Spring Lamb Chops & Asparagus Ravioli

I like these simple meals that are fancy enough for company but quick enough for a weeknight.  This dish just sings spring.  Tiny lollipop lamb chops and store-bought asparagus ravioli with fresh asparagus on top.  Easy as pie!  

Here's all you need for the grilled lamb chops for two:

Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Kale & Feta

Lamb is lovely.  I like the taste and how it can be prepared so many different ways.  I also feel like it's a healthy alternative to other meats.  

I found a small, frozen, boneless leg of lamb for a very good price in the grocery store and decided to make this tasty stuffed lamb.  

Here's what you need:

Spice Crusted Lamb Chops with Corn Salad

I always see these beautiful lamb chops with the long "handle" (bone) in blogs and recipe sites, but I never see them for sale in stores.  I decided to take matters into my own hands and turn a Frenched rack of lamb into lollipop chops.  

This recipe comes from Serious Eats but it was way too spicy for me as written.  I should have known when it called for half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper that something was off.  There was too much spice altogether, so I've halved the spice mix recipe and further reduced the cayenne.  You can add more if you want it super spicy.  

First, the corn salad.  You'll need:

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups fresh corn kernels, from about 4 ears corn
Freshly ground black pepper

Lamb Kofta

I've wanted to make kofta for a long time.  It's intriguing.  It's sort of like a little burger or meatloaf grilled on a skewer.  Ground lamb is not easy to find in my local supermarkets but I did find some at my local farmers market last weekend.  I thought it would be delicious with some middle eastern spices and I was right.  You can also use ground beef if that's what you have. 

This recipe comes from Vikram Vij whose Vancouver restaurant I hope to visit one day.  
Here's what you need:

1 pound lean ground lamb
2 hot peppers
1 inch fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped
¼ teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons flour
1 medium onion, finely grated

Braised Spiced Lamb Shanks

This was my first time making lamb shanks and it won't be the last.  They were tender, spicy and delicious.  The recipe is from Epicurious.  

Here's what you need:

2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns

3-4 large lamb shanks

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large white onion, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
10 garlic cloves, peeled
3 celery stalks, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 small leek
3 cups ruby Port
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 cups beef broth

 
6 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Lamb Vindaloo

We love curries. The spicy richness is so warming in the depths of winter and it fills the house with aroma for days.  But they're not always the healthiest choices calling for fattier cuts of meat, oil or ghee and sometimes yogurt or coconut milk.  Plus there's the rice and naan we like to have on the side.  This is a slightly slimmed-down version of lamb vindaloo inspired by Clean Eating magazine.  

Some people think "curry" is the name of a spice in their spice rack but it's actually any of a number of dishes made with a blend of spices.  Here's a great article about the history of curries.  I learned while making this dish that vindaloo actually means wine & garlic in Portuguese, a leftover from their influence in India. Most versions of vindaloo will have plenty of garlic and vinegar.  I love learning tidbits like this about world cuisine, especially these tales of long ago food fusion, like the French influence in Vietnamese food.  

This version is kind of spicy. I was wishing for some raita to cool things down, but I'm a wimp so most people should be able to handle it.  Here's what you need for this lamb vindaloo:

• 1.5 lbs boneless lamb shoulder 
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 hot chili peppers
• 1 1-inch piece of ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or other cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cups beef broth (I made a quick stock from an onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, peppercorns and a meaty beef bone I'd stored in the freezer, but store-bought is fine)
• 1 lb white potatoes
• Fresh cilantro (optional)

Roundup - Favourite Meals From 2012

As 2012 draws to a close I though I'd look back at some posts from earlier in the year that may have been missed.  These are some of my favourite meals I posted near the beginning of the year, but I've made them again several times since then. Some were old favourites and some were new to me but they're all part of my permanent rotation now.

Hopefully you can see some improvement in the photography since these older posts.  The lighting should be better at least!

So here's a second look at some great meals this year.

#1  Simple Seafood Pasta

This was our New Years dinner last year.  It is simple and delicious and the best part is, you can really use whatever seafood you have on hand.  

#2 To Do: Make Caesar Salad from Scratch

The first time I made this it was a revelation.  I'm not going to say I haven't used store-bought Caesar salad dressing this year but I really feel strongly that home made is the way to go.  

#3 Easy & Fancy Rack of Lamb for Two

I made this in January and again a few times this year because it is so sophisticated and delicious but so easy!  The potatoes taste amazing after cooking under the lamb.  You can serve two or four or more by just increasing the ingredients. 

#4  French Onion Pastina

This is one of my go-to pantry recipes for a cold night.  I always have onions and parmesan cheese on hand and I keep pastina in the cupboard just for this.  It's very easy and even with fancy Italian Parmigiano Reggiano it is still pretty inexpensive.  Try this!  

#5 Pork, Butternut Squash and Fennel Stew

Another one of my favourite recipes. I make this often throughout the year but especially in fall and winter.  I've got some pork shoulder in the freezer right now and plan to make this soon. The finsished stew also freezes very well.  

Fusilli with Lamb Sausage Ragout

I told you about my delicious lamb sausages from Metzger Meats.  Well, I decided to use the remaining sausages in a pasta dish in place of ground lamb and it turned out great.  

Here's what you need for this quick, easy, flavourful dish.  

1 lb raw lamb sausage or ground lamb
1 bottle passata or strained tomatoes
1 box whole wheat or vegetable fusilli or rotini
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 small zucchini
fresh mint
1/2 cup Greek yogurt or ricotta (optional)

First, sauté the onions, garlic and Italian seasoning in 1 tbsp oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until beginning to soften.

Slit the casing on your sausage.

Remove the casing and add the sausage meat to the onion pan.

Crumble the meat with a wooden spoon and brown about 3 minutes.

Dice the zucchini and add it to the lamb, 

Sauté for about 2 minutes, then add the passata.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes until thickened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I like to use this spatter screen over my tomato sauce to avoid a mess.  You can get them in the dollar store and they are great for avoiding spatters.

Meanwhile add your pasta to a pot of salted boiling water and cook according to package directions.  If you put it in when you add the tomato sauce, it should all be done about the same time. 

Drain your pasta.

And add it to the sauce, tossing to coat.

Chop some mint.

Scoop your pasta into the serving dish.

Drizzle with Greek yogurt or top with ricotta and sprinkle with mint.

I make spaghetti with sausage and tomato sauce all the time, but here the lamb sausage and mint gave it a very different flavour that was really tasty.  If you have lamb sausage or ground lamb on hand, give this one a try!

Lamb Sausage

This is a pretty straightforward "recipe".  I cooked up some lamb sausages from Metzger Meats to serve with my barley mushroom risotto.  

These sausages were delicious!

I set a pan of water to simmer.

And added the raw sausages and let them simmer about 5 minutes.

Then I drained the water and added a little oil to the pan to brown them.

I let them brown about 5 more minutes, turning to crisp all sides.

With the barley and some steamed broccoli this was a delicious combination.  We'll definitely have these sausages again!

Fresh Cranberry Beans (with Braised Lamb)

When I was younger, I was a very picky eater. I feel like I've made huge strides in this area, but there are still a few things I can't bear to eat. Raw tomatoes are one, red peppers are another.  And beans.  I love fresh green and yellow beans and I can eat chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in a lot of preparations, but when it comes to those healthy but mushy white, black, kidney and pinto beans, I really struggle.  The texture is the biggest issue but there's not really a great flavour there to make up for it.  I know beans are close to perfect nutritionally and so cheap and versatile, so I keep trying to like them. This recipe gets close.  I ate almost all my beans.  My husband ate his, the rest of mine and the rest of the ones in the pot.  So if you like beans, you'll love these.  If you hate them, give it a try and it just might convert you. 

As mentioned the other day, I found these beautiful fresh beans at the market.  The colour of the shell is gorgeous.  The vendor who grew them said they were Romano beans, but when I looked online it seemed more likely they're cranberry beans (or borlotti or shell beans).  Whatever they're called, they're pretty photogenic!

Shelling beans (and peas) is something I find very relaxing. I sat out in the sun and slipped the beans from their shell slowly in the fresh air.

I ended up with just under the two cups needed for this recipe.  The recipe calls for cooked beans so I decided to cook these the day before (along with the lamb) and then follow the recipe from there.

I threw part of an onion, a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf in with the beans and covered them with water and simmered for about 15 minutes, then added a teaspoon of salt and simmered 15 minutes more.  

Sadly, the cooked beans lost their beautiful colour and turned a little grey-ish.  

So when I was ready to make the meal, I pulled out the cooked beans, chicken stock, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, thyme and a bay leaf.

Finely chop the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. I used my handy little food processor.  Sauté the veggies until slightly softened.

Throw in the cooked (or canned, rinsed) beans, 2 cups chicken stock and the thyme and bay leaf.

Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add some more chicken stock if it gets dry.

Stir in the gremolata, about half a cup (recipe coming up next) with the beans and serve alongside the braised lamb. 

The gremolata adds a fresh bright taste. There's certainly lots of flavour. The texture is still pretty bean-like but they were very good overall.

Try this meal, it's terrific!