Lamb Kebabs, with Grilled Veggies and Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes

The theme of the week is Easter, and while roasted lamb is always a solid choice, I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to head out to the grill for some kebabs. I tried to get boneless leg of lamb, but the butcher only had full size, big ass bone in whole legs, so I went shoulder instead. There was a lot of fat on there, and I was afraid it would be tough since I wasn’t braising it, but it actually worked out pretty darn well. Served with tzatziki, because why not. Serves 4-5, but you’ll want to throw more potatoes in the oven than I did if you expect to feed 4 to 5 at once.

Lamb:

3-4 lbs. cubed lamb leg or shoulder

1 cup olive oil

¼ cup chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

3 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped

Chop the lamb into 1” cubes. I actually used shoulder here – there was about 4 pounds or so of boneless shoulder, but there’s a lot of fat on there, so I’d imagine using boneless leg of lamb would have a lot less waste. I trimmed off the fat cap and a lot of the excess fat.

Real tough process here, stay with me guys: stick everything into a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

If using wooden skewers, soak them in cold water for at least an hour before putting the meat on. Remove meat from marinade – I used my hands to remove excess herbs, but wanted to leave the oil on so I could chuck these right on the grill. Slide the meat onto your skewers, leaving a small gap between each piece.

Preheat a gas grill up to about 500°F (side note – this is what the built in thermometer on my Weber says, no idea if that wholly accurate. But yeah, get it hot). Add the meat and turn the heat down a bit – aim for 400 to 450°F for your grill temperature. Cook until medium rare, approximately 10 minutes, flipping a few times along the way.

Potatoes:

2 russet potatoes

1 tablespoon duck fat

Salt and pepper

Clean off the potatoes and chop into large chunks. Toss with duck fat (really get in there with your hands and coat them) and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 50 minutes at 425°F, flipping halfway through.

Veggies:

12-15 crimini mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 red onion

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Wash everything off, and remove the stems from the mushrooms. Chop the peppers and the onion into rectangles large enough to put on skewers. I did 3 mushrooms on a skewer, with a piece of onion, red bell pepper and green bell pepper in between. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Throw these on the grill for 15 minutes at around 400-450°F.

Tzatziki:

1 clove garlic

¼ very large cucumber, peeled and seeded

1.5 cups greek yogurt

½ tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

½ tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1.5 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and black pepper to taste

Place the garlic clove, still in its sleeve, onto a cast iron skillet and cook over medium for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally until blackened in spots. Remove and let cool.

Dice the cucumber and place in a strainer set on top of a bowl. Salt the cucumber and let sit for ½ an hour.

Remove the husk from the cooled garlic, dice it and add to a bowl, along with yogurt, dill, parsley and lemon juice. Once the cucumber has had its water drawn out, add it as well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and refrigerate until ready to use.

Striped Sea Bass with Roasted Vegetables, Wheat Berries and Carrot Puree

 

This week’s theme is ‘ingredients you hated as a kid’ so basically vegetable week. I always hated carrots above all other vegetables, until I discovered that you could roast them and make them delicious. Or braisem the in red wine, that’s always a winner. I added some other kid-hated foods to round out the meal, brussels sprouts and fish, which apparently a lot of kids hate but I always loved fish and my mom never actually cooked brussels sprouts until recently. I wanted to make this with farro, but the supermarket was out so I saw these wheat berries and figured why not. Can’t say I’m a fan of them myself, but I wanted to try something different.

Carrot Puree

1 lb. carrots

1 cup white wine

2 shallots, sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt

pepper

water

Roast the carrots at 400°F for 40 minutes. Add to a food processor along with all the other ingredients except for the salt, pepper and water. Process to a puree and pour in water as needed to get your desired consistency.

Roasted Vegetables

Brussels Sprouts

Bacon fat

Thyme

Carrots

Duck fat

Rosemary

Salt and pepper

Cut the brussels sprouts in half and remove the outer leaves. Toss with bacon fat, and season with salt and pepper and place in a baking pan. Lay some thyme on top – I would have thrown a clove of garlic in there, but I was all out (a culinary sin, I know).

Clean the carrots off and toss with duck fat, salt and pepper. Place in a separate baking dish along with rosemary and garlic if you want.

Roast the carrots at 425°F for 45 minutes, flipping halfway through. Roast the brussel sprouts at 425°F for 25 minutes. Discard herbs.

Wheat Berries

½ cup pre-steamed wheat berries

1 ¼ cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt

This is for pre-steamed wheat berries which cook quicker than the plain jane ones – I think those take an hour and a half or so. These are easy though – bring your stock to a boil, add some salt and add in the wheat berries. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. They will be a little chewy, but tender. Strain, then toss with lemon juice and olive oil.

Fish:

Striped sea bass filets

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Cut slits across the skin of the sea bass so that the skin will not curl up when cooking. Season with salt and pepper on both sides, making sure to rub some in the slits.

Heat a pan over medium high, and add olive oil. Cook the filets starting skin side down, for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until cooked through. Times will vary depending on the thickness of your filet – if you do this with a very thick fish you may want to finish it in the oven.

Place a spoonful of carrot puree on the plate and drag a spoon through it to get that neat swoosh looking effect. Place vegetables on top, then place the wheat berries in the empty part of the plate and lean the fish on top.

Succotash Burgers

I’m more familiar with succotash as half of a Looney Toons catchphrase rather than a dish, but I saw a recipe for succotash burgers that seemed like a great summer meal. Being unfamiliar with succotash, much less making it into burgers, I didn’t deviate too far from the basic recipe although I did opt for a remoulade sauce that was an amalgamation of what I had around the kitchen.

It should be noted that shaping the patties – and keeping them from falling apart – is not the easiest task in the world. The original recipe called for 1 egg to help bind the mixture, but I ended up needing 2. Also, I had a few uncooked patties I left in the fridge overnight – these seemed to stay together a little better, so if you have some extra time consider extending the 30 minutes of refrigeration that the recipe calls for.

Burgers:

2/3 cup uncooked lima beans

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 ears corn (about 1.5 cups)

2 green onions, sliced thin

½ cup diced red pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 cup panko bread crumbs (plus more for dredging)

1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

2 eggs

Salt

Pepper

Sliced Vidalia onion

Tomato slices

6 kaiser rolls

Remoulade (recipe follows)

Heat a pot of water and drop in the lima beans. Bring to a boil, boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand, covered for 1 hour.

Place the beans in a food processor with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and pulse until finely chopped (but not mush).

Meanwhile, shuck the corn and remove the kernels. Place in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and rinse under cold water. Place in a large bowl along with the gren onions, red pepper, garlic, bread crumbs, cheese, eggs, lima beans, and some salt and pepper. Work the mixture with your hands, and make 6 patties. Cover and refrigerate the patties for half an hour.

Heat a skillet over medium, and add in a splash of olive oil. Cook for onion slices for a few minutes, until softened and they get a little color to them. Remove from the pan, add a little more oil if you think you need it and add the burgers (you’ll need to do this in two batches) and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes a side.

Toast the rolls/buns while the burgers cook. Top each burger with a slice of tomato, onions, and spread some remoulade on the bun.

Remoulade:

1 cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon bbq seasoning

¼ teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon relish

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 teaspoon deli style mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in small food processor. Pulse to combine. Refrigerate extra.

Mango and Papaya Gazpacho

Gazpacho season is here, because frankly it’s too hot to turn the oven on. This recipe is an adaptation of Daniel Humm’s Strawberry Gazpacho that I’ve made before.  The basil I used was basil ararat from my garden, which turns from purple to green once it has been growing for a while (and my plant is getting quite large), hence why the purple basil listed in the ingredients below is green in the photos.

Mango and Papaya Gazpacho:

3 mangoes, peeled and diced

1 papaya, seeds removed, rind removed, diced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced

1 medium red bell pepper, seeds removed, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, seeds removed, diced

1 tomato, diced

2 green onions, sliced

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1.5 teaspoons salt

½ cup extra virgin olive oil (use the good stuff for this)

2 cups bread chunks (i.e. 1” dice -  I used a large Italian style roll)

If ever you wanted to practice your knife work, here’s your chance. There’s no need to make this look perfect, so precision is not needed. For the mangoes, peel the skins off them, then cut the sides of the flesh off as close to the pit as you can. Dice and add to a large bowl.

For the papayas, split them into quarters (skin on), then use a spoon to scoop out the black seeds. Using a spoon or a knife, loose the flesh from the skin, roughly dice and add to the bowl with the mangoes.

Cut everything else that needs to be cut, and add to the same bowl, along with the vinegar, salt, olive oil and bread chunks, and give it a good mix with your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temp for 4 to 6 hours.

After the ingredients have sufficiently marinated, pour everything into a blender (you’ll need to do this in 2 batches) and blend until smooth. Add to a large bowl. If the consistency is too thick, add some water to thin it out. Refrigerate until chilled before serving.

Croutons:

2 cups diced bread (1” or so dice – Italian or French baguette works great)

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic

4 sprigs fresh thyme

Heat a large pan over medium, add oil and give it a sec to get warm, then add the bread, garlic and thyme. Give it a good toss to coat the bread and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the bread starts to get crispy.

Mango Confit:

1 mango, diced

¼ cup Vermouth, or dry white wine

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mango pieces offer little resistance to a fork. Strain out excess liquid.

Basil Oil:

1/3 cup Genovese basil leaves (regular green basil)

¼ cup olive oil

Blanch the basil leaves in boiling water for 10 seconds, remove and rinse under cold water. Add to a dish (pyrex measuring cup works well here) with the oil and blitz with a stick blender. Strain through a small strainer to remove excess solids. Let sit for 15 minutes before using.

To serve:

Gazpacho

Croutons

Mango Confit

Slice of Serrano Ham

Purple Basil Leaves (Ararat Basil)

Basil Oil

Coriander Flowers

Goose Egg Quiche

This week’s theme is local ingredients, so I hit up a store which has nothing but local/organic ingredients in search of emu eggs, which they’ve carried before. I guess it’s not emu egg-laying season, because they were all out, but I settled on goose eggs from Newberry, Pa. and proceeded to fork out as much for 2 of these bad boys as 2 cartons of chicken eggs would cost. Luckily, the always fantastic Iovine Brothers produce also had local ingredients, so I was able to get some local squash, mushrooms, and bok choy to add to the proceedings.

The gruyere is the secret ingredient here – this was the best tasting quiche I’ve ever had and the cheese is the reason why. The goose eggs taste like chicken eggs, so don’t waste the money on them unless you’re looking for a novelty post for your food blog…

Tart Shell (Pate brisée):

6 oz. all purpose flour

1 stick (4 oz.) butter

1 to 2 oz. ice water

¼ teaspoon salt

Add the flour, butter and salt to a food processor and pulse. With the processor running, pour in the water – start with 1 oz. (about 1/8 cup) and go from there until a dough forms.

Remove the dough from the processor, wrap it in wax paper, and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Flour a working surface and roll the dough out into a circle big enough to fit in a 9.5” pan. Butter and flour a 9.5” pie pan, and lay the dough into it. Cut off any excess overhang. Place the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Place a piece of tin foil over the dough and weigh down with beans or small stones. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and pie weights, and bake for 5 minutes more.

I forgot to take a picture of the tart shell after blind baking it, so this will have to do

Filling:

2 goose eggs (or 4 chicken eggs)

½ green squash, quartered lengthwise then sliced thin

5 crimini mushrooms, chopped into chunks

1 bunch of bok choy – separate the leaves from the stems, chop the stems into pieces similar sized to the squash, and the leafy bits into a few pieces each

1 clove garlic, diced

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup gruyere cheese

Salt and pepper

Cut your veggies, then preheat a 12” pan over medium heat. Add in 1 tablespoon olive oil and add in the mushrooms, squash, and bok choy stems. Season lightly with salt. Sautee over medium for 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and bok choy leaves and cook for 2 minutes longer.

Add the cooked ingredients to a bowl along with the heavy cream and gruyere. Beat your eggs until all the yolks/whites are incorporated and add to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake at 425°F for 25 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it at around the 20 minute mark – if you notice the top starts to brown, lay a piece of tin foil over the quiche so the top doesn’t get too dark.  

Goose vs. Chicken

Here's what these bad boys look when they're cracked open - yes I did notice the piece of shell/membrane right after taking this picture.

Other filling ingredients

Before cooking

Fresh out of the oven