La Cassola del Matarraña at IES Matarraña: Lamb and Wine-Poached Pears

Rosana Insa, a second-year student of the intermediate vocational programme in Cooking and Gastronomy at IES del Matarraña, presents two recipes as part of La Cassola del Matarraña: Aragonese ternasco lamb and wine-poached pears with cinnamon and marcona almonds. The video Rosana has produced is part of her end-of-year project.

The programme also runs the Chapeau restaurant, a practical classroom where students train for the hospitality profession and carry out their work placements. Every Thursday during the school term, the restaurant is open to the public so students can experience a real-world setting and put everything they have learned into practice. Anyone interested in training for a career in hospitality can study the Catering Services and Cooking programme at IES Matarraña. For more information call 978850647.

Ingredients: one lamb shoulder, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, one head of garlic, salt, pepper, potatoes, meat stock, brandy and parsley.

Method: Score the lamb shoulder with several cuts, remove the fat and season with salt and pepper. Pour olive oil into an oven dish and place the shoulder in it, adding sprigs of thyme, rosemary and whole crushed garlic cloves. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Place in a preheated oven at 180 °C and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Halfway through, once the meat is browned, add stock (prepared in advance) so the lamb stays juicy. The meat stock should be concentrated, with a splash of brandy and thyme added during preparation.

While the lamb is in the oven, prepare the potatoes. Wash them with their skins on, coat with oil and roast alongside the meat. Once cooked, peel and pass through a potato ricer, season and set aside until plating.

Once the lamb is done, cut the meat into small pieces and set aside. Strain the cooking juices through a sieve and reduce for a few minutes. To plate, place a layer of meat in a ring mould, then a layer of potato, then another layer of meat. Remove the mould and finish with potato balls, the reduced cooking sauce and touches of parsley sauce.

Ingredients: three pears, mistela (sweet wine), red wine, marcona almonds, cinnamon.

Method: Peel the pears, halve them and remove the seeds. Place in a saucepan with two glasses of mistela, half a glass of red wine and a cinnamon stick. Cook for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the almonds and toast them in the oven. Set aside. When the pears are done, plate the halves, add the cinnamon stick and scatter the toasted almonds on top.