Rosemary-Dijon Grilled Lamb Chops

4 lamb loin chops
1 lemon cut into thin slices
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed

marinade:
1 large shallot
5 cloves garlic
2 teaspoon crushed rosemary
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Dijon mustard


Directions:
Place the lamb, lemon slices and mustard seed into a smal marinating container or quart sized resealable bag. Set aside. Place all of the marinade ingredients into a blender (I used my Vita-Mix)and pulse until smooth. Pour into the bag. Refrigerate up to 4 hours. Prep your grill according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place the lamb chops on the grill and cook, turning once, until medium-rare, just a few minutes on each side.

My thoughts:

These diminutive lamb chops cook up like a dream on the grill; crisp outside and juicy and tender inside. The marinade gives the chops a lovely piquancy that complements the slight gamey "wild" flavor of the lamb. Truly one of my favorite ways to cook lamb; easy but incredibly delicious.

Since they are on the small side, I like to grill them alongside a side dish of some kind (corn, potato salad or wedges, grilled eggplant) because there is plenty of room left on the grill.

Tzatziki Lamb Burgers

Ingredients:
1 lb ground lamb
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1 tablespoon minced dill
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, grated
zest of one lemon
salt
freshly ground black pepper



tzatziki:
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup finely diced, seeded cucumber*
1 tablespoon minced dill
salt
freshly ground black pepper

toppings:
1 large red onion, thickly sliced
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch slices

4 buns

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix together the burger ingredients until evenly distributed. Form into 4 equal patties.

for the sauce:
Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare your grill to medium heat. Meanwhile, brush the onion, burgers and eggplant slices with olive oil. Place on the grill next to the burgers. Cook until everything is cooked through, flipping once. Cover as needed.

Place a slice of eggplant on each bun. Top with a burger then onion slices and drizzle with sauce.



*You can salt and drain them if you want but I just left them chopped on

My thoughts:

This is seriously the best lamb burger I have ever had. Better than the much lauded lamb burgers at Breslin. More than just juicy, this burger has a lot of flavor. I thought the cumin in the Breslin burger brought out a gamey flavor to the burger which was a little overpowering. I picked seasonings that I hoped would enhance the fresh taste that lamb can have and it paid off. The burger tasted amazingly fresh and light. I honestly can't wait to make it again and I rarely remake a recipe! The cucumber-yogurt sauce, eggplant and onions are really just gilding the lily but they do make the burger more fun to eat without overpowering the lamb. The flavors of the tzatziki really tie in with the flavors of the burger.

Greek Influenced Lamb Kabobs

Ingredients:
1 lb cubed lamb
8 ounces crimini mushrooms
1 red onion, cut into wedges

for the marinade:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup diced red onion


Directions:
Place the lamb in a quart sized resealable bag or marinating container. In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients. Pour over the lamb. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 8.

Thread on skewers, alternating the meat and vegetables. Since it's chilly out, broil or if possible use an indoor grill. In warmer weather I'd probably grill these outside. Cook until the lamb is nearly cooked through; it took only 3 minutes at 400 in my indoor grill.

My thoughts:

My husband loves lamb. I didn't eat it growing up so it isn't something that immediately springs to mind when trying to decide what to have for dinner. Not to mention how difficult it is to find good lamb locally (for this recipe I used not local but amazing tender grass fed lamb from Lava Lake Lamb). Anyway, while kabobs struck me as slightly cliched, I was missing summer grilling so I went for it. I didn't want to use any ingredients that were egregiously out of season so I decided on a simple red onion and mushroom pairing and I am really glad I did, the lamb was flavorful and juicy and the whole thing took about 5 minutes to make. You just can't beat that. It is especially good served with lemon-oregano roasted eggplant and potatoes which has similar flavors.

Slow roast breast of lamb / Poitrine d�agneau au four

 

Serves 4 / pour 4 personnes:

1 breast of lamb / poitrine d�agneau

2 onions, sliced / oignons, coup�s en tranches

5 or 6 sprigs of savory (or thyme) / brins de sariette (ou thym)

8 cloves of garlic, whole / gousses d�ail, enti�res

200 ml white wine / vin blanc

1 lemon, sliced / citron, coup� en tranches

olive oil, salt, pepper

Put the sliced onions, garlic cloves, lemon slices and savory in a little olive oil in an oven-proof dish.  Put the breast of lamb on top.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour the wine over and cover with aluminium foil.  Roast in the oven at 140 degrees C for about 3 � 3 1/2 hours.  Add more wine if necessary.  Serve with rice.

Mettre les oignons, les gousses d�ail, les tranches de citron et la sariette dans un peu d�huile d�olive dans un plat au four.  Mettre la poitrine d�agneau au-dessus.  Ajouter du sel et du poivre et le vin blanc et couvrir le plat du papier d�aluminium.  Faire cuire au four pour 3 � 3 1/2 heures.  Ajouter encore du vin si c�est necessaire.  Servir accompagn� du riz.

	Bon app�tit!

Lamb and aubergine casserole / casserole d'agneau aux aubergines

 

For 4 people / pour 4 personnes

8 ribs of breast of lamb (or lamb chops) / côtes de poitrine d'agneau

2 onions, chopped / oignons, coupées en morceaux

4 cloves garlic, chopped / gousses d'ail, coupées en morceaux

2 glasses of white wine / verres de vin blanc

1 tin or jar tomato passata / bocal de tomates concassées

3 bay leaves / feuilles de laurier sauce

1 aubergine, sliced / coupé en tranches

salt, paprika, olive oil / sel, piment doux, huile d'olive

chopped parsley / persil haché

Cook the onion gently in a tablespoonful of olive oil for about 10 minutes.  / Faire cuire à feu doux l'oignon pour 10 minutes. 

Add the lamb and aubergine with the paprika and brown slightly / Ajouter l'agneau, l'aubergine et le piment doux et fles aire dorer un peu.

Add the garlic, wine, tomato, salt and bay leaves.  Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Ajouter l'ail, le vin, les tomates, le sel et les feuilles de laurier.  Faire bouiller et mijoter pour 45 minutes.

Serve with rice and garnish with chopped parsley.  / Servir au riz, garni de persil.

I served the casserole with a mix of red and white grains of rice from Marseillette - see the olives and artichokes blog for more about this rice. J'ai servi le casserole avec un duo des riz, rouge et blanc, de Marseillette.  Voir le blog olives and artichokes pour plus de renseignements.

 

I used dried aubergine which we grew in the garden last summer.  I dried slices of the aubergines, threaded on string, in the sun last August and stored them in a jar.  To reconstitute them I soaked them in luke warm water for half an hour then cooked them gently in olive oil before adding them to the casserole. J'ai ajouter des tranches d'aubergine sechées.  Je les ai trempées à l'eau tiède pour une demie heure et puis je les ai cuits à l'huile d'olive avant de les ajouter au casserole.

Lamb and olive tagine / Tajine d'agneau aux olives

 

(for 4 people / pour 4 personnes)

750 gm breast of lamb / poitrine d'agneau

1 lemon / citron

1 onion / oignon

Mint leaves, chopped / feuilles de menthe, coupées

3 cloves garlic / gousses d'ail

3 bay leaves / feuilles de laurier sauce

4 potatoes / pommes de terre

1 dessert spoonful harissa paste / cuillerée harissa

salt / sel

olive oil / huile d'olive

100 gm green olives / olives vertes

1 green pepper / poivron vert

Brown the onion with the pieces of lamb in olive oil in a cast iron pan or a terracotta tagine dish.  Add the quartered lemon, the mint, garlic, bay leaves, harissa and halved potatoes.  Cover with water and add salt to taste.  Simmer for an hour.

Faire dorer l'oignon et l'agneau dans l'huile d'olive.  Ajouter le citron, coupé en quatre, le menthe, l'ail, les feuilles de laurier sauce, le harissa et les pommes de terres coupés en deux.  Couvrir de l'eau et ajouter du sel.  Cuire à feu doux pour une heure.

Add the olives and simmer uncovered for a further 20 minutes.  Sauté the sliced green pepper in olive oil.  Serve the tagine, garnished with the pepper, and accompany it with a bowl of yogurt with crushed garlic, salt and chopped mint leaves.

Ajouter les olives et cuire à feu doux pour 20 minutes.  Sauter le poivron, coupé en tranches, dans un peu de huile d'olive.  Servez la tajine, garnie du poivron et accompagnée d'un mélange de yaourt, ail et feuilles de menthe.

Four Solid Perfumes for Fall

Last year around the holidays, I developed a consuming obsession with solid perfumes, likely spurred on by the annual appearance of the limited edition Estee Lauder solid perfume compacts. Added to that list were a limited edition Coco Mademoiselle solid and one from Covet by Sarah Jessica Parker, which was prettier than the original bottle.A few more solid offerings have appeared of late, so

Lamb Chops glazed with brown Sugar

After I discovered this recipe online at Allrecipes.com last year, it has become a family staple.I buy my lamb chops at Whole Foods and the butcher cuts the meat into 2 bones per chop. This recipe is for about 2 lbs. of lamb.I just take my heavy duty knife and cut them up individually, then wash each lamp chop thoroughly and pat it dry.In a separate bowl I mix the following ingredients which is

Lamb & Mango Byriani

Ingredients:
For rice:

2 cups Indian* basmati rice
2 quarts water
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon powdered mace



For Meat:

2 � lbs boneless lamb, cubed
2 tablespoons oil or ghee**
2 onions
6 cloves garlic
1-3 fresh chile peppers
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup PLUS 1 tablespoon water
1 large (green) mango, peeled pitted diced
� cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon garam masala
� teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon amchur (green mango powder)
� teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
6 cloves
ground pepper
Kaffir lime leaves (optional)



Directions:

Garnish: slice 1 onion thinly and fry in 1 inch of oil until brown. Drain fried onions on paper towels and set aside.



Meat: In a blender or food processor, puree 1 onion, garlic, ginger and chili peppers with 1 Tablespoon of water. Heat oil or ghee in a large saut� pan. Add cloves, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. Cook for e few minutes until spices are fragrant. Add lamb and brown cubes on all sides (about 10 minutes). Remove lamb with a slotted spoon into a bowl and set aside.



Add the onion puree and fry for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes golden. Add the tomatoes, mangos, garam masala, turmeric, mango powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. Fry for 5 minutes until spices are fragrant. Add browned lamb with any collected juices. Add yogurt 2 tablespoons at a time while stirring to combine. Once all yogurt has been added, add water and kaffir lime leaves, then partially cover pan and simmer for 1 � hours until lamb is fork tender. The curry should be fairly thick by now. If it is very watery, cook uncovered for 5 or 10 minutes.



Rice: Wash rice in 3-4 changes of water and then cover with water and let soak for 1 hour while meat is cooking. Drain rice and then add it to a large sauce pan with 2 quarts of water, mace, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes until it is softened but not quite done. The rice kernels should be soft enough to crush between your fingers. Drain the rice and rinse with cold water to prevent it from getting sticky. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.



Assembling and cooking: Grease a large, wide, oven-safe pan with a lid. Spread 1/3 of the rice at the bottom, spread � of the lamb curry on the rice, layer with 1/3 of the rice and then the rest of the lamb. Cover with a layer of the rice with the fried onions on top. Cover and cook in oven for 30 minutes.





*Indian basmati rice is highly recommended for this dish. It can be found at any Indian grocery. Other kinds of basmati rice may become too soft or sticky.



**Ghee is just clarified butter. You can buy it in an Indian store or make it yourself. Heat a stick of butter in a pan on low heat until it begins to froth and the solids separate. Strain it into a jar through cheese cloth or a fine strainer. Keep refrigerated.

My thoughts:

I am lucky to have a husband who likes food and to cook as much as I do. When I hear stories of husbands who don't cook, won't eat vegetables or don't care about food, I am horrified. I have the sort of husband who text messages me at work that he is making byriani- "an elegant rice dish that you can post about" and by the time I get home, he's had already gone to the Indian grocery to pick up the right kind of rice, kaffir lime leaves and amchur and started cooking. He also took the time to write up the recipe for me so I could share it with you. Husband cooking abilities aside, this really is a wonderful dish. It is lengthy recipe but not difficult one-it would be the perfect thing to make for company-that is very rewarding.

Grilled Lamb

Ingredients:
2-3 lb boneless lamb roast
1 small onion, finely minced
1/2 cup mango nectar or juice
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons of dried rosemary
3 tablespoons yellow mustard powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon of salt (plus more to sprinkle on)
juice of 1/2 lemon
ground pepper

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together rice wine vinegar, mustard powder, ground ginger, and Dijon mustard. Let sit for 10 minutes. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Marinade lamb for 24 hours. Cook over hot coals for 15 minutes on each side. Brush on remaining marinade on all sides. Cook for 5 additional minutes. Using a meat thermometer, test for an interior temperature of 145 degrees. Remove to pan and allow to sit 5 minutes to allow the juices to reabsorb before cutting.

My thoughts:

I've never really given lamb too much thought in the past. Partially, I am a bit ashamed to say, because I find sheep so adorable, to eat them for dinner seemed inordinately cruel. Yes, I eat meat all the time, but I do tend to avoid eating the baby animals. Yes, I am one of those people. If I had been absolutely blown away by lamb in the past, I am sure I would have changed my tune but the snippets of lamb I've speared off other people's plates over the years never impressed me so much that I felt the urge to broaden my carnivorous horizons, so I never learned how to properly cook lamb. But when we recently came in possession of a lovely 8 lb lamb roast, I felt it was time to try lamb again. We immediately cut the enormous roast up in to more serviceable chunks. We froze some and marinated the biggest piece overnight. Then this evening, my husband fired up our tiny grill and went to work. So I guess I still don't know how to cook lamb, but I might be a convert. Never have I had lamb so well, luscious before. It was amazing. Amazing! And so fresh-I really think buying lamb as locally as possible makes all the difference. I am sure Australian lamb is wonderful, but by the time it makes its way all the way over here, something is lost.