Lamb Cornets With Sour-cherry Sauce

Total Time: 4 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 40
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorn
• 2 (1 lb) lamb tenderloin
• 1/2 lb shallot, peeled and halved lengthwise (about 7)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 1 cup dried sour cherries (5 oz)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, 5 inches minimum each

Recipe

• 1 put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°f.
• 2 very finely grind fennel seeds, salt, and peppercorns in grinder, then rub all over lamb.
• 3 toss shallots with oil in a 13- by 9-inch flameproof roasting pan, then nestle tenderloins among shallots (without crowding) and roast until thermometer inserted into thickest end of lamb registers 155°f, about 30 to 35 minutes.
• 4 put 2 layers of foil on a work surface and transfer lamb to foil. cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, then wrap in foil and chill until cold, about 2 hours.
• 5 while lamb cools, put roasting pan with shallots over a burner, then add wine and deglaze pan by boiling, stirring and scraping up any brown bits with a wooden spoon, 1 minute.
• 6 transfer mixture to a 2- to 2 1/2-quart heavy saucepan. add cherries, sugar, and rosemary and boil until liquid is reduced to about 2 cups, 15 to 20 minutes. discard rosemary sprigs (do not discard any leaves that have fallen off stems).
• 7 transfer mixture to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. use caution when processing hot syrupy napalm-like liquids. transfer to a bowl and chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 1/2 hours.
• 8 cut chilled lamb with a carving knife or an electric meat slicer diagonally into 3/4-inch-thick slices. roll up each slice into a cornet (cone) shape and pierce in center with a rosemary sprig to secure. fill opening of each cornet with about 1/2 teaspoon cherry sauce (or serve sauce on the side of a big platter of these babies).
• 9 note: lamb and cherry sauce can be chilled separately up to 1 day. cover cherry sauce after 1 1/2 hours of chilling.