Dolmades

 

I love Greek food and I love lamb.  Yesterday I made dolmades with some of the ground lamb from
my leg of lamb.  They really do need to chill so we did not have them until today.  They were so good!  We are truly being spoiled this week!

Every time I opened the fridge I would sneak one!   There are as many recipes for this dish as there are cooks but here is mine.  I like a lot of rice because I like the way it plumps up and fills out the grape leaves.  By the way - I use jasmine rice for most everything because I just think it tastes better.  The only exceptions would be sushi or paella. 




 

Simmer until water is absorbed.

Snip off tough stems. 

Use about 1 1/2 teaspoons for each grapevine leaf. 

Line a large skillet with the leftover leaves.  Place the filled leaves in the skillet. 

Place an inverted plate over the leaves.  Add water to just cover the stuffed leaves, bring to a simmer and cover and cook on low for 1 and 1/4 hours.

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion finely diced
1/2 cup scallions finely chopped
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1/2 pound ground lamb
1  cup jasmine rice
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parley
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 one pound jar grapevine leaves

For serving:  Fresh lemons, good fruity olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Saute the onion and scallions until the onion is translucent.  Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.  Add the lamb, rice, dill, parsley, pine nuts and lemon juice.  Add 1 cup of water.  Season well with salt and pepper.  Take into account that these are going to expand some more so the seasoning will be diluted. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until the water is absorbed.  The rice will not be cooked at this point.

Let the rice mixture cool.  Meanwhile remove the grapevine leaves to a colander and rinse well to remove the brine.

 Lay the leaves out on a board and clip off the tough stem. Fill each leaf with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the rice mixture.  Start rolling, then fold in the sides and continue rolling to make a cylinder. 

Take any leaves that remain and line the bottom of a large skillet with them.  Arrange the stuffed grapevine leaves on top.  Place an inverted plate over top.  Add enough water to just cover the leaves (about 1  1/2 cups).  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer one hour and 15  minutes.  You may need to add a little more water after 50 to 60 minutes to keep the bottom of the pan moist. 

Thoroughly chill the dolmades.  When ready to serve place them on a plate.  Drizzle with a good fruity olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Roast Leg of Lamb

Right about the last week of the year, if you are very lucky, you will walk into Costco and the boneless leg of lamb will be on sale for $3.99 a pound.  The sale only seems to last a day or two so you must hit it just right.  Last year (December 2013) I caught it and bought one.  Then of course thought why did I not get two and when I went back a day or so later they were back to regular price.

This year I did buy two!  And when I was back a few days ago - they were back to regular price. 

I put one in the freezer and tonight started on the other one.  The leg of lamb was just shy of 4 1/2 pounds.  I cut off a two pound portion that was kind of flat and butterflied.  The other two pound portion was a big chunk.  Tonight we had the butterflied portion as a roast for dinner.  I ground the other portion and made Dolmades and Gyro meat.  I will tell you about those tomorrow because we have not had them yet as both have to chill and there are no pictures of the finished dish. 

The roast was simple and delicious and made some fabulous leftovers that will be terrific on sandwiches tomorrow.  So without further ado here is my simple Roast Leg of Lamb:

 

Season the inside of the lamb with salt, pepper, crushed garlic and a sprig of fresh rosemary.
 

Tie the roast with kitchen twine.  Place on a rack in a casserole or use fresh rosemary.
 

Let the roast rest for 10 to 15 minutes, slice thinly and serve. 

 

 

Ingredients:

a 2 pound leg of lamb portion, butterflied
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup white wine

Preheat the oven to 500.  Open up the lamb and season the inside well with salt and pepper.  Rub the inside with 1/2 the garlic.  Place the sprig of rosemary inside and close up and tie the lamb into a roast.

Make a couple of slits in the lamb to allow the seasoning to penetrate.  Season the outside of the lamb with salt, pepper, the remaining garlic and the chopped rosemary.

I used a bed of rosemary to set the roast on or you can use a rack.  Pour the wine into the pan.  Set the roast into the pan fat side up.

Roast at 500 for 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 350 for another 20 minutes for rare, 30 minutes for medium.  Remove from oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes.  Slice thinly and serve.

Enjoy!

Stout Braised Lamb Shanks

I love lamb. My family - not so much. If it were up to me I would cook lamb a lot more often but I have to suffice with ordering it when I eat out - The Outback Rack is a favorite - and cooking it as often as I can get away with it at home. Since my first goal is to cook to please those around me this is not very often. Well tonight, in honor of St Patrick's Day, I put lamb on the menu and braised it in stout. To further complicate things for the kids I put rutabagas in the stew. Hmmm, this was not going over well. But I loved it. The leftovers are going to be fabulous! The lamb was perfectly cooked and falling right off the bone. So, if you like lamb, here is what I made tonight:



Stout Braised Lamb Shanks
4 lamb shanks
2 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp each salt, pepper and paprika
1/2 cup each diced onion and celery
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 12 oz bottle stout (I used Guinness)
1 generous sprig fresh rosemary
2 tsp beef base or bouillon
1 tsp herbs De Provence
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
4 small new potatoes, halved

I used my Schlemmer-topf to cook my braise in, so to start out I set it in the sink to soak.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Combine the flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a bag. Add the lamb shanks and shake to coat well. Put the lamb in the skillet and brown well on all sides. Remove the lamb to the schlemmer-topf. Add the onion, celery and garlic to the pan and cook until just tender, 3-4 minutes. Add to the lamb. Add 1/2 cup of the stout to the skillet along with the beef base and deglaze the pan and dissolve the base. Pour this over the lamb along with the remaining bottle of stout. Add the herbs.

Cover the casserole and place in a cold oven. Set the oven to 425 and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and add the remaining vegetables. Cover and return to the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust the seasonings in the sauce. Serve in shallow bowls.

Bon Appetite!