more tasty lamb favorites

Back in October, we ordered a half a lamb from a local farm, $150 for what they estimate is 25lbs of goods. They raise them grass-fed and we-can't-afford-the-certification-but-really-are-quite organic. Our November delivery included a selection of ground meat, roasts, chops, shoulder chops, shanks, a leg, and liver. We have been very pleased with the quality of the meat so far!



One of our favorite amusements in Ireland was looking at all the tasty lambies. I have great respect for cute animals that grow up to be delicious and nutritious. Thus is the cycle of life, eh?


This, combined with regular purchases of Costco meats and frozen goods and fresh vegetables, has caused a new pattern in weekend eating: what recipe can we find to get rid of all this food!?!? This weekend, lamb shanks and sweet potatoes were on the chopping block, as you may have noticed with the thai lamb recipe. But there are a couple other stand-out recipes that made great use of our lamb supplies...

Grilled Spicy Lamb Burgers

For a quick burger fix, this was awesome. I used dried herbs instead of the fresh it calls for, as well as red wine for the sherry. (If you haven't discovered the joyous assistance of the Cook's Thesaurus for food descriptions and substitutions, please do bookmark it!)  I threw on some thick slices of feta cheese near the end of the grilling, and they turned out juicy and delicious!

Lamb Kofte with Yogurt Sauce and Muhammara
We read Bon Appetit religously (thanks for keeping our subscription going, Able-Bodied Mom!) and frequently use their recipes.  This recipe has a lot of things going on ("The Middle East on a flatbread: Turkish meatballs, a tahini-spiked yogurt sauce, and muhammara, a Syrian red pepper spread") but we made all the meatballs in advance and then froze them for later; they are a bit drier that way, but it was less daunting of a meal to pull together on a weeknight. The onions are easy enough, as is the yogurt sauce. And don't let the muhammara scare you... pomegranate molasses can very easily be made Alton-Brown style and I've been able to keep in the cabinet for a number of other uses!

Moroccan-Spiced Pastitsio with Lamb and Feta
Best. For. Last. YUM.
This is a baked pasta dish, topped with a decadent feta bechamel sauce. If you in any way love the flavors of the mediterranean, love pasta and cheese, you will die and go to heaven just like we did. This would make a fabulous hearty meal for a small informal dinner party. It calls for a spice mixture called Ras El Hanout; I found a great version here that uses spices we always have on hand and makes just a bit more than you need for this particular recipe (but I threw it all in for good measure). The bechamel is very rich, and I found that I only needed about half-to-two/thirds of the sauce when using my deep casserole. And I threw it under the broiler for golden good measure there at the end of the baking.
Now I think I'm going to have to go make this again......



Of course, if you don't particularly like lamb, ground beef or ground turkey meat would work well with all of these recipes too. But maybe you think you don't like lamb because it's never been this tasty :)


What well-loved foods do you keep on hand for frequent yums?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl