Zesty Cook » lamb

Slow Roasted Lamb and High Roasted Potatoes

zesty — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:00:45 +0000

Can you believe it is the middle of the week? I cannot at all! Time is zooming by so I thought I would share with you a nice slow roasted recipe to slow things down and keep you warm on a winter evening.

This was an amazing feature at the zesty in laws for the football celebration. The results were nothing short of fabulous as per usual. I put together the recipe list and the method so you can replicate this at your house.

For the potatoes, Zesty In Law just sliced them, added salt, pepper and a little paprika along with a bit of the duck fat from the Duck Stuffed Crepes. He then roasted them in the oven at 450 Degrees. Oh too easy yet oooooh so delicious!

Ingredients

Lamb leg, shank end used, about 3 1/2 lbs
1/4 Cup molasses
1/4 Cup water
1Tbsp. fresh black pepper
1 Tsp. sea salt.
1 Tsp. dried rosemary ( fresh if available)
1/2 Tsp. chili flakes
1 Tsp. smoked paprika
2 Cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil

Method

Mix all ingredients but the lamp and then rub lamb with the mixture.
Leave 2-3 hours or more. Bring to room temperature prior to cooking.
Place roast in an oven preheated to 450 degrees and then turn heat to 250 degrees and cook for about 90 minutes then turn.
After thirty more minutes temp should be about 130 – 135 degrees.
Tent for 20 minutes out of the oven and the temp should rise to 140 – 145 degrees.
Carve and plate with the potatoes.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Once you cook a large roast, don’t be scared to let it sit covered with tin foil to bring it up to the desired temperature. It will not hurt and it will be much juicer.

Have a great Wednesday and don’t forget to join the Open Sky Holiday promotion. The details can be seen in yesterday’s post. I will talk to you all on Thursday.

Take care

zesty

Ever Have Grape Leaves?

zesty — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:00:43 +0000

Happy Thursday! Ever have one of those days where the weather influences how you feel? It has been kind of dreary out lately and I’ve been in a bit of a slump all day. The house progress has been running along very smoothly which is such a positive. We pulled the trigger on the kitchen yesterday… kinda pumped yet slightly nervous.

So I believe I have a super special recipe/post for you today. Not only do these grape leaves taste amazing, the overall technique is quite simple – however it can be tedious.

As you go through the ingredient list, you may notice that the filling is very familiar to the cabbage rolls. Despite the filling being similar, the flavor is drastically different. A tangy full flavor from the lemon with a nice balance from the grape leaves is an amazing combination. These grape leaves are a must try!

Ingredients

2 Bottles of Grape Leaves ( 480g Bottle)
2 1/2 lbs Lean Ground Beef
1-1/2 Cups Long Grain Brown Rice
3 Lemons
Salt and Pepper

Method

Combine ground beef, rice, salt and pepper in a large bowl and set aside.
Rinse leaves in water; separate and stem.
Starting in the center of each leaf, add meat mixture – then take the bottom of the leaf up over the meat, tuck in both sides and continue to roll.
Put into pot when finished and continue until all the leaves are complete.
Squeeze the juice of the 3 lemons over the grape leaves.

Slice the lemons in 2 and place on top of the pot.
Put small plate over leaves and add water to almost cover the leaves.
Place lid on pot and cook slowly on simmer for approximately 2-2 1/2 hours.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: By covering the leaves with a small plate it prevents the leaves from blowing up and getting all out of shape.

I am open to any questions you may have regarding both the recipe and the technique. Have a great Thursday and if the weather is half decent today I will try and get some updated pictures on the house progress. Stay tuned and keep smiling.

Take care

zesty

True Comfort Food: String Beans w/ Lamb

zesty — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:00:52 +0000

Good morning! I am so excited to share with you possibly the easiest dish ever! Ya you heard it right. What if I told you that you could pack so much flavor in one pot without really taking much time to do it. You would be all over it … right? Well I am here to share with you a dish my mom always makes every summer when the string beans are in season. I will call it for simplicity sake – ” String Beans with Lamb “.

Now coming from a slight Lebanese background – lamb is heavily used. At our house it is more of a rare occasion but I love it none the less. Here is the low down on how to prepare this simple dish that works great anytime of the year.

Ingredients

Yellow String Beans (Green will work)
4 Cups Tomato Juice
Seared Lamb pieces
Salt and pepper

Method

Wash and Stem all the beans
Place beans in a large pot
Add tomato juice, lamb, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 60-75 minutes.
Enjoy!

Zesty Tip: If you have a large amount of extra tomatoes and are concerned about canned tomato juice – you an simply make your own. Boil the tomatoes in water then remove and puree with a blender/food processor and then strain the seeds.

Lets just say it is super late on Monday night as I write this post due to a wild and exciting adventure I will share with you later this week. Have a great Tuesday and I look forward to hearing from you. I think you will like the flavor of this simple dish. The beauty of 5 ingredients or less can be found here.

Take care

zesty

Simple Lamb and Potato Stew

zesty — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:00:33 +0000

Middle of the week already! I cannot believe it. I am somewhat overwhelmed the last couple of days with the to do list… ever get like that? It seems like this always happens when you take a week off but when you come back to reality you are swamped. It is all good though – you have to think positive and move forward.

At the end of the post I added more Jamaica photos since I took tons of them to share. However, before we get there I want to share with you a stew or casserole recipe that is dead easy to make and tastes great.

Try this and let me know what you think of the flavor and simplicity.

Ingredients

1 lb. of Lamb ( cut into pieces )
3 lbs. of Potatoes ( peeled and sliced )
1 Medium Onion ( sliced or whole depending on if you like it )
4 Cups of tomato juice
1 Cup Water
Salt and Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a saute pan brown the lamb on medium high heat for about 4 minutes ( reserve fat juices).
In a large roasting pan, add potatoes, tomato juice, onion, salt and pepper, browned lamb, reserved fat juices and water.
Cover and cook for 90 minutes until potatoes are tender.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Choose the right potato for the job. If you are baking potatoes choose a potato that can stand up to the heat. If you are boiling potatoes and wanting to mash them you can choose a less starchy potato.

A little more from Jamaica

I hope you have a great hump day and I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

Indian Cuisine… Jamaican Style!

zesty — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:00:34 +0000

Happy Tuesday! I want to share with you my first A la carte experience at the Grand Palladium. First off it is very hot in Jamaica as you can imagine and for some reason men are required to wear long pants and closed toed shoes at the restaurants. Well let me tell you, wearing the extra clothing is uncomfortable in warm Jamaica. Once I got over the initial shock I was good to go and excited to order.

Now let me apologize in advance for the pictures. The atmosphere was very dark and difficult to get good pictures of all the food.

Food Line -Up

Warm Garlic Naan Bread
Lamb Kebabs
Tandoori Chicken
Onion Rice
Spiced Beef with Vegetables
Butter Chicken
Vegetarian Samosa

So below I added the snapshots that I was able to salvage from the Indian meal. Now before you think I am a real pig – the server basically came up to us and said “ Hey mon, welcome to the best Indian experience you will ever have. Do you like Indian food? “ – We said “yes” , so he took the menus and said “I will take care of you” and then basically took samples of dishes all over the menu. It was amazing. I wish I took more pictures that were usable but hopefully you still like it.

Inside the restaurant as the doors opened.

A shot at the salad bar… such a wide variety of choices

Freshly prepared Naan Bread.

A delicious Basmati rice with onions…

I hope you enjoyed the recap of my night at the Indian Restaurant (Bhogali). I had an enjoyable time and the service was second to none. I look forward to sharing with you more great eats tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

Veggies, Lamb and Rice

zesty — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Are you ready for Wednesday? I know middle of the week is here already… crazy. It has been raining here pretty hard and somewhat cold all day yesterday. Not an ideal spring day but what can you do? The vaccines went well and I am all set for Jamaica. During the day I had a huge craving for lamb. Bizarre isn’t it? So, on the way home I stopped in to get a little package of ground lamb to prepare this simple meal in a bowl.

The one thing I like about rice and lamb…. they taste great together as the plain rice plays down the strong flavor in the lamb.

If you have never had lamb, it can be quite strong of a taste to get used to. But if you fall in love with it (like I have) – you might just be hooked!

For the recipe below, I am assuming you have cooked rice on hand as well as cooked lamb. For the lamb, I just mixed the ground lamb with one egg, 1/4 cup cracker crumbs, salt, pepper and pan fried to sear both sides and finished it off in the oven. Lamb has a very high fat content so when placing in the oven- it is a good idea to ensure it sits on a rack so the grease can fall through. Once cooked and cooled, I just crumbled it for the rice dish.

Ingredients

1 Cup Brown Rice (cooked)
Handful of frozen peas
Handful of frozen corn
1/2 Cup crumbled lamb (cooked)
Splash of Barbecue Sauce
Hint of soy sauce

Method

Add everything to a large microwaveable bowl and cook on high for 2-3 minutes.
Serve with some toasted bread.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling. It really drives me crazy when the eggs crack in the water.

Other Food News

Kevin over at closetcooking cooked up some sweet potato pancakes. Oh Yum.

Elise bakes some delicious carrot muffins.

Christy creates a favorite summer pie.

Question of the day: I am participating in a potluck for work and I signed up for an appetizer and a main dish… What would you suggest I make for this event?

I hope you have a great Wednesday! I look forward to seeing everybody tomorrow. Eat lots and smile plenty.

Take care

zesty

A Lebanese Treat: Fatayer and New Printing Option

zesty — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:00:54 +0000

Hello from Miami! I am in the sunny state for a brief visit before moving on to Antigua to meet with a client. The weather in Miami is so nice!

To stay on the ball, and to keep the readers happy, I prepared a few pre-scheduled posts while I’m away. I will be posting live throughout the week but some of the recipes have been already created.

What a treat I have for you today – Lebanese Fatayer! Growing up having ancestry from Lebanon gave me a lot of exposure to Lebanese food. I am a huge fan of this cuisine. What I am about to share with you today is a classic dish which often has different fillings using spinach and/or meat. It’s called Fatayer and I am going to show you the way my family always makes them.

Now don’t kid yourself, this Fatayer recipe is a labor of love and involves setting homemade bread dough. Can you say YUM!? I cannot take any credit for these other than the pictures, as my aunt made them for two very special birthdays last week. She did a great job and made a whole bunch. If you can believe it – she set 8 loaves of dough. God love her.

Ingredients

Pastry

2 Cups hot water
2 Cups hot milk
4 Tbsp. shortening
4 Tbsp. white sugar
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Packages instant yeast
10-12 Cups flour

Filling

Ground lamb
Ground beef
Minced onion
Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a large bowl, place water, milk, shortening and sugar (let melt).
In another large bowl place 6 cups of flour, salt, yeast and mix well.
Add flour mixture into liquid and mix. Add remaining flour a little at a time until you get the right consistency. (It is best to have the dough a little sticky)
Knead well.
Let rest for 10 minutes then cut the dough as if you were going to make rolls. Knead each piece and let rise until each piece double in size.
Now roll each piece out as thin as you can in a circle and add a small dollop of mixture in the center and spread it.
Pick two sides of the dough together and pinch tight as if you were making a turnover. Shape in a triangle and place on a cookie sheet.
Bake until light brown (Do not over cook as the dough will become tough).
Brush with melted butter once out of the oven and let cool on rack.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When the bread dough has a sticky consistency, the Fatayer will hold their shape better and not break at the seam. If the dough is too dry they will bust open and not look as pretty.

New Blog Feature

Before you leave, I’d like to mention that I’ve added a new “print” option to all posts due to multiple reader requests. When you click on the “print this post” link under the title of each post, it will bring you to a printer friendly version of the recipe. Enjoy!

Have a great Monday and stay tuned for another baked good in store for tomorrow.

Take care

zesty