Spicy Yogurt Marinated Lamb Kabobs in Warm Pita

Heinous picture time! My apologies for being too impatient and lazy to learn the art of the lens. This looks like a gaping demon mouth for Christ's sake. But onwards and upwards. Lamb haters - don't click away. This marinade would be equally good with chicken or beef. Unless you love lamb (like me) in which case you know that could never be true...

But whatever meat you fancy, this marinade will make it juicier, more flavorful and more awesome. I've always wanted to be in a band called "More Awesome" but that's besides the point. Anyway, with meat this flavorful you don't even need to make a sauce or accompaniment. Just let it rest after grilling, accumulating all those magical juices, then de-skewer and cradle it up in warm pita and sprinkle with crumbled feta. If you have any patience left, chop up some green onions and flat leaf parsley to gild the lily.

Spicy Yogurt Marinated Lamb Kabobs in Warm Pita
* Austin residents - the best naan bread can be found at the Farmers Market at Barton Creek Mall at the Indian food vendor stand. SOOO good!

Ingredients:
7 oz Greek yogurt, full or low fat okay
2 green onions, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 1/2 inch knob fresh ginger, minced or grated
2 garlic cloves, rough chopped
Large handful flat leaf parsley, minced
1 medium lime, zested and juiced
1 jalapeño, chopped (seeds and veins optional)
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh cracked pepper
1 lb cubed lamb

Naan or pita bread, wrapped in foil and warmed in a low oven.
Feta cheese, for serving.
Chopped green onions and flat leaf parsley, for serving.
Wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least two hours.

Instructions:
In a large ziploc bag, mix together the yogurt, shallot, ginger, garlic, parsley, lime juice and zest, jalapeno, spices, salt and pepper. Add the lamb and turn around to make sure every piece is well coated.

Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight, removing from the fridge a half hour before grilling. Remove the lamb from the marinade and skewer. Preheat an outdoor or stovetop grill pan to medium. Spray with nonstick spray. Once the grill or grill pan has heated up (you shouldn't be able to hold your hand within a couple inches of it for more than a few seconds), add the skewers and grill for about 4-5 minutes per side for medium.

Remove and let rest for 10 minutes lightly tented with foil before deskewering and serving in warm pita or naan with feta, chopped green onions, and flat leaf parsley.

Hearty Lamb Ragu for Non Lamb Lovers

Do you hate lamb? Find it odd and game-y, do you? I hear you. I used to be one of those people. Then I learned that by choosing the right cut of lamb (the once in a blue moon, top of the line lamb chops, thank you) or by 'cutting' it with a more familiar meat such as beef or turkey, lamb is absolutely delectable. The key to this ragu is to cut it with ground beef and also to skim off the grease before adding the traditional wet ingredients like wine and tomatoes. Yes it will be richer than your old ragu but not in that heavy, gamey way you're thinking. It will be like butta.

Of course if lamb makes you want to straight out gag, please sub all of the meat with beef please. I don't want any hex dolls floating around out there in my honor... Oh and one more note - if you do gird your loins for the lamb version - you will find the addition of pecorino cheese to be the secret to its seductively comforting bite.


Hearty, Homey Lamb Ragu with Herbed Ricotta
Serves 6 with a salad or light veggie side dish.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 carrot, finely diced
1 red onion, finely diced
1 small orange bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed and minced
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
pinch black pepper for seasoning
1 tablespoon butter
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 pound ground lamb
1/2 pound ground beef
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in tomato puree with basil
1 1/4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
16 oz fresh spiral pasta or short pasta (a personal bias, but of course use what you like!)
3/4 cup fresh grated pecorino romano cheese
1/2 cup fresh torn basil

Herbed Ricotta Topping:
3/4 cup ricotta cheese mixed with 3 tablespoons finely chopped basil, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, and zest of 1 lemon
extra fresh grated pecorino romano
Handful of freshly torn basil

Directions:
In a large cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over mediuj heat. Add the carrot, onion and bell pepper. Season with 1/2 teaspoon celery salt and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, 5 minutes. Add the butter letting melt, then garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Next add the lamb and ground beef, kosher salt, coriander, fennel, cumin, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook, stirring, until the liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes. Drain the excess grease (which should be pooling around the meat in various places in the pan), by using a wooden spoon to scoot the meat to one side of the pot then gently tilt the pot so that the grease runs to the other side and pools. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the excess grease and discard, leaving just a teaspoon or so behind in the pan. Now stir in the tomato paste. Add the wine and cook until evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Let boil for a few minutes, then reduce heat to low and cover partially to happily simmer away until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 30 minutes. Pluck out the bay leaf and discard bay.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, add the pasta and cook for just a few minutes. Drain, shaking well, and add to the pot of simmering ragu to cook further along with the half cup of fresh basil and 3/4 cup pecorino cheese, stirring well to absorb all the flavors (if using dried pasta, cook until al dente before adding to the ragu - fresh pasta is basically al dente going into the boiling water.) Spoon the pasta and ragu into your serving bowls, topped with a spoonful of the ricotta mixture and an extra grating of the pecorino romano cheese.

Melt in your Mouth Lamb Meatloaf with Rosemary, Sundried Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegar

I know it's not nice to play favorites, but life's too short not to express your true feelings about things. I love this meatloaf. It is quite possibly my favorite recipe. And while obviously it's not the lightest thing on the planet, containing three kinds of meat and bundled in prosciutto like an edible football, it is surprisingly light on the palate. I also love the twist of the balsamic vinegar replacing the obligatory ketchup, which I love to douse over once I've sliced and plated it. The meat soaks it up like a sponge which I find fascinating. It almost makes me lament all those times I fell asleep in during science.

I have made this meatloaf with both ground turkey to cut the lamb's gaminess and ground sirloin - both are delicious but the sirloin definitely wins the 'over the top' award, creating the most velvety, embarrassingly rich texture. This recipe is also one of the world's precious and few that actually reheats well, tasting as perfect and rewarding and bright as the moment it was baked.

Okay - no more from me on this one - if I say anything else, it's bound to make my beloved meat a disappointment.

Melt in Your Mouth Lamb Meatloaf with Rosemary, Sundried Tomatoes, and Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients:
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 pound ground turkey or pork or sirloin
1 egg
3 tablespoons chopped sundried tomatoes (the kind packed in oil, lightly drained - usually about 8-10)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, plus extra for serving
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
2 slices of prosciutto, minced plus 3-4 slices for wrapping around the loaf
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a small rimmed baking sheet and set aside.
Add the ground lamb and secondary meat (pork or turkey or sirloin) to a large mixing bowl. In a second mixing bowl, crack and lightly beat the egg. Stir in the sundried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, salt, pepper, minced prosciutto. When all is incorporated, fold in the bread crumbs. Add this mixture to the ground meat and carefully stir together until just incorporated (don't over mix or you will have a tough meatloaf.) Place the meat onto your greased board, patting gently into a 'loaf' shape. Wrap with the extra prosciutto slices, trying to space them evenly while covering the entire exterior.

Bake the loaf for 55 minutes. Remove and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with extra balsamic for people to pour over.

Mary had a little lamb chop.

I feel extremely conflicted and hypocritical for eating lamb. In fact, I wish I'd never been introduced to the delectable, sweet flavor of lamb chops.

Actually, I'm lying to you. Discovering lamb chops was like discovering chocolate or wine for me - life wouldn't be the same without them. Luckily, the price of good chops keeps me from eating the cute little bastards very often, so I'm not responsible for too many lamb murders.

If you've never eaten lamb before, I recommend starting with loin chops, as they are both gentle and exciting to a virgin palette. Once you get a taste for it, you might decide to move onto the slightly stronger yet still delicious leg of lamb (though its preparation requires more attention and babysitting to get any gaminess out of the meat.)

And because I've already dug myself a bit of an ethical mud hole with this post, I might as well bring up something that changed my perspective on eating meat a few years ago. I was standing in a Barnes and Noble, skimming the cookbook section (as I find myself doing a couple times a month in a Hitchcockian/deja vu sort of way, not remembering how I got there but there just the same) when I picked up Jamie Oliver's cookbook, Jamie's Italy.

I was flipping through it, already feeling my credit card crawling out of my purse and towards my fingertips, when I came across an image of an Italian farmer smiling and hugging a lamb around the neck. Only upon closer inspection, I realized he wasn't hugging it, but rather holding it up, having just slashed its throat. I nearly threw the book across the room and hauled ass out of there. I considered the ways in which I would deal with this revolting display of cruelty on the way home - start an anti Jamie Oliver website, stalk him next time he appeared on the Today Show with a bucket of red paint, or possibly just go about it the old fashioned way and write a letter. Time passed and I did none of those things. I did the classic 'me' thing and simply blocked it out.

Cut to me in another Barnes & Noble a few months later. The book smiled at me again from its proud position on the best sellers stand. I gave it the evil eye and turned my back. But before I knew it, I had it open again, turned back to that horrific image. Thank God this time I actually read the accompanying chapter where Jamie promptly defended it, opening my eyes to how dumb I am. I can't remember his exact words (still can't quite buy the damned thing), but he basically explained he included the image to show people that the farmer had killed the lamb in the most endearing and humane way, holding it to his chest, moving the knife as quickly and painlessly as possible.

The lamb had never been crowded in the truly horrific confines of a slaughterhouse, packed like a sardine amongst its peers for weeks suffering the hurricane of flies and bugs found in such circumstances. Nor did it have to suffer the inhumane slaughtering method still used by so many of these places (and animal or not - they do know what's coming to them. I once showed up at the ranch where I boarded my usually Xanax-demeanored mare to find her frantically pawing at her stall door, eyes as wide and white as cue balls. When I walked past the barn, I found they'd just slaughtered their prized hiefer and strung her up for skinning.)

Rather, the little guy or gal lamb had just gone out for a walk one day with its owner not knowing the wiser. No pain. No brutality or torture. No prolonged, terrifying lead up - the way I hope to go myself some day. Aha! So that's why Jamie put the image in his book - to make us think about how animals get to our plates.

Well, it worked on me. I now try to buy grass fed beef as much as possible, free range chickens, and the like. And not just for karma's sake, but for my own health too, as these animals aren't pumped full of antibiotics and chemicals to compensate for crowded, unsanitary conditions. After all, if I'm going to eat meat, I don't want to feel extra guilty about it.

And now...who's hungry? I could go for some lamb - humanely raised of course...

Rosemary and Meyer Lemon Lamb Chops with Couscous (Below)
Serves 2

Lamb Ingredients:
4 loin lamb chops
1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
zest of 1 Meyer lemon
1 small garlic clove, smashed

salt and pepper, for seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil plus 1 tablespoon butter, for pan frying

Pan Sauce:
1/4 cup vermouth or white wine
juice from 1 meyer lemon
1 tablespoon salted butter

Directions:
Combine the rosemary, lemon zest, garlic and olive oil in a large Ziploc. Add your lamb chops and smush around to be sure the exterior of each chop gets some of the love. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, or if you're short on time, leave them out at room temperature for 30 minutes to absorb the flavors.

Remove the chops from the ziploc (discarding the garlic) and season both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside while you heat up your olive oil and butter in a large nonstick pan over medium high heat. Once the butter has begun to foam, add the lamb chops, reducing the heat to medium, and allow to cook for four minutes (many people advise 2 minutes, but I like mine medium versus rare.) Carefully flip to the other side and cook another 4-5 minutes, until you've gotten a nice seared crust on the other side (again - less if you like yours rare.) Remove and transfer to a platter to rest while you make your sauce.

To start the sauce, drain off the excess fat from your pan (but DO NOT wipe clean.) Turn the heat onto medium high, and add the vermouth and lemon juice, bringing to a boil and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Allow to simmer until reduced by half, then lower the heat and stir in the salted butter to melt. Drizzle the warm sauce over the plated chops.


Couscous with Shallots, Meyer Lemon Zest, Currants and Pine Nuts
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons salted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock
3/4 cup couscous
zest of 1 meyer lemon
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons currants or dried cherries

fresh cracked black pepper
sea or kosher salt

Directions:
Heat a medium rimmed and lidded skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until softened - about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, raise heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, remove from the heat and stir in the couscous and lemon zest. Put the lid on and set aside for 20 minutes. Remove lid, fluff with a fork, and stir in the pine nuts and currants or cherries. Taste for salt and pepper (I usually find I need to add a good pinch of salt if I've used low sodium chicken stock.) Serve hot.