Dining In: Spring Mediterranean Lamb Dinner

Spring is here officially, though it's hard to tell by looking at all the bare trees. I'm anxious to start eating fresh local produce again, but it will be a few more weeks before that is possible. In the meantime, I created a lighter, spring-ish dinner to tide me over until more options are available.

Around this time of the year, I start thinking about lamb. Grilled lamb skewers and cous cous are one my all-time favorite duos, so I created a light Mediterranean menu of grilled leg of lamb, cous cous with chickpeas, a citrusy arugula salad, and a mint-almond chutney, all with ingredients which can easily be obtained right now.    

I purchased a half leg of lamb from Sgaglios in Katonah and had the guys there butcher it into 2 inch pieces which I could marinade and skewer. They were happy to do this, so make things easier on yourself and call ahead to have them do it.  

Yogurt is a wonderful ingredient to marinade lamb. Not only does it do an excellent job of tenderizing the tough leg meat, but it adds flavor and handles the heat of the grill nicely, allowing the lamb to carmelize on the outside. One can add other flavors to the yogurt, such as garlic, rosemary, lemon, cumin, coriander. This time around I added ground cardamom, chili and lemon to the marinade.

I grilled the skewered meat in my grill pan, rather than on my charcoal grill outside due to the recent rainy weather. The lamb grilled nicely in the pan, though the smokiness of a charcoal grill would have added to the flavor.  

To serve alongside the lamb and cous cous, I made a green salad with North African flavors of dried cherries, feta, almonds and an orange-sherry vinaigrette. The tart, chilled salad paired nicely with the warm cous cous and spiced lamb.

Finally, I made a delicious mint chutney which can be served drizzled over the lamb or served on the side; this makes an excellent addition to a lamb dinner, whether you prepare the lamb skewers or your own favorite lamb recipe.    

Mediterranean Salad with Almond, Feta and Cherry

Serves 6

1 container baby arugula

½ cup dried tart cherries

½ cup crumbled feta

¼ cup toasted almond slices

orange-sherry vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

Toss the arugula with ¼ cup of the vinaigrette, or to taste.  Sprinkle the cherries, feta and almonds over the top.

Orange-Sherry Vinaigrette

1/3  cup orange juice

¼ cup sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a blender, mix the orange juice, vinegar and mustard together until blended well.  With the blender speed on low, slowly add the olive oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Keep up to one week in the refrigerator.

Cous Cous with Chickpeas

Serves 6

3 cups cous cous

boiling water – about 1 ½ - 2 cups

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup canned chickpeas or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place the cous cous in a medium to large bowl.  Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and mix into the cous cous with your hands, until it is evenly distributed.  This will keep it from sticking when cooked.  Boil the water with 1 teaspoon of salt in the water.  After it comes to a boil, pour the water over the cous cous until it just covers it, no more.  Immediately cover the bowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and leave it alone for 15-20 minutes to steam it. 

After the cous cous has steamed, fluff it with a fork or your clean fingers.  Add the lemon juice, olive oil, chickpeas and cilantro and mix with a large spoon.  Season as needed with salt and pepper – I usually add an additional 1/12 – 1 teaspoon of salt.  You can also add additional olive oil if you prefer it more moist.

Grilled Lamb Skewers with Yogurt and Cardamom 

Serves 4-6

2 ½ - 3 pounds leg of lamb (about ½ leg), cut into 2 inch pieces

1 cup plain yogurt; Greek yogurt preferably

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground chili pepper

juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for the grill

salt and freshly ground pepper

bamboo skewers

Mix the yogurt with the yogurt with the cardamom, chili pepper, lemon juice and olive oil.  Add the lamb the yogurt mixture and mix in well to cover all of the lamb.  Cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours. 

After marinating, use your hands or a paper towel to remove most of the marinade from the lamb. Soak the bamboo skewers in water to keep them from burning.   Place 4 pieces of lamb on each skewer.  Heat the grill or grill pan on high.  Season the skewers with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper generously.  Cook the lamb for 3-4 minutes on each side for medium rare.  Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Mint Chutney

1 cup orange juice

¼ cup maple syrup

juice of ½ lemon

½ cup toasted almond slices

1 bunch mint

pinch cayenne pepper

Boil the orange juice in a sauce pan until it reduces to ¼ cup, about 15-20 minutes over high heat.  Stir it occasionally.  After it has reduced, add the maple syrup, stir and remove from heat.  Allow to cool.

In a blender, add the mint, almonds, cayenne, lemon juice and orange juice mixture.  Blend together until you have a smooth sauce.  You can add salt and pepper as desired, though I found it fine without either.