We love lamb.  Clearly we do not eat it enough, and we should change that.  The other day we were craving some tender, young lamb;  unfortunately, we did not have access to our favorite lamb, so I picked up some ground, New Zealand lamb from Wholefoods.  We tossed around the idea of grilling up some lamb burgers with roasted red peppers, and feta.  Or maybe something new, spicy lamb tacos.  Or a hearty lamb meatloaf with roasted vegetables.  Then it hit us, what about a lamb pie without the doughy crust.

I love combining citrus, very strong herbs and lamb together.  They really go hand-in-hand.  For this recipe, I used a lot of fresh Meyer lemons, rosemary and garlic for the base of the flavors.  I added depth with some red-wine and fresh, heavy cream, to make it, well, creamy.

The topping of our “pie” was an old favorite potato, the russet.  I sliced the potatoes very thinly, then over lapped layers, on top of the ground meat.  The finishing touch was more fresh herbs, a drizzle of  fresh cream and a splash of olive oil;  baked to until bubbly, and creamy.  It was rich, decadent and flavorful with every bite.  Slightly citrusy.  Slightly creamy.  Very complex.  Add a salad or roasted baby asparagus, and you have a perfect meal.

What is your favorite lamb dish?

Recipe:  Lamb Pie

3 pounds ground lamb
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 lemons, zested
1 lemon, juiced, use one of the lemons that was zested
2 sprigs of rosemary, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 pint heavy cream
kosher salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
3 russets, scrubbed and sliced thinly
olive oil

Heat oven to 425.  Lightly oil a large baking dish.  In a large frying pan, cook the lamb, over low-heat, until gray in color. Drain the fat from the cooked lamb.  Add the garlic and rosemary, stir, season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the wine, stir, and cook over low heat, until slightly reduced;  about 15 minutes.  While the meat is cooking, thinly slice, the russets.  I use a mandoline, to get uniform slices.   Pour the meat mixture into the baking dish.  Squeeze the juice from one lemon over the top of the meat.  Cover the top of the meat, with slices of potato, overlapping to create a seal.  Pour the cream over the top of the potatoes.  Sprinkle the zest from one lemon and a few pieces of rosemary over the top.  Drizzle lightly with some olive oil.  Bake until the potatoes are golden brown, and the juices from the ingredients are slightly bubbly;  about 40 minutes.  Serve.  Eat.

If you liked this post, check these out:

Lamb and Turnip Pie

Slow Cooked Lamb Shepherd’s Pie

Juicy Lamb and Purple Potato Pie

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dinner, Garlic, Gluten Free, Lamb, Lava Lake, Lemon, Meyer Lemon, Pie, Recipe, Rosemary

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Remember those the beautiful packages of lamb we received from Lava Lake Ranch a couple months ago?   We made a Middle Eastern inspired stew as well as citrus herb crusted lamb chops.  Well, we had one more package from  the fine folks at Lava Lake Ranch, a beautiful top round roast.  Top round roast is the most tender cut from the hind loin and is very tender.  Annie promised it was going to be very lean as well as flavorful.

I wanted to keep it simple.  As well I wanted to use it for an Easter inspired meal.  I love lamb, cooked many ways;  but, I do not like lamb that is served with the traditional lamb jelly.  Some things should not go with such a beautiful piece of meat and this is one of them.  My friend, Evelyn, makes an outstanding sauce for grilled salmon and I decided to dissect her recipe and incorporate it for this lamb roast.  I made a paste out of dijon and panko and patted it over the entire roast and then I slowly roasted the lamb.  During the last 15 minutes of roasting I added some baby carrots and took the juices from the meat and gently poured them back over the meat and the carrots.  While the meat was cooking I made a sauce out of shallots and fresh mint.  The lamb was incredibly moist and juicy.  I love the green and slightly gamey taste.  The dijon crust and the minty sauce really complimented the naturalness of this lamb.  It left us wanting more and lucky for us we had left-overs!

This dish would be perfect for Easter – served with fresh asparagus or baby peas.  If you would like to serve your family a beautiful and flavorful lamb for Easter, Lava Lakes Ranch is offering free shipping on orders over $100 right now.  I am more than impressed with the quality of their lamb – it is all 100% grass-fed, never placed in feed lots, never given hormones or antibiotics.  It is definitely the best lamb we have eaten.

Recipe:  Dijon Crusted Lamb Roast with Mint Sauce

1 1/2 lb top round lamb roast

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup dijon

1 cup panko

1/4 cup packed mint leaves

1 tablespoon seeded mustard

1 small shallot

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Heat oven to 325.   In a roasting pan that can go from stove to oven, slowly heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Combine the panko and dijon to make a paste.  Gently pat all over the lamb.  Brown all sides of the meat until lightly browned.  Put the pan into the oven and let roast until a thermometer reads 135 degrees F from rare – about 40 minutes.  While the meat is roasting combine mint, shallots, mustard and vinegar and process until smooth.  Slowly add the olive oil.  Once the meat is cooked remove it from the oven and let sit for about 10 – 15 minutes.  Slice thinly.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dinner, Easter, Grass fed, Lamb, Lava Lakes Ranch, Mint, Organic Food, Recipe, Sauce

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Right before we head out for the holidays we always like to have a special meal just the two of us at “our home”.  We cook something special, open a bottle of bubbly and exchange gifts.  It is a nice way to ease into the crazy holiday schedule.

When we received the package from Annie at Lava Lake Lamb, we put aside some French Rib Chops, just for this occasion.  I love French Rib Chops as I feel they really dress up a casual meal, they are so elegnant in presentation and tender in taste.  I use to make this particular recipe often, many years ago, but have not done so in awhile.  I love the combination of the orange zest, garlic and rosemary with the creamiest of the lamb.  As well, being grass-fed lamb, there is a nice sweet grassiness that is very pleasant with this combination of herbs.  I decided to serve this dish with mashed sweet potatoes that we simply prepared with a little butter, milk and salt.  This meal would make for an elegant but simple New Years Eve meal.

Recipe:   Herb Citrus Crusted Lamb Chops

4 organic lamb french rib chops

1 orange, peel zested

4 garlic cloves, crushed

rosemary, handful, minced

olive oil

maldon sea salt to taste

Mix zest, garlic and rosemary together in a bowl.  Pat dry the lamb chops and coat very well with the herb mixture.  Heat a grill pan until hot, drizzle a small amount of olive oil into the pan.  Sear each side of the chops until golden brown, about 3 – 4 minutes, depending on how pink you like the centers.  Remove from heat.  Sprinkle with salt.  Serve.  Eat.

Recipe:  Mashed Sweet Potatoes

3 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into medium chunks

1 tablespoon butter

milk, enough to get the consistency you prefer

kosher salt, to taste

Bring the sweet potatoes to boil in a pan of water, reduce heat to a medium simmer and cook until tender enough to mash.  Drain well.  Return to the saucepan, add butter and mash with a potato masher.  Add milk to achieve the consistency you like.  Season with salt.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chops, Citrus, Dinner, Grassfed, Lamb, Lava Lakes, Mediterranean, Organic Food, Recipe, Rosemary, Sweet Potatoes

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Succulent lamb stew meat is seasoned with sumac, lightly browned and then simmered with stock to make a flavor rich stew, the finishing touches are the freshest baby potatoes, green beans and carrots;  add a loaf of crusty bread and a full bodied red wine and you have the perfect comfort food.

Last month I had just made a steamy latte, turned on the computer, opened up the October issue of Saveur (this is a drool worthy edition, the photos (by Penny De Los Santos) are amazing) and was  in the middle of reading A Shepherd’s Life, when I was “dinged” that I had a new email.  Normally, I would have just kept reading, but I put the magazine down and opened my email.  Now don’t get me wrong the article was very interesting and I was very intrigued as it was about Basque sheepherders in Idaho and this is of great interest to me as I am of Basque decent, particularly from the Pyrenees.   But, there in front of me was an email from an Annie and the subject line read “Chez Us & Grass Fed Lamb”.  Hmmm, small world and quite strange as I was in the middle of reading about “lamb”.  I opened the email and even odder was that Annie is from a ranch in the Lava Lake area of Idaho, exactly the same area I was currently reading about.  I immediately put down the magazine and proceeded to read her email.

Annie is with a ranch called Lava Lake Ranch, they are an artisan producer of 100 percent grass-fed certified organic lamb.   They raise their lamb on a family owned ranch near Sun Valley Idaho.  Not only are they raising grass fed lamb (100%) but they are dedicated to the same values we have with regards to eating, “you are what you eat”.   Their lambs are raised without antibiotics, growth hormones and are never placed in a feed lot, they only graze on what is certified as organic and they only drink their mother’s milk.   The end result is a tender and very flavorful lamb.

After a few emails back and forth, getting to know each other better, Annie asked if we would be interested in trying their lamb.  The answer was simple as I have been looking for lamb that is grass-fed as well as close to home.  Don’t get me wrong New Zealand as well as Australian lamb is great but we really cannot call it “sustainable” when it is taking a flight over to my dinner table.

Given the root of where the lamb came from and that I was reading an article on Lamb and the Basque country while this all transpired, I should have made a Basque Lamb Stew but instead I was inspired to make a Middle Eastern inspired lamb stew.  My friend Jacqueline recently sent me some sumac, when I could not find it here and I had yet to use it!  I had never used sumac before so I was not sure where this dish would be going but I do have to say I made the right choice.

You may be asking yourself what is sumac?  Sumac comes from berries that are harvested from a bush that can be found throughout the Mediterranean, it is NOT related to the sumac plant in North America, which is poisonous.   Dried sumac is made by harvesting the berries, drying and crushing them.  It has a somewhat lemony flavor and a beautiful vibrant purplish red color.  You will find it in the ingredient list for many middle eastern dishes.

For this recipe, I simply floured the lamb with the sumac and browned the meat until golden.  Then I used beef stock and let the lamb slowly simmer for a couple hours.  A few minutes before serving I stirred in small yellow creamer potatoes, green beans and baby carrots.  The lamb was amazingly tender, no gnawing through tough meat or struggling to cut.  As well the slightly “green” taste was very pleasant as it was somewhat herb like, a really nice compliment to the fresh vegetables as well as the lemon essence of the sumac.  I have had my fair share of lamb and I have to admit this was really the best lamb stew meat I have ever eaten!

We have a few selections of lamb that we will be featuring (may even make a Basque dish), as well we will be telling you  more about Lava Lake Ranch, so be sure to come back for more grass fed lamb!

Recipe:  Middle Eastern Inspired Lamb Stew

1 lb lamb stew meat

1/2 cup flour

1 tablespoon sumac

1/2 yellow  onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons sumac

salt, to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups good beef stock

1/2 pound baby yellow creamer potatoes

1/2 pound green beans, ends snipped and cut in half

1/2 pound baby carrots, tops removed, left whole

Lightly toss the lamb with the flour and 1 tablespoon of sumac.  Brown in olive oil over low heat, do not use high heat or it will burn.   Once browned move the meat to a plate.  Add the onions to the pan and cook until slightly soft, about 5 minutes, add the garlic and give a quick stir.  Return the meat to the pan and add the broth, sprinkle the remaining sumac over the top.  Lower the heat to a low simmer, cover and let cook about 1 1/2 hours – 2 hours.  The longer it cooks the more the flavor develops.  About 20 minutes before serving add the potatoes and green beans, cook for 10 minutes.  10 minutes before serving lay the carrots on top, keep heat at a low simmer and cover for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Basque, Dinner, Grass fed, Grass fed Lamb, Lamb, Lava Lake Ranch, Organic Food, Recipe, Stew

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Lightly seasoned lamb shanks are roasted until the meat falls off the bone and served with baby potatoes and favas beans in a minty creme fraiche sauce.  Pure comfort food.

We were talking about these outrageous Merquez Lamb Shanks during lunch the other day as we wandered into one of my favorite magazine stores downtown and there on the counter was the UK Food and Travel magazine with it’s glossy cover tempting our taste-buds.  Mouths watering all over the floor we picked up the magazine and started flipping through it and the first dish that caught our eyes was this Lamb Shank dish with favas.  You know how we love favas ….. so, we knew we would be dining on this very soon!

This is a very easy dish to make.  Roasted lamb shanks are seasoned with onions, fava beans, fresh herbs and finished with a minty creme fraiche sauce.  It is definitely more of a spring time dish;  but, will work all season, as long as you can find fresh favas!

Recipe:  Lamb Shanks with Fava Beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 lamb shanks, meaty ones

2 red onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 sprig of parsley and thyme

1 bay leaf

400 ml white wine, used a French White Bordeaux

400g new potatoes

400g shelled fava beans, skinned

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

3 tablespoons creme fraiche

Preheat over to 350.  Lightly oil a roasting pan, add the lamb shanks and season with salt and pepper, then place in the oven to roast for 20 minutes.  Add the onions, garlic and herbs and roast for another 20 minutes.  Add the white wine and new potatoes, mix well with the juices and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.

Plunge the fava beans into a pan of boiling water for 4 minutes, then drain and peel off the skins.  Add the prepared beans to the lamb and return to the oven for 10 minutes.

When the lamb is cooked, remove from the roasting pan and keep warm.  Place the pan directly on the stove top and bring the juices to a simmer.  Stir in the mint and the creme fraiche.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Comfort Food, Lamb, lamb shanks, Mint, Potatoes, Recipe, roasted meat

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Want to learn how to make Irish Stew?  Here is a simple and fool proof recipe for a traditional Irish Stew made with lots of beef, carrots, potatoes and an Irish Stout.  Very easy to make and delicious on your taste-buds.

I woke up Saturday morning around 3 am and I had Irish Stew on my mind.  Not sure why I had anything Irish on my mind, as we don’t even do the traditional St. Paddy’s Day celebrations any longer (we are too old), but the idea was there and it lingered for rest of the night.  I have not made Irish Stew in years.  I vaguely remember one of my first cookbooks, when I was about 16, it had a recipe for Irish Stew and I use to make it.  Positive it did not include the can of beer, though.  I searched around quickly before hitting the market on Saturday and never came up with a recipe that really interested me so I decided I would wing it ….

I did a little market research, so to say, and found out that Irish Stew is usually made with the cheapest, most readily available ingredients.  The Irish mostly used sheep and root vegetables.  Irish stew, also known as Ballymaloe or Stobhach gaelach is normally made with lamb or mutton, potatoes, onion and parsley.  Other root vegetables have also been added such as turnips, parsnips or carrots.  As well barley is sometimes added.

Since we had lamb recently I decided to go with beef.  I purchased some beautiful grass fed beef  and cubed it into bite size pieces.  I then browned the beef and seasoned it with garlic, sea salt and pepper.  After a good browning I added a can of Murphys Stout (it was on sale and I got 4 BIG cans), some of the beef stock that I had left over, some other good seasonings and then I let it do it’s thing on a very low heat for about 6 hours.  After it cooled off, I put it in the fridge and forgot about it until tonight.

After skimming off the fat (there was very little), I gently warmed the beef stock mixture.  While it was heating up I sauteed some onion, carrots and yukon potatoes.   We do not like mushy veggies so this is the reasoning behind not adding them sooner in the process.  The stew came out incredible.  The beef was so moist and really retained all of the flavorings during the long gentle cooking process.  The veggies were perfect, not to hard and not to soft.  I served this stew with cheddar biscuits, a Mark Bittman recipe, which were fantastic and more icy cold Murphy’s Stout.

Recipe: Irish Beef Stew

* serves 4

1 lb beef stew meat, grass fed preferably

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 cloves of garlic minced

sea salt

cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 bay leave

1 can of Murphy’s Stout or Guinness

5 cups of beef stock – homemade preferably

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 yellow onion large dice

3 carrots, roughly cut

5 yukon potatoes, quartered

parsley, handful, minced

Melt butter in the olive oil.  Brown the beef.  Add the garlic, sea salt and cracked pepper and cook a couple more minutes just to blend the ingredients.  Add the tomato paste, stout and stock, bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to a very low simmer and cook for 5 – 6 hours.  Remove from heat, let cool and refrigerate over night.

Skim the fat off the top and gently reheat.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes, add the carrots and potatoes and cook until the onion is soft.  Add the veggies to the broth/meat mixture and cook on a very low heat for about one and a half hours.  I did thicken the stew with a little cornstarch before serving, only do this if you want a thicker consistency.  Before serving stir in parsley.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ballymaloe, Beef, Dinner, Grass fed, Irish, Irish Stew, Lamb, Mutton, Recipe, Soup, St. Patricks Day, Stew

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Shepherd’s Pie is normally a mixture of lamb or beef with a combination of potatoes, carrots and peas.  This recipe has a Greek influence by using lamb and eggplant as the base, a twist on tradition, but incredibly good!

Laudalino has been asking for Shepherd’s Pie for a couple weeks now.  I have never made Shepard’s Pie.  I have not had it in years, the last time was probably when I was a small child.  I do remember  the last and possibly the only one I have ever eaten, it was like a stew with potatoes on top.

I started researching Shepard’s Pie when he mentioned eating it.  Most of the recipes that came up were lamb or beef based and they all had a combination of potatoes, carrots and peas in them.  For some reason I was not in the mood for this typical pie so I kept searching.

Then I opened my March issue of Bon Appetit (I don’t read them until the month they are intended for)  and found  few different comfort pies and one of them was Shepherd’s Pie.  I liked this recipe as soon as I saw the title, “Lamb and Eggplant”.  I love lamb and we both love eggplant.  Once I read the recipe ingredients over and saw that it had a Greek influence, I knew I found a winner!

This is a fantastic recipe.  Lots of texture, flavor and pure comfort.  I did substituted dried herbs with fresh.  As well I had not read the recipe before hand so I skimped on an hour of the stove top cooking time as we did not want to eat at 10pm.  It worked out fine.  The lamb was ultra tender and it was still very good.  I highly recommend this recipe, just allow yourself about 5 hours total time to make it.   It is a good rainy day Sunday afternoon meal to prepare.

Recipe
*adapted from Bon Appetit – made 4 servings

Preparation

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Comfort Food, Eggplant, Greek, Lamb, Recipe, Shepherd Pie

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I grew up eating lamb very often, by the time I flew from the nest at the tender age of 18, I did not like lamb.  Four years later I found myself in the Bay Area and submerged myself into becoming a foodie.  I remember the first time I had lamb again, it was roasted with loads of garlic and rosemary, that taste still lingers in my mind. We are pretty much meat eaters around here and will eat just about anything;  I more so then Lenny. (...)
Read the rest of Merguez Lamb Stew (274 words)

© Denise for Chez Us, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dinner, Lamb, Merguez, Moroccan, Recipe, Stew, Tuesdays with Dorie

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I love to make a “nice” dinner on Sunday night.  Ending one week and moving into another on a good note so to say.  I stumbled upon this recipe for Merguez Spiced Lamb Shanks with Chickpeas in the November issue of Food and Wine and just knew we had to make it for the following reasons:  I love lamb, Lenny loves chickpeas and we both love spice.    The dish said to slow cook in the oven for an hour and a half, I kept it in there for 2 and a half hour, which was perfect as it came out very moist.  The scent of the dish was really intoxicating, the way a Moroccan market must smell, with the addition of cumin, fennel, coriander, paprika, allspice, cayenne and a bit of sweetness.   The lamb came out very moist and the pieces of meat fell off the bones with a mildly intense flavor.  We served it with a whole wheat couscous, some roasted squash and a very nice bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

(...)
Read the rest of Merquez Spiced Lamb Shanks with Chickpeas (217 words)

© Denise for Chez Us, 2008. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chickpea, Creme Brulee, Dessert, Dinner, Food Blogging Event, Lamb, Moroccan, Organic Food, Pumpkin, Recipe, Shanks

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Plums, Pizza & Pinot Noir and some Lamb (yes, I know, more meat); but, we did cut down portions! We have been waiting to open up this bottle of 2005 Pinot Noir, that our friend I. and company (Dept. C) are making but we needed the right dish.

Recently, there was an article in the SF Chronicle on Pinot Noir and what to serve … there it was Lamb, Plum & Smoked Mozzarella Pizza , so we whipped up a mini, tossed together a simple mixed green salad with radishes (just like grandma use to make) and popped open the Dept. C. Point Noir – the meal was great, the pizza was interesting (I will make again but add more spices to it) and the Pinot was smooth and definitely complimented the plums and the gamey taste of the lamb.  As well, this was the last meal for our Eat Local Challenge – everything was local this time!!!

© dwoodward20 for Chez Us, 2007. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Lamb, Pizza, Plums

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