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Herbed Leg of Lamb and Tzatziki Sauce

July 10, 2012 in Beef/Lamb, Mains

As the summer progresses, I find myself wanting to delve more into the flavors of the Mediterranean.  During each of my weekly grocery trips, I’m stocking up on herbs, lemons, lentils, yogurt, cheese, zucchini, eggplant, and seafood all destined for a treatment from one of those countries that borders the Mediterranean Sea.  Is anyone else amazed by the bajillion things you can do with yogurt?!  Anyone?  Maybe I’m alone on this one…

I’ve also been creating meals that are heavier on the veg side of the pyramid as opposed to the starchy grain side.  I blame The Biggest Loser, and my summer weight loss goals. The track record of broiled, grilled, sautéed, and roasted cooking methods of this region and the ample use of herbs for flavor are right up my alley in this season of my cooking life.

And I freaking love gyros.  It’s magical to me.  Lean meat and veggies topped with tzatziki and wrapped in a warm flatbread.  I’m not sure if it really aligns with my diet, but the association of the sandwich with all of the good things about Mediterranean food makes it okay.  For now.

om nom nom! might i add that these are homemade sourdough pita-that-are-more-like-naan. really happy with the way they turned out!

For this entry, in homage to my love of gyros, I’ve tackled something I’ve never used before:  a leg of lamb.  A BONE-IN leg of lamb.  This thing was beautiful in the butcher case.  And kind of intimidating.  It shouldn’t have been, as I made a number of pork and beef roasts.   I didn’t grow up with lamb.  In fact, I remember the first time my mom decided to give it a go, she picked up some cubes of lamb meat intended for a stew.  Unsure of what to do, she simmered it in a lightly seasoned broth… and it made the house smell like a wet goat.   I first ventured into lamb dishes myself with my delicious trial of lamb shanks braised in stout.  So once again I braised, but with a very small amount of liquid.  In the slow cooker.  With temperatures in the 90s, I really don’t want to have my oven on for 4 hours.  The slow cooker uses less energy too, so double whammy win!

Ingredients:

  • 1 bone in leg of lamb (about 4-6 pounds)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp dried dill weed
  • salt (I used coarse sea salt.)
  • pepper (I used coarsely ground black pepper.)
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • zest of one lemon
  • juice of half a lemon
  • olive oil

Unwrap the lovely lamb roast.  Admire it.  Rinse and pat dry.  In a small bowl mix together the herbs, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and garlic.  Then add in enough oil to form a paste.  Rub the paste on the meat.

Once you’re lamb lovin’ is done, squeeze half a lemon over the whole thing.  Place in a plastic zip top bag, or a bowl with cling film and let it marinate overnight.

The next morning, take the meat out of the fridge and let it get closer to room temp.  After about a half an hour, pat it dry to remove some of that moisture that has collected on the surface. Preheat a skillet on medium-high.  When it comes up to temperature, don’t add in oil or grease.  Lay the roast into the skillet FAT SIDE DOWN.

Sear for a few minutes or until there’s a nice golden brown crust going on and a nice amount of fat is melted in the pan.

Use that lamb fat to sear the other sides.  You may noticed some garlic in the pan, remove those before they burn and toss into the crock of the slow cooker.  Once all sides are seared, immediately place the roast into the slow cooker, fat side up.

Pour in about a 1/2 cup of red wine, cover, and cook in low for 7-9 hours, or high 4-6.

This will be crazy tender.  Look at that thing!

Serve slices/pieces wrapped in pita with red onions, tomatoes, and a nice dollop of tzatziki.

Here’s how to make some tzatziki!  This is probably my favorite condiment in the world.

Basic ingredients:

  • 1 cup of Greek yogurt
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
  • 1 tsp of dried dill or mint (I used this lovely seasoning blend from Savory Spice Shop called Mt. Olympus Greek Style Seasoning.)
  • salt to taste (optional)

Chop and mix all of these things together.  Done.

Stick this in the fridge and let it all marinate together for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld.

 

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Bell Pepper and Onion Crostini

July 2, 2012 in Mains, Recipes, Starters, Vegetable

Keeping the veggie truck rollin’ from the ratatouille, I wanted to share this simple vegan dish that can be done in minutes. You can play around with it a bit and add in tomatoes, green bell peppers, arugula, spinach, artichoke hearts… tons of things!  Whatever you do, take advantage of the season’s bounty.

Bell Pepper and Onion Crostini (For 2-3 depending on appetite!)

Ingredients:

  • 2 bell peppers (I used yellow and orange this time around; use whatever color you like.)
  • one medium yellow onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • a few dashes of worcestershire sauce (optional;  WARNING – adding this makes this non-vegetarian/non-vegan because anchovies are listed as an ingredient.  if you get a hold of worcestershire sans anchovies, then it will still be vegan.)

Thinly slice your vegetables.  This will allow them to cook faster.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  Add the peppers and onion to the pan and sauté over medium-high heat.  When the veggies are almost finished, stir in the garlic and continue cooking until the vegetables are done.  Add salt and pepper to taste. If you are going to add the worcestershire, do it before you take it off of the heat.

Slice and toast your bread, then top with the veggies.  EAT!

 

 

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Summer Stew Spectacular: Ratatouille!

June 25, 2012 in Mains, Soups/Stews, Vegetable

I first experienced ratatouille at a family dinner prepared by my post-France sister-in-law.  I had heard of it (along with the rest of America unfamiliar with French cuisine) through Pixar’s imaginative film of the same name.  This ratatouille doesn’t involve a rat, although I would love a tiny-small kitchen helper to retrieve ingredients and use his little hands to crush herbs.  Aw.

It’s summer, and it’s HOT, so normally a stew would be out of the question, but the ample amount of summer produce and the one-pot-ness of this stew makes it a breeze to prepare, and you can make enough to last for 4-5 more dinners.  So not only do you enjoy a taste of the French countryside once, but multiple times in the same week!  Crafting this stew, I used whatever I had remembered from lending a helping hand to the prep of the first ratatouille I had ever tasted in combination with gleaning information from various recipes that claimed authenticity. (Every time I search for an authentic recipe, I come to the conclusion that everyone’s recipe is authentically their own.)

I’m a fan of leftovers in the summer.  The dish gets better and better as it ages in the fridge, too, which is a major plus.  Brace yourselves for this freakishly easy dinner.  I recommend giving yourself a few hours for prep to finish.  If you feel so inclined, bake yourself some bread to serve alongside to sop up the bit of sauce at the bottom of your bowl… or by a baguette from your local bakery.

For this recipe, you’ll need a large 5-6 quart pot to give you ample stir room and to avoid accidentally overfilling.

Ratatouille!

Ingredients:

  • 1-1.5 lb. eggplant, cut into 1-2 in. chunks
  • 1-1.5 lb. mixture of zucchini and yellow summer squash, also cut into 1-2 in. chunks
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 in. chunks
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1  28 oz. can of peeled, whole or diced tomatoes
  • 1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
  • fresh or dried herbs: thyme, parsley, bay leaf, rosemary (essentially a mixture referred to as Herbs de Provence if you get your hands on a blend.  or just do what I did and do a mix of what you have.  do a quick search on Herbs de Provence.)
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil

From the numerous recipes I read, it’s a fundamental part of ratatouille to essentially stir fry each element individually and then combine for the final stew portion of the cooking experience.  Before you prep your other ingredients, prep your eggplant FIRST!  Salt the chunks and let them sit while you chop everything else.  Right before you cook it, take some paper towels and dab the eggplant to remove all of the water that was drawn out by the salt.

I started out putting a small amount of oil in the bottom of the pot over medium-high heat and starting the process with the eggplant.  Eggplant is like a sponge!  So the oil WILL disappear.  I try to toss the eggplant as fast as I can so it at least absorbs equally.  I then fried it until the eggplant had color and was mostly cooked, soft, but still with a bite.  Transfer the eggplant to a bowl and set aside.

Add in a little bit more oil and let it heat up.  Add in your squash (zucchini & yellow summer Squash) and stir fry it until there’s some browning and the squash is lightly cooked and just beginning to soften.  Dump this in the bowl with the eggplant.

 

Add more oil to the pan and sauté the onion and bell pepper until a little brown on the edges.  Add in your garlic and stir.  Let this cook until the garlic is quite fragrant, no more than 15-20 seconds.  You don’t want to char the garlic, just release the flavor.

Next, drain the tomatoes and add them to the pot.  If you’re using whole, feel free to roughly chop them, or you can just smash them in the pot.

Add in your herbs.  I would guesstimate that I used about 1/4 tsp. of what I had and a few bay leaves.  Feel free to salt and pepper at this point and give it a stir.

Finally, dump in the vegetables you had set aside. Bring the juice to a rapid simmer, cover, and lower the heat to a low-medium setting.  Let this go untouched for about half and hour.  After that, put in the tomato paste and cover.  Let this cook for 15 minutes.

Return to the pot and give it a stir to distribute the somewhat “melted” tomato paste and move the veggies around.  The tomato paste will help thicken and also deepen the flavor a bit.  Return the lid and cook for another 15-30 minutes, depending on how long it takes for your veggies to finish and the flavors to meld.  For reference, I aimed for almost-mushy-edge-of-disintegration eggplant texture.  The squash will stay fairly firm compared to the eggplant.

The result is a hearty vegetarian stew that celebrates the abundance of summer produce.  Enjoy!

 

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Steakhouse at Home

June 16, 2012 in Beef/Lamb, Mains

I think it’s illegitimate to pay triple the price for mediocre steak, which is what you’ll find at the chain steakhouses or restaurants that aren’t seeking a Michelin star experience.  This is especially true in my logic when these chains will offer USDA Select (the bottom rung of the meat grade for marbling and tenderness).  You can buy USDA Choice at most grocery stores (Prime is only about 2% of the total beef sold and gets snatched up by high end restaurants.)  Heck, you can get it in bulk at Costco.

So I go to my local grocery store and pick out a piece of sirloin for the butcher to wrap in some paper. I’ve had to do research to learn about cuts for grilling.  I’ve never been a steak person, really, and I have really only eaten it in recent years because beef is my husband’s number one protein choice.  I think the word “steak” was always considered too much of a luxury in my childhood memories.  I’m sure it happened, but I don’t even vividly remember my father ordering a thick slab of meat at a family restaurant outing. Additionally, I grew up in a household where meat was ALWAYS marinated.  Beef, for that matter, was sliced thin, marinated and stir-fried.  Or it was a roast that simmered in liquid to be pot roast or soup.

Anyway…

So, steakhouse at home = buy a steak that you pick, cook it to your desired doneness, and make your own sides or toppings.  Simple.

Season that steak (salt and pepper or whatever else you want), and let it sit for 10 minutes.  This will help bring it to room temperature, which ensure even cooking.  The salt will draw out some moisture, so be sure to pat the steak dry before you brown.  The faux dry-aged steak, if you will.

Apartment living doesn’t warrant us a grill because of fire codes.  The way around that is to sear the meat in a pan to get some browning, then finish it in the (toaster) oven at 400°F.  How do you check doneness?  There’s quite a few methods, but I use Gordon Ramsay’s method as of late.  He explains at the 1:11 mark here.

For the sides, I opted for steamed potatoes and carrots, and a topping of mushrooms and onions for the steak.

To complete the “steakhouse” experience, plate it all nice ‘n’ stuff.  Here’s a fancy tip: brush your ready to serve steak with melted butter.  It adds richness.  All of the high end steakhouses do it before it hits your table, so why not do it at home?

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Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

June 11, 2012 in Mains, Poultry

This is one of my top ten favorite foods of all time.  Chicken enchiladas enrobed in green enchilada sauce and melty cheese is a definitive comfort food for me: robust flavors, gooey cheese, warm in my tummy, and everything else wonderful.

I honestly can’t vouch for authenticity in this number.  It’s definitely on the side of Tex-Mex, but not exactly Mexican.  Regardless of how you want to label it, it’s oh so delish!

Ingredients:

  • 3-5 cups of shredded chicken (I lucked out and used a smoked chicken my mom gave me.)
  • taco-sized flour tortillas
  • sour cream
  • 2, 15 oz. cans of green enchilada sauce or your favorite jar or 2 of salsa verde (If you can get a hold of Hatch brand, DEAR GOD, DO IT.)
  • 2 cups shredded cheese (I can vouch for a “Mex” blend or white cheddar, monterey jack, or a Mexican queso blanco that melts)

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Take one of the cans of sauce and mix in about 1/2 cup of sour cream.  This will yield a creamy chile sauce.

In a large bowl, mix together the shredded chicken, the sauce, and 1/2 cup of the cheese.

In a large casserole dish (about 13×9), put a few tablespoons of the other can of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish.  Spread it around.  This basically prevents the enchiladas from adhering to the bottom and resulting in dinner frustration.

Let’s fill!  Take a single tortilla and add the chicken-cheese mixture.  Wrap, and place seam side down in the dish.  Repeat until you run out of filling, tortillas, or space.

I ran out of space, so I spread what little filling was left over the top.  Sparse, isn’t it?

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the wraps, and finish with the rest of the cheese.

Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the whole lot is bubblin’.  (Note: I baked it halfway covered in foil, and then finished it without because I was afraid of burning the cheese.  I tend to do that.)

Serve with some sides or have on its own!

 

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