Make-Fast Mondays: Ground Lamb Kebab Wraps with Cucumber-Radish Salsa

With summer so close you can taste it, I’ll bet you’re dreaming of grilling up something meaty and delicious. Give this a recipe a try the next time you feel like firing up the barbecue.

Ground Lamb Kebab Wraps with Cucumber-Radish Salsa 
1 pound ground lamb
½ cup finely diced white onion
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, divided
2 tablespoons chopped mint, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sliced radish
½ cup peeled and diced cucumber
½ teaspoon olive oil, plus extra for grilling
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Hummus
4 warm flatbread or pita rounds
Equipment: 4 12-inch skewers (I used metal skewers, but wooden skewers work great)

If using wooden skewers, place them in a shallow dish, cover with water and soak for at least 30 minutes. Drain skewers when you’re ready to use them. 

Get your grill started (medium-high heat).

Combine radishes, cucumber, ½ teaspoon olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine lamb, onion, 1 tablespoon each parsley and mint, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and salt. Divide meat mixture into four portions and form each around a skewer, making an oblong sausage shape. Brush lamb kebabs with a little bit of olive oil.

Grill kebabs for 5 minutes before turning once and grilling another 5 minutes, or until meat is brown and thoroughly cooked. Remove meat from skewer. Spread hummus on each flatbread, add meat and top with salsa.

Lamb Chili with White Beans and Oregano

I love a good bowl of chili (who doesn’t?) but when I make it at home I tend to use chicken or ground turkey. Time to shake things up with some lamb! This chili is packed with flavor and will keep you nice and toasty when it’s cold outside.

Lamb Chili with White Beans and Oregano 
1 pound ground lamb
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups cooked white beans*
2 cups beef broth
¼ cup fresh oregano, plus extra for garnish
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Crumbled feta (optional)

*A note on the beans: I made my own pot of beans, but if you're going the canned route, two 15-ounce cans will work just fine. 

Brown lamb In a large pot over medium-high heat until meat is thoroughly cooked. Transfer meat to plate or bowl lined with a paper towel.

Add the onion, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder and coriander to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 or 5 minutes. Return lamb to the pot and add beans, broth, oregano and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the lemon juice. Garnish with oregano and feta and enjoy.

What makes Friday fun when you’re 31

Oh, how Friday nights have changed.

While I fondly recall the Fridays of my younger days, rushing home to get ready for a big night out, I must say that I’m equally fond of the much more relaxed approach we now take when kicking off the weekend.

Happy hour? Sometimes.

Meeting up with friends for dinner/drinks/trouble? It still happens.

I find that more and more that the energy I used to dedicate to prepping for a blowout night I’m now redirecting into firing up the stereo when I get home, cracking open some beers or a bottle of wine, cooking a great Friday night dinner and relaxing with my sweets. Yes, this might seem a little sleepy compared to what some you have got going on, and yes, I’m only 31, not 101, but sometimes it feels really good to get home and just chill. And, all this relaxing on Friday night means we’ve got plenty of energy for weekend shenanigans Saturday and Sunday.

Last Friday was nice and warm, a prelude to the much warmer (OK, blazing hot) summer days we have ahead of us in Sacramento. It was the perfect night to fire up the barbecue for some delicious lamb burgers. I’ve only made lamb burgers a couple times and knew I wanted to top them with a little bit of red onion, possibly some cucumber too. My good friend Kimmy made the great suggestion to make a “quick pickle” of the veggies, and the result really made the flavor of the meat sing without overpowering it.

Last Friday’s pre-summer vibe also inspired me to mix up some frosty cocktails. I’ve recently developed a love for the sweet, clean flavor of elderflower liqueur thanks to friends Melissa and Mike, who recently hosted cocktail hour during a neighborhood progressive dinner. They served white linens, a drink they originally discovered at the Shady Lady Saloon and that features elderflower liqueur.

I found a couple recipes online and made a couple tweaks, using Hendrick’s Gin (tastes great with cucumber) and opting for agave nectar instead of simple syrup. This just might be my new summer cocktail.

Lamb burgers with Quick Pickle 
1 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt
1 lb. ground lamb
⅓ cup chopped fresh mint
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup crumbled feta
Four sandwich thins or buns of your preference

For the quick pickle: Combine cucumber, onion, rice wine vinegar, salt and sugar in a bowl. Let sit for one hour and drain excess liquid.

 For the burger: Mix ground lamb, mint, cinnamon, paprika, garlic and feta in a bowl to combine. Form four patties. Cooking on the grill for 4-5 minutes each side resulted in some mostly done (not pink) patties. Place patty on bottom half of bun, add a scoop of pickled veggies and top with the other half of the bun. We rounded out the meal with a side salad of green-leaf lettuce, red bell pepper and the best (store-bought) dressing ever.

White Linen 
1 ½ ounces Hendrick’s Gin
½ ounce elderflower liqueur
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
½ ounce agave nectar
Two slices English cucumber, slightly muddled
Soda water
Ice

Combine first five ingredients in a glass (I used a mixer because I made two drinks at a time). Add some ice and some soda water and enjoy!

Valentine's Day, One More Taste style

For the past couple years Chris and I have avoided going out for Valentine’s Day, opting instead to stay home and prepare a stellar meal for a fraction of the price. For example, last year's dinner featured some awesome steaks, scalloped potatoes with truffle cheese and spicy asparagus.

This year I wanted to go out on a limb a little and work with lamb. My experience cooking lamb to this point had been limited to grilling up some burgers. I still dream of the delicious leg of lamb I had for my birthday this year at Barndiva in Healdsburg, and used that amazing meal as inspiration for our Valentine’s feast.

I pulled out all my cookbooks, spread them around me and got to work. After reading about the different cuts and cooking methods I honed in on roast leg of lamb. Alice Waters’ “In the Green Kitchen” and Jamie Oliver’s “The Naked Chef” were great resources.

The meat department at Corti Bros. had whole, bone-in legs that weighed over seven pounds, which would have been a bit much for the two of us. The butcher removed the bone and gave me the top half of the leg, which ended up weighing a little over three pounds. Perfect.

I brought in two enormous sprigs of rosemary from the backyard and sliced up three large garlic cloves. All the garlic cloves went in the inside of the leg, along with about half of the rosemary, before I tied the leg up into a nice, tight bundle using kitchen string. I seasoned the outside of the leg with plenty of salt and pepper and set it atop the rest of the rosemary sprigs in a large roasting pan. I roasted the lamb in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes before flipping the lamb, roasting an additional 30 minutes, and then flipping it over again for another 20 minutes or so. Once the lamb’s internal temperature was 128 degrees, I removed it from the oven and let it sit for another 15 minutes before carving. What I ended up with was a medium-rare marvel that tasted great on its own, but even better with some mint pesto.

Mint Pesto
Adapted from Bon Appetit
1 cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients but oil in blender or food processor to course puree. With machine still running, gradually pour in olive oil. And puree until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Sautéed chard (tossed into a frying pan with a little bit of soy sauce and red pepper flakes) and a white bean gratin rounded out the meal. I know there are some shortcuts I could have taken with the beans, but my experience with dry beans is minimal so I wanted to start this dish from the very beginning.

While I spent a good part of the day in the kitchen, it was well worth it to enjoy a delicious meal with my sweets.

White Bean and Tomato Gratin
1 ½ pounds dried Great Northern beans, rinsed
10 cups water
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from old French bread
1 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper, to taste

Rinse beans and place in a large bowl or pot. Fill pot with enough water to cover beans with 1-2 inches water. Soak overnight, and then drain.

Combine beans, 10 cups water, onion, garlic and salt in large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 90 minutes. Drain.

Transfer beans to a 13-9-2-inch glass baking dish. Add canned tomatoes and thyme and stir together gently to blend. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mix breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a bowl and sprinkle over beans. Bake at 350 degrees roughly one hour, until topping is a golden brown and mixture is bubbly.