A trip to the farmer’s market can bring about a world of adventurous possibilities and inspirations. While traipsing through the market on a Sunday afternoon, I stumbled upon a purveyor of fine goat foodstuffs. Once my eyes lay upon the sirloin in question, my mind began to race with possibilities.
I immediately went seeking out a spicery; low and behold, I found one at the market. I knew I wanted something of African origins because I thought that might play well with the goat. I inquired about their berbere spice, and once I was allowed to take in the charming aromas, the rest of the dish fell into place in my head. With a few more additions from the market, and run to a grocer, it was off to get cooking.
Sous vide is an amazing technique that is thankfully taking more of a foothold in home kitchens the last few years. One method that I’ve found works well is to spice rub & salt meat before it goes into a sous vide bath; this allows the meat to essentially brine while it slow cooks, and the spices permeate throughout. Here, the goat sirloin has been rubbed down with berbere spice and salt. The additions of peeled garlic cloves and a knob of butter to the sous vide bag just add to the flavor, while the goat takes its 3 hour bath. This long bath is going to break down the meat to create a beautifully tender piece of sirloin, while keeping potential gaminess somewhat at bay.
Black lentils made for a wonderful grounding base for the dish. These were simmered in chicken stock, with a dash of the berbere spice and a little butter to make them completely delicious all on their own.
Next, I moved onto another powerfully flavored component, the curried potatoes. Sweating down some onions in a pan helps set the mood for things to come. Once the onions became translucent a knob of butter, garlic and spices helped create flavorful pool for which the potatoes cooked in. After a quick toss to coat everything, the potatoes got roasted to perfection in the oven.
Once the goat was done cooking, I gave it a quick sear in the pan, then a moment to rest on the board while I gave the padron peppers a quick saute. Next, was combining all the powerfully flavored components together to create a Well Seasoned dish. The addition of berbere spice throughout various aspects helped make the dish cohesive. A squeeze of lemon provides a little relief to your palette through the onslaught of powerful flavors.
Recipe
Goat Sirloin
| Qtys | Measurements | Ingredients | Prep |
| 2 | Tablespoons | Salt | |
| 2 | Tablespoons | Berber Spice | |
| 1 ½ | Lbs | Goat Sirloin | Trimmed & Tied |
| 2 | Cloves | Garlic | Peeled & Crushed |
| 1 | Tablespoon | Butter |
Combine Berber spice and salt. Place goat on work surface, sprinkle spice & salt mixture and rub into meat. Add spice and salt if not fully coated. Place spice rubbed goat in sous vide bag, add garlic cloves and butter. Place sous vide package in a 140°F sous vide bath for 3hrs. Once goat has been cooked up, place in a hot oiled pan for searing to achieve desired color. Place goat on cutting board and portion out.
Lentils
| Qtys | Measurements | Ingredients | Prep |
| 1/4 | Each | Onion | Diced |
| 2 | Cloves | Garlic | Minced |
| ¼ | Ounce | Ginger | Peeled & Smashed |
| 1 | Teaspoon | Berber Spice | |
| 2 | Cups | Chicken Stock | |
| 1 | Cup | Black Lentils | Rinsed & Cleaned |
| 1 | Tablespoon | Butter |
Sweat onions in a pot over medium heat with a little oil. Once onions are translucent add garlic and ginger, continue to cook for another minute or two to perfume the garlic. Add spice, salt, pepper, chicken stock and bring up to a boil over high heat. Once stock is boiling, add lentils and reduce heat to medium low. Allow lentils to simmer for 20-30min partially covered. Once lentils are cooked, stir in butter and taste, adjust seasoning accordingly.
Curried Potatoes
| Qtys | Measurements | Ingredients | Prep |
| ½ | Each | Onion | Julienned Thick |
| 1 | Teaspoon | Berber Spice | |
| ½ | Teaspoon | Turmeric | |
| 1 | Lbs | Fingerling Potatoes | Cut In Half |
| 2 | Tablespoons | Butter | |
| 3 | Cloves | Garlic | Peeled & Crushed |
| ¼ | Ounce | Ginger | Peeled & Smashed |
| 2 | Teaspoons | Parsley | Chopped |
Preheat oven to 350°. In a saute pan, sweat juilenned onions over medium heat with a little oil. Once onions are translucent add spices and salt, give a toss to coat. Continue to cook for another minute or two to perfume the spices. Move the onions to the side of the pan, and place potatoes cutside down in the pan, transfer the onions over the top of the potatoes. Cook potatoes till you see a little crust form on their cutside. Add butter, garlic and ginger, give it a toss to coat everything. Now place pan in a 350°F oven, and cook for 10-15min.
Peppers
| Qtys | Measurments | Ingredients | Prep |
| 1 | Cup | Padron Peppers | |
| 1 | Tablespoon | Vegetable Oil |
Get a pan hot over medium-high heat with a little oil. Once pan is up to temp saute padron peppers till blistered and cooked through.
Garnish
| Qtys | Measurements | Ingredients | Prep |
| 1 | Each | Lemon | Cut In Half |
Time to plate! Spoon a bed of lentils onto the plate. Garnish your potatoes with chopped parsley, and spoon them with the peppers over the bed of lentils. Next some the portioned goat sirloin, give the sliced meat a light sprinkling of salt. A squeeze of lemon juice over the dish completes things and creates a Well Seasoned meal.