Braised Lamb with Artichokes, Lemon, and Fresh Herbs

Preparation info
  • Yield:

    8–10

    servings
    • Difficulty

      Medium

Appears in
The Gefilte Variations

By Jayne Cohen

Published 2000

  • About

Rubbed first with wild bitter herbs, tender young lamb was roasted, often over fragrant pomegranate wood, to mark each Passover in the Second Temple period. The Jewish historian Josephus estimated that 255,600 animals were sacrificed for the Passover celebratory feasts during the reign of Nero.

With the destruction of the Second Temple in A.D. 70, the custom lost favor as it evoked sorrowful memories of the Temple sacrifices that were no more. Eventually, Orthodox a