It's all Greek to me

Kalispera!

Well, other than having a bit of a tough time finding boneless lamb, this meal came together splendidly.

I was going to wax poetic about one of my other favourite kitchen tools, but blenderdance beat me to it!  I made quick work of mincing the ginger using my microplane.  I really love this thing.  It's absolutely perfect for grating Parmesan.

My means of dealing with leftover fresh ginger (and a way to have "fresh" ginger on hand nearly all the time) is to dump the leftovers into a plastic baggie in the freezer.

It keeps really well in the freezer and grates even easier when it's frozen.  I'd like to thank chef Michael Smith for the "keep ginger in the freezer" tip!  Also, I think it's time to make up a loaf of banana bread (or 3).

After visiting my regular grocery store, a local specialty grocery store and the organic grocery store near my work, I thought I might have to break down and go with lamb chops for this meal.  Then, I called over to the meat department at Whole Foods (I'm lucky in that one of the few that are in Canada is about a 5 minute drive from my work) and discovered that they had not 1, but 2 cuts of boneless lamb.  And really, I should have thought of them earlier.  If it's good enough for Top Chef, it's good enough for me.

After marinating over night, I set up the lamb with the onion and pepper on my reusable metal skewers and got them on the grill.

Keeping with a Greek themed meal I served the skewers with a Greek salad, grilled pita, tzatziki, and some grilled halloumi cheese.  Opa!

I was very lucky to be able to share this meal with both Derek and my good friend Shannon that was down visiting from Ottawa.  She only just moved there about 4 weeks ago (after living 2 km from my house) so it was really great to sit down and enjoy this awesome meal with them.  All in all I really liked this meal.  I think that next time, however, I'd skip basting the skewers with the marinade, because while it did impart a bit of extra flavour to the veggies, it left a bit too much, um, residue (?) on the meat.  The flavours were fantastic though, and I will definitely make this again!

Cumin grilled lamb chops

I couldn't find lamb kebab meat at my grocery store, which was just as well because I live in a condo and don't have a grill anyway. So we got lamb chops.

I added a little bit of curry powder because cumin makes me think curry. (When my relatives first met Victor, who's East Indian, one aunt asked, "Do you cook a lot of curry?" Facepalm. My cousin whispered to us, "Don't worry... they think anything with cumin is curry." Luckily, Victor was amused.)

In the absence of a grill, I used my grill pan. See the lovely charred grill marks on the lamb chops. Oh.. I unfortunately forgot to pick up a sweet pepper.
I served it with lemon dill Israeli couscous, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and grilled figs.Great recipe - simple and delicious. I'll definitely make this one again.

Week Three Recipe: Cumin Lamb, Sweet Pepper & Onion Kebabs

I love lamb.  I really do.  When we were on our honeymoon in Greece we ate a lot of lamb.  I also love to cook food on sticks in the summer.  We have "meat and vegetables on sticks" about once a week throughout the summer months.

This recipe comes from the Summer issue of the LCBO Food & Drink magazine.  The LCBO is where we buy our liquor up here in Ontario (it actually stands for Liquor Control Board of Ontario).  Yup, only in special circumstances can you get wine in a grocery store, and you can forget about beer or spirits.  But anyway, several times a year the LCBO puts out a great magazine full of wonderful drink ideas and fantastic recipes.  I've made so many things out of them, and refuse to let Derek throw any of the magazines out.  If you'd like to take a search through some of what they've had in the past, go here. (This is one of my favourite things I've made from these magazines.  I made it at least 3 times in the Fall/Winter of 2004)

Cumin Lamb, Sweet Pepper & Onion Kebabs

If you love lamb, but don't feel like grilling a whole leg, kebabs are the perfect solution.  As most of the lamb in the supermarket is frozen, it's easiest to find these fresh cuts at a butcher shop or farmers' market.

Serves 4

• 3/4 lb (375g) boneless lamb, such as boneless leg or tenderloin
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) lemon juice
• 2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
• 2 tbsp (25 mL) finely minced ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp (10 mL) cumin
• 2 tsp (10 mL) liquid honey
• 1 large sweet pepper, preferably yellow
• 1 small red onion
• Salt and black pepper

1. Cut lamb into bite-sized chunks for threading onto skewers.  In a bowl just large enough to hold lamb, whisk lemon juice with oil, ginger, garlic, cumin and honey.  Add lamb and stir to coat.  Refrigerate covered, turning occasionally, at least 4 hours but preferable overnight.

2. Oil grill and preheat barbecue to medium-high.  Slice pepper and red onion into chunks.  Thread onto skewers randomly with lamb.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill, turning occasionally and basting with marinade until cooked through, about 7 to 10 minutes.  Adjust heat as needed.

3. Remove to a platter.  Excellent with grilled pita or flatbread, tzatziki and a tossed green or Greek salad.

Bonus: the magazine also suggest wine pairings!

What to Serve

Henry of Pelham Reserve Baco Noir VQA (Vintage Essentials, $24.95 CAD) (this one is from Ontario, if you can find it, try it!)
William Fevre Champs Royaux Chablis ($21.95 CAD)