Recipes Cooking: lamb

Showing posts with label lamb. Show all posts

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Last Night We Had a Little Lamb

Once in a while, even though I know it would make a great video, I just cant bring myself to film a meal. Making a video can turn the most enjoyable recipe into a tiring tangle of timers, wires, and angles. Im forced to use a part of the brain thats in charge of "getting the shot," and artistic expression be damned.

Last night was one of those meals. It was truly delicious, and while I didnt film it, guilt forced me to at least photo it, in hopes of inspiring you next time youre trying to decide what to throw on the grill.

Lamb loins were marinated in garlic, fennel seed, and rosemary. A few hours later, they were grilled over charcoal, to a perfectly rosy medium-rare. Finger-sized carrots were roasted tender in a slow oven with a few drips of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a pinch of brown sugar. Split pita bread was filled with fresh mozzarella, and a squeeze of harissa (a spicy North African tomato/chili sauce). These "hot pockets" were grilled over the coals, while the lamb was resting. The slightly crisp, and smoky exterior was a perfect envelope for the warm, gooey cheese. The cold sauce was a simple plain Greek yogurt, spiked with more harissa, lemon, and fresh mint. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Artichoke Heart and Lamb Stew Kuzu Etli Enginar

Artichoke and lamb stew is a very common dish in the western Aegean part of Turkey, where Turk and Greeks lived together for years. The original recipe requires artichoke heart, lamb, onion, and, the most important of all dill. Yet, I find the mix of just artichoke and lamb to be very heavy, so I modified the recipe by adding carrot ands green peas.

serves 4-6

1 pound lamb
8-10 small or 4-6 big peeled artichoke hearts, cut into 4-6 pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped in half rounds
1 pound fresh green peas or 1 can green peas
1/2 bunch dill, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil or 4 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp flour
juice of 1 1/2 lemon
1 tsp sugar
water
salt

-Soak chopped artichoke hearts in a bowl with lemon juice until you cook them. Otherwise, they will darken.
-Heat olive oil or butter in a broad pot and add lamb. Stir for a couple of minutes until its cooked on each side.
-Add onion and carrot. Stir until onion is softened. Add flour and stir for another minutes.
-Add artichoke, green peas, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Add water to barely cover vegetables.
-Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer on low for almost an hour.
-Add dill after your turn it off.
-Serve with rice.

With the harmonious friendship of artichoke and dill, the recipe is for Weekend Herb Blogging, founded by Kalyn and hosted this week by Pille of Nami Nami