Saturday, July 16, 2011

A Little Lamb


Lamb is my all-time favourite meat, but due to its high cost I don't very often indulge my taste for it. That's about to change.

Late in the spring, we bought half a lamb from a friend who raises sheep. The other day Mr. M finally picked up the meat from the butcher, and now the freezer is literally crammed with the delicious stuff. Chops, roasts, stew meat, ground lamb - we're rich in tender savoury bits of formerly woolly goodness.

We kicked off our lambfest last night with lamburgers. (I don't know if that's a real word but it sounds great, doesn't it?)

Spiced lamburgers, ready to sizzle

The ground lamb was mixed with a glorious hodgepodge of all the appropriate spices I could think of: minced fresh ginger and garlic; coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne; salt and pepper; chopped fresh chives and parsley; and a generous handful of cooked quinoa for extra tenderness and protein (and just because I felt like it).

Tzatziki would be the perfect accompaniment, but not having any goat yoghurt on hand (cow's milk does not agree with the Micawber tummy) I compromised by souring a little cream, thinning with rice milk, and adding chopped cucumber and sweet red pepper. The leftover cucumber and pepper were drizzled with vinaigrette and sprinkled with lemon thyme.

Rich and sizzling, the lamburgers reposed in luxury on a bed of Romaine from my sister's garden. Quickly-fried flatbread completed the meal. (Try saying "quickly-fried flatbread" ten times, fast.)


All we lacked were fresh tomatoes.  Soon, soon.

It was pretty tasty.

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4 comments:

  1. What a delightful meal. We frequently see the word 'lamburgers' here. Did you grow the red pepper and cucumber yourself?

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  2. I love lamb! And I love your hotchpotch of spices too! I lived two years in Greece (many moons ago) and you have made me quite nostalgic.

    This is a lovely blog. I shall be back.

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  3. Thanks Toffeeapple - Anglophile that I am, I've never run across "lamburger". And no to the growing of my own peppers and cukes here, although I've grown them successfully elsewhere. I don't have good luck with cucumbers here - the ones that escape gnawing by chipmunks tend to be bitter - must be the soil? And peppers are so touchy, needing just the right soil and moisture levels, that I don't even try. If I had a big garden I might give them a shot but my space is very limited so I stick to things I know will work.

    Stephanie - merci du compiment et bienvenu!

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  4. I can't even say quickly fried flatbed once slow!

    I'm not a big meat fanatic, but the spices you put in the lamburgers sure make me want to at least nip a taste...

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