you in one way or another. SO, that being said, the beginner cook OR someone who is used to popping something in a micro-nuclear cooker may see some of these recipes as overly complicated, SO I will try to post a variety of simple AND a little more advanced recipes for everyone and every occasion. However, I will say that in order to make quality, healthy food there needs to be the addition of that secret ingredient L-O-V-E, and that takes time, you have to be willing to spend the time. It will be worth it in the end. Its the difference of cooking a frozen burger in the Nuke and having a well seasoned freshly ground grass-fed beef patty cooked med-rare over fire. The two arent even in the same galaxy! Point is, making good food takes time but with the proper knowledge, tools, and organization it can be simple and fun.
          On to the dish. This dish consist of three simple parts - The Leg of Lamb, which gets marinated and then grilled over wood,

The butternut squash which gets tossed in olive oil and seasonings and then roasted,

And the Mole which is an adaptation of from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall who, incidentally is one of my favorite food writers of all time. Mole can be made a number of different ways pretty much always includes peppers, nuts, chocolate, and lots of roasty toastiness. I strongly encourage you to check out any of Hugh's River Cottage books as they all are works of art and very informative and inspirational. Mole is a sauce that has a lot of ingredients but the end result is greater than the sum of its parts. As the sauce comes together, the ingredients are hard to pick out individually but all add to the greater good of the whole. 

 On to the Recipe.


For the Leg of Lamb
     One 3-5 lb leg of lamb (I broke down my own lamb and removed the lower part of the leg and shank)
      4 T champagne vinegar
      4 T olive oil
      4 cloves of garlic chopped
      1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
      1 tsp salt
      1 tsp sucanat or organic brown sugar
Combine ingredients and rub over lamb. Let sit 4 hrs or overnight. Soak a handful of woodchips for at least 30 min. I used Pecan chips as they go nicely with the nuttiness of the rest of the dish. Prepare the grill (preferable charcoal) to 500. Add the chips and grill the lamb with the lid closed and vent open so the lamb absorbs as much smoke as possible. Turn the lamb every 5-10 min to prevent from burning. After about 15-20 min and a nice dark brown char has occured on all sides, however the heat to 425 and roast an additional 30 min or until the middle has reached 130-135 degrees, remember the leg will continue to cook up about 5 degrees after it is removed from the grill. Let rest for 20-30 min and slice against the grain.

For the Butternut Squash
    3-4 butternut squashes peeled, seeded, and cut into half rings and circles
    2 T olive oil
    2 tsp salt or to taste
    2 tsp freshly ground black pepper or to taste
    1 tsp sucanat or organic brown sugar
    1 tsp paprika
Preheat oven to 425. Toss all ingredients together and spread out on 2 baking sheets making sure not to over crowd. Pop into the oven and roast until browned and tender, about 20 min.

For the Mole
   2 dried ancho chilis
   3 cayenne pepper
   2 red fresno peppers
   1 bell pepper
   1 poblano pepper
   3/4 cup sesame seeds
   1/3 cup cashews
   1/2 cup peanuts
   1/3 cup dried currants
   1/2 tsp coriander seeds
   1 pod star anise
   1/2 cinnamon stick
   1 tsp black pepper corns
   6 cloves  
   3 cloves garlic
   2 small onions chopped
   3 T sesame oil
   2-3 oz dark chocolate (70% or more)
   3-4 cups chicken stock

Rehydrate the dried chilis in boiling water for 20 min. Char the fresh peppers until blistered on all sides and then peel and seed. Toast the spices and nuts until they brown and pop. Add all ingredients except the chocolate, oil and stock into a blender and blend until smooth. Heat the oil in a sauce pot until very hot and pour in the sauce to "toast" it. Simmer for 10 min. When it starts to smell  very fragrant, add in the stock little by little to keep the sauce from thinning too much. Once it is the consistency you want add in the chocolate until just melted. Dont boil the sauce with the chocolate in it. You will have left over Mole but you will not be disappointed. Use it on pork, chicken, turkey, pheasant, etc.

Sauce looks a bit like poop but GEE-WILLAKERS is it divine! ENJOY.