herb-crusted roast leg of lamb

Lamb is one of those less expensive cuts of meat I'm trying to use more often, and especially since you can throw a roast in the oven and dinner is ready a couple hours later. This one was so easy, and I suppose it's a technique you could use for almost any roast cut.

Grocery list: 2-4+ pound leg of lamb (or other roast cut), 1 lemon, 1 large gallon-size ziploc bag, olive oil, and herbs (mix of dried or fresh - rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint - really, whatever you have, just a lot of it).



Trim any excess fat or silver-skin from the lamb leg, then drop it in the ziploc bag. Add a good drizzling of olive oil, then throw in excess amounts of herbs - you're trying to cover the entire surface of the roast. Salt and pepper it generously, then cut your lemon in half, squeeze the juice into the bag (you can throw the lemon halves in the bag for good measure). Let it marinate for at least a couple hours, or set it up at night for roasting the next day. It can sit in the bag for 1-2 days.

Roast at 350 degrees for 1.5-2 hours, or until the internal temperature measures 150 degrees for medium. Remove from the oven and tent with foil; the temperature will continue to rise to about 160 (now it'll be medium to medium well). Adjust if you prefer more or less done - just remember that the roast continues to "cook up" another 10 degrees when you remove it from the oven! Carve and serve - I made this with the spaghetti squash & ricotta dish.

lamb cacciatore

Ah, one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco is SPQR. I originally read about it in Food & Wine magazine, and took my little brother there for his birthday. We were fortunate enough to get seats at the "chef's counter" - basically a bar setup over the kitchen, where you can watch the meals being prepared. The best part was hearing the lead chef talk to the line cooks. He would taste some of the dishes under way and tell the line cooks what was missing. My favorite overheard quote was "more salt, more salt! If it's not over-salted it's under-seasoned!" So I was justifiably excited - practically giddy - when I saw the September 2008 Bon Appetit, the "Restaurant Issue": recipes from SPQR! I did not have this lamb cacciatore at the restaurant, but I will try it when I'm back in the bay area to see how it compared to my own version.

Grocery list: 3 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1 inch chunks [note, ask your butcher, but I substituted shoulder and it was only $5 a pound - you have to trim it anyway, so it was perfect in my opinion]; 1/4 cup white wine, 2 garlic cloves, olive oil, 2T chopped fresh rosemary, 1 T chopped fresh oregano, 1 T chopped fresh mint, 4 anchovy fillets chopped (or 1-2 T anchovy paste), 1 bag fresh arugula, lemon wedges.

Drizzle wine over lamb pieces and season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, make the marinade by mashing garlic with 4T olive oil, then mixing in all the herbs and anchovies.



Stir into lamb, cover with saran wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours.



The recipe says you can cook the lamb either over a grill (using metal skewers to make kabobs), or by sauteing - I used the latter method.



Heat 1 T oil in large pan, then saute lamb in batches over high heat, about 5-6 minutes for medium-rare. Toss the arugula with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve the lamb over the arugula with lemon wedges on the side.

lamb and beef burgers with caper remoulade

As you might have noticed by now, I'm pretty obsessed with Food & Wine magazine. When the June issue arrived last month with the theme of "best new grilling ideas," I flipped - burgers are my favorite food. These burgers were almost light - the caper remoulade, the cucumber and tomato slices, and the fact that the bun was replaced with a much lighter english muffin - there was less "heft" than a normal burger. That being said, it took absolutely no longer than the usual prep time for burgers, so this will go into the summer menu rotation for sure.
Grocery list: 1/2 pound ground sirloin, 1/2 pound ground lamb, english muffins, parsley, capers, cornichons (or dill pickles), garlic, mayo, grain mustards, cheddar, cucumber (english cucumber, AKA seedless), tomato.



Of course I had to mess with the remoulade recipe, to cut down on the fat content. By reducing the original amount of mayo and increasing the mustard, it was more tangy, but still made plenty of sauce for all the burgers. In a food processor, pulse 1 garlic cloves, 2 tsp drained capers, 3 T of parsley leaves, and 4 cornichons (or 4 baby dill pickles). Then add 1/4 cup mayo and 2 T grain mustard, and blend for a few seconds.


Stir with a spatula until smooth, then place in the fridge until ready to dress the burgers. To make the burgers, mix together the lamb and beef in a bowl with plenty of salt and pepper. Shape into 3-4 patties.
Next, start the grill. Split the english muffins, then grill on each side for 30 seconds until toasted. Grill the burgers over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes per side until done -- add slices of cheddar 2 minutes before done so it will melt. While the burgers are cooking, spread the remoulade on each english muffin. Top the bottom muffins with a slice of tomato, then the burger, then 2-3 slices of cucumber.