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Lamb Rump Roast with Lentils

After a few weeks getting food at the pub while the oven’s been broken, and a terribly inconvenient case of bronchitis over New Years, I’ve gotten back into cooking. The lentils, we won’t talk about. They didn’t go so well. But, in general, lentils of some sort would be great with this roast.

Last time I made this, I had two smaller rumps, and it worked out great. This was a bit larger, enough for 2, but I still marinated for 24 hours prior and that really makes a big difference. The recipe is only altered slightly, and it’s served with greek yogurt that’s been blended with some mint and jalepeno for a bit of kick.

Ingredients (lamb):

1 lamb rump roast (enough for 2 people)
1/2 cup thyme
1/2 cup oregano
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, diced
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Mix the ingredients and toss into a tupperware to marinade overnight. Remove lamb from marinade, and set the herbs aside. Get an oven-proof pan smoking hot, add a bit of olive oil, and sear the fatty side of the lamb for about 5 minutes, until it’s starting to get really brown and burned. Flip it over, toss the marinade into the pan around the lamb, and bake for 30 minutes at 175C / 350F. Remove when the internal temperature is 50C, let rest for 5 minutes or until the temperature comes to 55C. Slice and serve on lentils.

Harissa, Yogurt and Tomato Lamb Shanks with Zucchini, Pea and Mint Salad

I had a drawer full of zucchini when I saw this recipe from Gourmet magazine, but I hadn’t started a day ahead. I made my own version of the harissa with some different chilis I had around, and tried a slow cooker attempt at the lamb. It worked exceptionally well, it was spicy, sweet and creamy, and easy to put together.

Ingredients (lamb shanks)

1/4 cup Harissa
2 lamb shanks
1 tin tomatoes
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup fresh oregano and cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime
Half an onion, sliced
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Coat the lamb shanks in salt and pepper, and brown in a hot pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté the onion, then toss in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lamb back, and pressure cook for 40 minutes, or cook on low heat for about 3-4 hours, covered. You could even leave it in the slow cooker for the day.

Remove the lamb and reduce the sauce. Serve with a scoop of the sauce, and the zucchini salad.

Stuffed Rainbow Trout with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

Loved this stuffing for the fish, really full of flavor and nice with the yogurt sauce.

Ingredients:

1 whole rainbow trout, gutted
1 small red onion, a few slices shaved off for garnish, and the rest chopped
3 garlic cloves
3 anchovies
Juice of half a lemon
1/8 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Salt, pepper and olive oil
1 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Mash up the garlic, anchovy, lemon, salt and pepper. Mix with the onion, and stuff into the fish. Season the fish with salt and pepper, and grill for 3-4 minutes on one side. Flip, and pop the whole thing into the oven for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the yogurt, cilantro, salt and pepper. Serve the fish with the sliced onion on top.

Herb Roasted Eggplant with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

Another vegetarian dinner, serve with a salad, and inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty.

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, sliced in half and scored in a diamond pattern
1/2 cup chopped thyme, rosemary, basil, sage… whatever fresh herbs you have around
3 cloves garlic
Salt, pepper, olive oil
1.5 cups greek yogurt
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon

Mash garlic in a mortar and pestle with some salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix in the herbs, and stuff into the cracks of the eggplants. Brush with oil and bake for 30 minutes at 200C / 375F.

In a bowl, mix the yogurt, cilantro, lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Serve on the roasted eggplant.

Sweet Potato Cakes with Sauteed Kale, Mushrooms and Lentils, and Mint Yogurt Sauce

Anyone whose even remotely looked at the recipes on this blog has probably noticed I make a lot of meat. Like, a lot. But I’ve been getting inspired to do some vegetarian cooking by Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, there are some beautiful recipes in that book that I’m planning on playing around with. The below is inspired by the book.

Ingredients (sweet potato cakes):

1 cup mashed sweet potato
2 tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Butter

Mix everything but the butter (batter should dry enough to handle), and get the butter warm in a pan. Divide into 4 balls, flatten and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Ingredients (yogurt sauce):

3/4 cup greek yogurt
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 bunch of fresh mint leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Puree.

Ingredients (lentils):

1 can of lentils, drained
3 cups of roughly chopped kale
1 portabello mushroom, roughly sliced
1 cup white wine
4 garlic cloves
1 chili
1 orange, in slices
Salt and olive oil

Mash garlic, chili and salt in a mortar and pestle. Saute in a bit of olive oil with the mushrooms. Add the kale and cook for 3-4 minutes before adding the wine and lentils. Season with salt to taste and cook until the wine is reduced, about 10 minutes. Serve on the sweet potato cakes and top with orange slices and mint yogurt.

Thyme and Lemon Lamb Chop Salad with Grilled Peaches, Haloumi, and Yogurt Dressing

In preparation for Thanksgiving, we had a really healthy salad for dinner the night before.

Ingredients:

5-6 lamb chops
1/4 cup fresh thyme
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
Olive oil, salt and pepper
2 peaches, cut in quarters with pits removed
6 thick slices of haloumi cheese
1/4 greek yogurt
4-5 cups baby spinach
A handful of cherry tomatoes

Marinate the lamb chops for 2 to 24 hours in the thyme, juice of 1 lemon, salt, pepper, and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Mix up the dressing, of the yogurt, remaining lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a few tablespoons olive oil. Coat the haloumi and peaches in a bit of oil, and grill the peaches on a barbeque or indoor grill pan for 5 minutes on each side, lamb for 2 minutes on each side, and haloumi for 1 minute on each side. Serve on a bed of spinach with some cherry tomatoes.

Greek Chicken Lasagna

I honestly thought this would be a disaster, but it wasn’t a bad experiment. I tried to make it a bit healthier, but the yogurt sauce could easily be replaced with a cheese sauce (or even tomato) for a quick and easy lasagna.

Ingredients (serves 4):

Uncooked lasagna sheets
500g ground chicken or chopped leftover chicken
1 sweet potato, grated
1 medium zucchini, grated
3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1 cup greek yogurt
2 cups milk
1 cup light ricotta cheese
1/2 cup chopped coriander or parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper

In a pan, cook the sweet potato, chicken, and zucchini.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and stir in flour. Add the milk, yogurt, lemon, half the ricotta, lemon, coriander, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Put a few spoons of the sauce into a 9 inch square baking dish. Cover pan with lasagna sheets, and a bit more sauce. Add half the chicken and veggie mixture, and a bit more sauce. Cover with lasagna noodles, more sauce, the rest of the chicken and veggies, more sauce, and top with noodles. Cover with sauce, and the rest of the ricotta. Bake for 30 minutes at 180C / 325F.

Tzatziki

I make this a lot, it’s delicious on pretty much everything. Tonight I’m making a roasted lamb leg, so I’ve made a small ton of it. For a “normal” portion for two, cut this in half.

Ingredients:

one medium container of greek yogurt
one bunch of fresh cilantro
one lebanese cucumber, grated
one half lemon, juiced and zested
salt and olive oil

Grate the cucumber and dry it as much as you can on a paper towel. Chop the cilantro, and add that to the cucumber, yogurt, and lemon. Mix and salt to taste, top with a few tablespoons of fresh olive oil.