This traditional Lebanese chicken and rice dish is one of my favorites. Flavorful, seasoned rice, topped with juicy chicken and studded with nuts—it is, for me, the purest definition of comfort food.
This Tunisian hearty lamb stew is made with potatoes in a gargoulette-type vessel, referred to as golla or kolla, that resembles a jug lying on its side. You can prepare it in a tightly-sealed cast-iron or heavy-based pot in the oven, or to save time, in a pressure cooker. Feel free to add a cup of drained, canned chickpeas, if you'd like. If you'd rather use beef than lamb, go for it.
"These patties are lovely as a snack or as part of a feast at a barbecue. If you want to make them into a more substantial meal, however, just serve them with some arugula tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, and shaved Parmesan. The yogurt sauce can be made the day before. The patties will keep in the fridge for 1 day uncooked, or they can be cooked up to 6 hours in advance, ready to be warmed through 5 minutes before serving. Leftovers are also good the next day, at room temperature or warmed through."
Mint is a classic accompaniment for lamb. And it wasn't until Jennifer May shot this classic braised lamb recipe with its mint condiment that we really appreciated its beauty. It's something we imagine on the Sunday table of Mayor Drapeau, who brought Expo 67 and the '76 Olympics to Montreal (and chased away the hookers and the gangsters -- albeit temporarily).
Symbol of the cuisine of Abruzzo, spaghetti alla chitarra (“guitar spaghetti”), are also known in Abruzzo's dialect as maccarun?, or maccheroni alla chitarra. Although maccheroni are usually thought of as a short pasta to English speakers, in this case we are talking long noodles, similar to spaghetti or linguine, but square-sided. And the reference to the guitar? It comes from the traditional implement used to make these noodles -- a large, rectangular wooden frame, with numerous thin wires stretched across the long side, it looks, well, rather like a stringed instrument.
We've been living back and forth between France and the United States for the past 4 years. When back in the US, even though I’m theoretically a great fan of local products, I just can’t help myself. I keep buying French wine, much as it pains me to cough up $15 for a vin de pays. But my palate is so tuned to the restraint and structure of French wine now that everything else tastes over the top. So I had a nice bottle of French wine, and I wanted to make a dish to complement it. I tasted a small sip, hastily decanted it and came back again in an hour, tasted again, mmm, coffee, pepper, chocolate. Et voilà, Dark Mocha Lamb was born.
The allure of these skewers lies in their marriage of bold, contrasting flavors and textures. On the one hand, the marinade for the lamb is surprisingly simple. There’s no salt, as the salt can cause meat to seize and tighten too much. The eggs and onions gently tenderize the meat thanks to their proteolytic enzymes. On the other hand, the barbecue seasoning is built from a heady mix of cumin, chili, garlic, and Szechuan peppercorns, and the meat is threaded onto skewers and seared over charcoal until they sport a tantalizingly caramelized crust. The result is a gustatory fireworks display: the gamey richness of the lamb, the smoky char from the grill, the warm earthiness of cumin, the prickly heat of chili, and the unique numbing sensation of Szechuan peppercorns, all conspiring to create a taste experience that is as complex as it is satisfying.
This recipe is shared in partnership with GREAT British Food. Each dish was inspired by the new season of Top Chef World All Stars, which was filmed in the U.K. This season's contestants get to cook with amazing British foods like lamb, seafood, and fantastic cheeses. This dish uses Welsh lamb, which you can get right here in the U.S.
Shawarma is one of those dishes that many think of as a "takeout-only food." While it's difficult to beat the freshly shredded meat straight off a spinning rotisserie skewer, there's a different comfort found in a homemade shawarma, starting with the fact that you can spice and dress it to your exact liking. It's also much easier than you think and can be a fun and interactive meal perfect for a family.
Inspired by axoa—a traditional Basque stew of braised veal and peppers, flavored with piment d’Espelette—these braised lamb shanks are an ode to my great-grandmother Jeanne-Marie. While I never had the pleasure of meeting her, or experiencing the gustatory delight of eating one of her coursed meals, I grew up listening to my mom tell me stories of those dinners, especially my great-grandmother’s roast lamb (as my mom would say—a thing of beauty!).
My mom always grills a leg of lamb for Easter, and over time I have successfully wrestled that responsibility away from her. This was done under the guise of “helping,” but selfishly I’d rather be outside grilling than setting the table or answering the door! This annual experience also taught me how to manage a larger cut of meat on the grill. (Though this can also be easily made by roasting in the oven instead.) There are a few different muscles that come together in the leg, some thick and some thin. Turning the lamb frequently during grilling helps cook it evenly. That method applies to this Xinjiang-inspired lamb shoulder here; it’s a little smaller and fattier, which makes it extra tasty
Whether by choice or not, a lot of us have beans on the brain lately. Beans and greens, beans on greens, green beans—I love them all. But sometimes I want beans that are less brothy, more meaty. And when you consider all that beans need to sing—salt and fat—a luscious cut of meat is, really, the bean’s natural partner (forgive me, greens!). Enter: lamb belly.
Samsa is a very popular Uzbekistani street food that takes on many different forms and shapes, but in general, it's a combination of very crispy, flaky dough with meat fillings that are baked in a tandoor oven. The dough utilizes a lamination technique that is simple yet extremely effective, yielding a crust that is buttery and layered, yet sturdy and crispy. It is a perfect, well-designed cocoon for its uniquely textured and supremely juicy meat filing flavored with solid lamb fat. This is a recipe that is going to take practice to perfect but is so well worth the effort! I like to mix 2 parts sriracha and 1 part tabasco as the dipping sauce. Leftovers can be brought back to flakiness by reheating for 10 to 15 minutes in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
The combination of lamb and feta is a common one for good reason: The saltiness of the cheese and the earthiness of the meat are natural partners. A great sandwich needs freshness and crunch, so these get topped with a quick fennel slaw and a pile of deliciously crispy shallots (make extra and use them on salads!). To hold everything together, I used the classic, soft Potato Buns from Arnold®, Brownberry®, and Oroweat®.
This is a shining example of what I like to call “dinner pie”—an all-in-one dish that you can serve for supper (always alongside a big green salad). Another thing about dinner pie is that it can often be made ahead; the filling cooks slowly and the flavors intensify as they sit overnight. You can even make a double batch of the braise to serve with rice one night, then bake the leftovers into the dinner pie. If I say dinner pie enough, will it catch on? Stay tuned. Adapted from The Book on Pie.
This pairs splendidly with naan, of course, but on a hot summer day, also with most salads (think slaws, a watermelon salad with fistfuls of crumbled feta and mint), even cornbread. Serve with lemonade, a tall glass of lager, or a dry Riesling
Sometimes called lamb and root vegetable soup, "cawl Cymreig" as it’s known in Welsh, is the traditional dish served on St. David’s Day, March 1, a holiday celebrating the patron saint of the tiny country. The day is celebrated with parades, special programs, and placing a daffodil and a leek (the national flower and vegetable, respectively) in your cap. St. Patrick’s Day (and its ubiquitous corned beef and cabbage) usually get major food-attention in March, but it is high time for St. David—and cawl—to be in the spotlight. There are probably as many variations of this dish as there are cooks who make it: Some families will use a small rutabaga, turnip, or shredded green cabbage instead of parsnips. It typically involves celeriac, which is at the end of the season now; celery, though not the same vegetable, but slightly similar in flavor, often is substituted. If your grocery store or butcher doesn’t have boneless lamb shoulder or stew meat (or if you don’t like lamb!) substitute with 3 to 4 pounds boneless beef flank steak.
There is something magical about a patty melt. Buttery, golden bread. Ooey, gooey cheese. Unctuous, jammy caramelized onions. And a thin, succulent, smash-burger-style beef patty. Each bite is crunchy, melty, and juicy all at once. (Is your mouth watering? Mine is.) This recipe combines the beauty of a patty melt with the deliciousness of a lamb kofte wrap. Ground lamb is combined with toasted, ground fennel seeds, fresh herbs, and serrano chile, then formed into patties and griddled until the Maillard reaction kicks in. If you wanted to go the extra mile and grill the patties on an actual grill, that would really take these babies over the top. Instead of caramelized onions, these sandwiches are layered with quick-pickled cauliflower flavored with turmeric, lending an earthy, almost-citrusy flavor. The acidity of the pickles works wonders, cutting through the gaminess of the lamb and providing a foil for the rich cheese.
Lamb chops may not scream summer, but I started grilling them for family and friends at our barbecue a few years ago and we have never looked back. If you’re throwing burgers, dogs, or steaks on the grill, you have the skills to grill a lamb chop, and you will be rewarded for it. Lamb rib chops are not the cheapest cut of meat, so feel free to treat them like a special bonus at the barbecue, rather than a main event.
I just love the notion that so many of the foods we love (think boeuf bourguignon or pasta e fagioli) started out as peasant food made with leftover bits that were available and then transformed into something spectacular. Chou farci, which means “stuffed cabbage” in French, is exactly that kind of dish. The ingredients of ground meat, cabbage, and vegetables are as humble as it gets, but it’s the way they are layered together that make this a show-stopping dish. Every year for the holidays, I make this as an appetizer. The instant you place it down on the table, you start to hear the “oohs” and “ahhhs”. It looks extremely impressive with its beautiful cabbage leaf display on the top. But only you know the secret of how easy it was to put together. After you make this once, you’ll barely have to look at the recipe the next time.
