Super Bowl Recipe - Dan's "Send the Colts Home Unhappy" Horse Loin

[This "horse loin" recipe is from Boston Dan who intends to do some voodoo cooking to send the Indy Colts home titleless.]

Note from Dan: In the recipe below, 'horse' has been substituted with lamb. Anything for a metaphor right? Anyways, it's pretty involved but if you've got nothing else to do but watch the 79 hours of pre-game show, which might be starting right about now...

Brown Butter and Black Olive-Studded Horse/Lamb Loin with Minted Fennel Purée

Serves 4

• 1 lamb loin (8 ounces), cleaned
• 12 oil-cured black olives (no pits)
• Salt
• Butter Poaching Liquid (see recipe below)
  
• Minted fennel purée (see recipe below)

1. Cut each olive vertically into quarters then, using a paring knife, slice a small opening into the lamb loin. Using your knife to keep the slice open, slide the piece of olive into the hole. Repeat the same procedure all over the lamb loin. To cook, heat 1 recipe of the Butter Poaching Liquid in a medium saucepan and warm to 125°F. Add lamb loin and gently poach for 18 minutes. This will give you perfectly medium rare lamb. Let rest for 6 minutes.
2. To serve, spoon a large line of the minted fennel purée down the center of the plate. Slice lamb loin into 5 pieces and spoon a little of the fennel liquid over the lamb. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve immediately.

Minted Fennel Purée

• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 large head of fennel, sliced into pieces (reserve tops for later)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup pernod
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 1 cup mint, cleaned leaves only
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Sweat shallots until soft and sweet. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved, then add pernod and flambé until flame dies. Add the fennel slices and just cover with chicken stock. Cook until fennel is soft. Remove fennel from liquid, place in blender, add 1 cup of cooking liquid and blend on low speed. Add fennel tops and mint and purée until smooth. Save some liquid for garnish.

Butter Poaching Liquid

Poaching has gotten short shrift recently; chefs seem to be more focused on searing and caramelizing. But poaching is a wonderful technique because its slow, gentle approach invariably produces moist, tender results. This master recipe is for a Butter Poaching Liquid that imbues any meat or fish with a juicy, delicious richness.

Makes 1 1/2 quarts

• 1/4 cup garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup shallots, chopped
• 1/2 bottle white wine
• 24 ounces chicken stock
• 2 pounds butter, cubed
• 1/2 bunch thyme, chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, sauté garlic and shallots until fragrant and translucent, about 2 minutes. Deglaze pan with wine and allow to completely reduce. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and, while using an immersion blender, add butter slowly while blending to form an emulsion. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Finish with fresh thyme.

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