Mediterranean Delight

Roasted vegetables and couscous. What could be better (except for the meat-eaters who got a side of grilled rack of lamb)? Not much is the answer. And, to make matters even better, it's a pretty simple meal to create. Vegetables are roasted in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes and then mixed with couscous that takes about 15 minutes beginning to end. And, the lamb is grilled to perfection until just pink inside. The only part that takes time at all is prepping the lamb with a paste and letting it sit overnight. I don't think you need to have the lamb sit with the paste overnight, so this meal could come together even faster.


Roasted Vegetable Couscous with Lemon Vinaigrette
1 crown broccoli, chopped into florets
3 medium zucchini, cut into thick matchsticks
1/2 red onion, thickly sliced
1 eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups dry whole-wheat couscous
1 large tomato, chopped
10 Kalamata olives, halved
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Place the broccoli, zucchini, onion, and eggplant in baking dishes. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast the vegetables in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until crispy and brown. The eggplant may take a little less time than the zucchini and broccoli.
2. Prepare the couscous according to the package directions, omitting half the fat.
3. Toss together the rest of the ingredients with the couscous and roasted vegetables. Top with the feta cheese.


IPA Spice Paste (Grilling with Beer, Lucy Saunders)

1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup IPA
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbs. minced garlic
1 Tbs. paprika
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 Tbs. grated orange zest
2 tsp. salt (kosher)
1 tsp. cumin

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with the metal cutting blade. Pulse on HIGH until pasty. Rub on chicken or lamb chops.

Indian Feast

I know, I know. It's been a while. But, I've been having fun laying in the sun on the east coast, spending time with wonderful people. Before we left we did have a fantastic Indian meal made totally from scratch that I have to share. We started with samosas, which, although we froze for a week and baked without looking at the directions, came out pretty well. I had them again baked correctly and they were even better. We then completed the meal with curried parsnips and a lamb curry over rice. Adam said the lamb tasted just like it does in Indian restaurants. Not too bad for a first try!

Samosas (The New Moosewood Cookbook, Mollie Katzen)

Dough
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
extra flour, as needed

1. Place the flour in a medium-sized bowl. Mix in the salt.
2. Make a well in the center, and add the buttermilk or yogurt. Mix first with a spoon and then with your hand, to make a smooth dough.
3. Add extra flour, as needed, to keep the dough from being sticky. The dough will be quite soft. Knead in the bowl for about 5 minutes. Cover tightly and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the pastries.

Filling
2 large potatoes (the size of a large person's fist)
1 Tbs. butter
1 cup finely minced onion
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. freshly grated ginger
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. dried coriander (if available)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups uncooked green peas (frozen, thawed = fine)
2 Tbs. lemon juice
cayenne, to taste

1. Peel the potatoes and chop them into 1-inch pieces. Place in a saucepan, cover with water, and boil until very soft. Drain and transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Mash and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger, mustard seeds, coriander, and salt. Saute over medium heat about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the onions are quite soft. Add this to the mashed potatoes, along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well, but try not to smash the peas. Cool for at least 15 minutes before filling the pastries.

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt

1. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
2. Heat to boiling, then let simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. It will reduce slightly.
3. Serve warm or at room temperature with hot samosas.

To assemble and bake
1. Preheat the oven to 425. Generously oil a baking sheet.
2. Keep a small container of flour, a fork, a small bowl of water, and a pastry brush close at hand. Flour a clean surface, and, one by one, roll 1-inch balls of dough into 5-inch circles, using a rolling pin.
3. Place approximately 1 1/2 Tbs. filling in the center of each circle, and fold over, just like a turnover. Brush the inside edges of each circle with a little water, and fold the edges together to make a small hem. Crimp the edges firmly with the fork.
Note: If you are storing the samosas to bake later on, place them on a heavily floured plate or tray, dust the tops with more flour, and cover tightly. Store in the refrigerator or freezer until baking time.
4. To bake: Place the samosas on the oiled baking sheet. Brush the tops with oil. Bake 15 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 375 and bake for 10 minutes more. For maximum crispiness, turn the samosas over when you turn the oven down.
5. Serve within 15 minutes of baking, with dipping sauce. A nice way to serve the sauce is in individual saucers or tiny bowls, so each person can hold both samosa and sauce directly under his or her face while eating, and the sauce bowl can catch the drips. (It does drip, but that's one of the charms of this ritual.)


Curried Parsnips with Yogurt and Chutney (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison)

We made the chutney that this recipe calls for from scratch, the recipe of which will be posted below. However, the rest of this dish is simple and if you want to make it in a hurry, pre-made chutney will work perfectly fine. Serving this dish over sauteed spinach and rice makes for a hardy and complete meal that satisfies all of the different taste buds.

1 1/2 lbs. parsnips, peeled and chopped into even-sized pieces
2 to 3 Tbs. butter or canola oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 tsp. curry powder
salt and freshly milled pepper
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup Apricot and Dried Fruit Chutney or a commercail mango chutney
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro

1. Steam the parsnips until barely tender, about 7 minutes. Melt 2 Tbs. of the butter in a medium skillet. Add the onions, apples, and curry powder and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Add the parsnips, season with salt and pepper, and cook 5 minutes more with the additional 1 Tbs. butter to help them brown. Turn off the heat, then stir in the yogurt, chutney, and cilantro and serve.


Apricot and Dried Fruit Chutney (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison)

This chutney was also delicious with the samosas.

1 1/2 cups whole dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup dried cherries or cranberries
3 1/2 cups apple juice or water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, preferably unfiltered
2 Tbs. julienne strips of ginger
1/2 tsp. fennel or anise seeds
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
pinch salt
balsamic vinegar to taste

1. Put everything except the balsamic vinegar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the fruit is soft but not mushy and the liquid is reduced to a syrup, about 45 minutes. Stir in 1/2 tsp or so balsamic vinegar to taste. Serve right away if desired, but the flavors will merge as it sits. Stored in the refrigerator, the finished chutney should keep for many weeks.


Classic Lamb Curry (www.myrecipes.com, Cooking Light)

cooking spray
2 lbs. boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
5 whole cloves
3 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 Tbs. ground coriander seeds
1 Tbs. paprika
2 Tbs. minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tsp. Garam Masala
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
1/2 tsp. ground tumeric
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups finely chopped plum tomato (about 1/2 lbs.)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
4 cups hot cooked long-grain rice

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add lamb, and cook for 5 minutes on all sides or until browned. Remove lamb from pan.
2. Heat the oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and next 4 ingredients (onion through cinnamon); cook for 4 minutes or until onion is browned. Stir in coriander and next 6 ingredients (coriander through garlic); cook 1 minute. Add lamb, tomato, water, and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until the lamb is tender. Stir in 1/4 cup cilantro. Serve over rice; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cilantro.

Slow Cookin'

Wednesday night dinner was on its way, and I had a ton of chores to do. I needed something that would be hands-off, yet fabulously delicious. We decided that throwing meat in a crock pot would be the way to go. Adam found a scrumptious recipe for Zinfandel-Braised Leg of Lamb that could cook in the slow cooker all day long. I have to say that Adam did most of the work, but I put on the finishing touches of broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic, homemade foccacia, and mushrooms sauteed in garlic and wine to accompany the lamb. The recipe calls to serve the lamb over noodles, but Adam and Scott simply used the bread to sop up the juices.


Zinfandel-Braised Leg of Lamb (Cooking Light, March 2009)

My only suggestion for the recipe would be to rotate the lamb during cooking so the top of the meat doesn't dry out. I think if I had come home from work and flipped it once, the lamb would have been more moist and succulent.

1 (2 1/2-lbs.) boneless leg of lamb
1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 Tbs. all-purpse flour
2 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbs. juniper berries, crushed [we couldn't find juniper berries, so we added a splash of gin, which is made from juniper berries]
1 tsp. whole allspice, crushed
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 cup zinfandel or other light red wine
1 tsp. dried basil
2 bay leaves
6 cups hot cooked egg noodles (about 4 3/4 cups uncooked pasta)

1. Unroll lamb; trim fat. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Reroll lamb; secure at 1-inch intervals with twine. Sprinkle evenly with flour. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Place lamb in an electric slow cooker. Add juniper berries, allspice, and garlic to pan; cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until garlic is lightly browned. Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Scrap wine mixture into cooker; add basil and bay leaves. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours or until lamb is tender.
2. Remove lamb from cooker; keep warm. Strain cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Add remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and remaining 1/2 tsp. pepper to cooking liquid; stir. Remove twine from lamb, and discard. Break lamb into chunks with 2 forks. Serve lamb and cooking liquid over egg noodles.

Grillin' Greek

A few weeks ago we bought some ground lamb at the Lakeshore Farmers' Market. We decided to make a lamb burger for Adam and a grilled portabella burger for me, paired with a Greek salad to make the ultimate grilled Greek dinner. On a freshly baked bun and topped with red onion, tomato chutney, and feta cheese, this was a perfectly flavorful weeknight meal. For the bun, we used a Par Baked Artisan roll from Trader Joe's that you heat through and crisp up right before serving. They are wonderful because you can always have freshly baked bread on your table in 10 minutes. The perfectly spicy tomato chutney is also from Trader Joe's. I'm sure you could find some tomato chutney in any well-stocked grocery store. I must admit that this meal doesn't have a strict recipe; it's pretty much making a simple salad and grilling up meat/mushrooms. I just wanted to show how easy putting together a delicious, unique meal can actually be.

Lamb Burger

1 lbs. ground lamb
1 tsp. rosemary
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

1. Mix the ingredients together and place on a hot grill. Grill until thoroughly cooked.


Portabella Burger

This isn't so much of a recipe as just placing the mushroom on the grill and letting it heat through. I would suggest two mushrooms stacked on top of each other to help the mushroom stand up to the tomato chutney.


Greek Salad

I'm not going to write the portions for any of the salad ingredients because everyone likes their salads with different ratios of greens to other veggies and toppings. Feel free to elaborate and add your own favorite salad toppers.

spinach or mixed greens
cucumber, thinly sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
tomato, sliced
red pepper, diced
pecans
feta cheese
vinaigrette (a lemon-based or more acidic vinaigrette would work well)

1. Toss all of the ingredients together and top with dressing.