This was an attempt to come up with a long cooked taste on a busy weeknight. Jamison Lamb from Pennsylvania sells at my local farmstand and their shoulder meat (from happy grass fed sheep) is precut into chunks perfect for this dish.
I had been looking for a lamb recipe and kept running into ones that used herbs and aromatics. I was looking for something with spices. Aggregating ideas from a number of sources, plus some taste memories of my own, I came up with this one. (The structure of the recipe relies on two recipes by Mark Bittman: a marinated steak and a grilled leg of lamb. It's not far from marinating the lamb in a mulled wine. It takes a little work in advance, plus the patience (or planning) to wait for the marination, but it is simple, and tasty, too. The recipe is tolerant of variation. For wine I chose Zinfandel (Ridge 2007 Ponzo Vineyard), but any bold red like a fruity Syrah or Malbec would do. The choice of spices is only limited by your spice merchant and your palate. I chose spices that reminded me of India.
Having never grilled an entire rack of lamb before, we were excited to try this technique. We had also never seen lamb combined with Southeast Asian ingredients, a pairing that intrigued us. Happily, Tom Kelly's approach is right on: the acid and heat of the chili and lime dressing cut through the richness of the lamb, already sweet and a little spicy because of the marinade, which caramelizes as the lamb sits on the grill.
This is my favorite way to braise lamb shanks -- there’s warm spice and fresh herbs for comfort, good syrupy balsamic vinegar for depth, and white wine and orange zest for brightness.
This recipe comes from my mother, which is adapted from her friend and teacher Suzanne Dunaway and served in lieu of turkey (which she hates) every year for Thanksgiving.
The question I’m most often asked: “What is your favorite thing to cook?” My answer always seems too complex for such a simple inquiry. So I often do a nimble dodge: “Whatever I’m cooking in the moment is my favorite thing to cook.”
But between us, my favorite thing to eat is always this dish. Plan to start this dish a day or two before you plan to serve it. While the actual hands-on time is mere minutes, the success of the dish depends on a long and slow preparation.
In my Tuscan family, lamb is only ever prepared one way: crumbed, deep fried and squirted with a lemon wedge, often eaten together with quarters of carefully cleaned artichokes that have dipped in batter and deep fried too. (Lamb and artichokes are a classic pairing because both appear in spring.) This makes a quick, simple and delicious meal just on its own with lemon wedges and a bright salad.
This is a fun diversion from standard chili. It's a spicy combination of meat and beans with a slight Indian flair. The ancho chili adds just the right smokiness to balance the other spices. We especially love how easy this dish is to put together, there's hardly any prep time and the slow cooker does all the rest. The results are far greater than the effort you put into it. The recipe doesn't call for garnish, but a squeeze of lime or a dab of yogurt would work nicely here. Served atop some rice, you've got a warming and satisfying meal.
What a winning combo for my favorite items: lamb, pomegranate, and wine. I made this with saffron rice which complemented the lamb wonderfully. It's relatively simple to make, too -- all you have to have is time and the yummy list of ingredients.
These dumplings were so delicious and not at all difficult or fussy to make. The spices and potato in the filling gave them an earthiness and a more substantial bite. They were slightly chewy and the crustiness from browning added crunch. The mint put them squarely in the Middle Eastern flavor profile, and the cucumber-vinegar dipping sauce added that brightness that compliments mint and lamb. These dumplings could be served as a light entree accompanied by a salad.
When the first chilly nights of the season blow into Texas, I am, naturally, driven to start stewing, roasting, and baking. Lamb is often my protein of choice, regardless of the season or weather. Here it is stewed in a slightly sweet, mildly smoky, and most assuredly rich mix of good stuff
Clintonhillbilly was 100% right when calling this a "succulent, delectable taco". It was absolutely delicious -- so much so that I virtually licked the pot clean. The paste was exceptionally easy to make, as was the rest of the recipe -- super quick and well-written. There was a lot of sauce compared to meat, and it took a fair bit of time to reduce the liquid appropriately -- next time I might use more meat or halve the sauce ingredients. The 'salsa' was so interesting with the olives and balsamic soaked raisins. It was such a lovely sweet and sour combination, and the sour cream cut through the fatty gaminess of the lamb. This would also be great with beef and pork.
Plov is a traditional dish of Uzbekistan, but it is loved and cooked in many Middle Eastern countries. Our family loves plov, especially Uzbek plov, which is just absolutely delicious, very aromatic, beautiful-looking and also good for you.
Fried kubbeh is delicious but requires time and effort to make—and then it still has to be fried. So on those occasions when you want to make kubbeh but do not have the patience, this baked version is an equally delicious alternative.
The tiny meatballs need to nestle perfectly into the orecchiette in this dish. The key to meat in pasta is that the meat, be it guanciale or pancetta or sausage crumbles, needs to be in every bite, without demanding attention or overpowering the taste of the dish.
In the Mediterranean, lamb is what’s eaten in the spring—for Easter, Passover, Norooz, and, if it falls in spring, Eid. It's usually very young lamb that’s eaten, barely weaned if at all, the meat pale pink and mild, with none of the gamy-ness older lamb has. Simply roasted or grilled, it is a centerpiece of Easter Sunday meals all over Italy and what I always want to cook myself, especially when paired with some fresh spring vegetables: fava beans, asparagus, or tender small artichokes if I can find them. This is a really easy dish to prepare, yet looks beautiful and dramatic as a centerpiece of the table.
Mina are a dream for cooks who like to play around with flavors and incorporate seasonal vegetables into their dishes. The layers need to include a fair amount of moisture (think: curd cheese whisked with milk, or chunky tomato sauce) so the pies do not turn out dry and brittle. And eggs help to bind things together in both the meat and dairy takes on mina. But as long as these golden rules are followed, pretty much anything goes. Toss in handfuls of chopped fresh parsley, mint, or dill, sauté up whatever vegetable looks good at the market and fold them into the filling, or deepen the sauce with warming spices. Whichever way you slice it, mina is a welcome addition to my and any Passover table.
Here a whole lamb shoulder is braised in the slow cooker until it’s silky and supple and easy to shred. A few aromatics give it distinctive flavor, among them saffron and dried lime, available at Middle Eastern markets and from online grocers. Serve the lamb over red or white quinoa, and garnish with pomegranate seeds, pistachios, and chopped fresh dill.
