How to Roast a Lamb

Michael Psilakis' new book "How to Roast a Lamb" is not really about lamb. Eventhough there are a few great lamb recipes in the book, it;s more about his Greek heritage and the wonderful food that he was brought up with.
You don't really come across too many good Greek cookbooks that often. Recently, a great book by Phaidon called "Vefa's Kitchen" came out that was traditional recipes. Claimed to be the bible of greek food. But Psilakis' book is more of a modern twist to traditional reciles, a bit more contemporary. The book is filled with family memories and the recipes that go along with them. The one thing I love about Greek food is the simplicity and freshness. Minimal ingredients, with bright ingredients ad any Mediterrainian cuisine should be like.
Here is what we cooked.

Tomato and String Bean Salad
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Shrimp with Orzo and Tomato
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Roast Leg of Lamb
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Potatoes, Olives, Capers with Anchovy Vinaigrette
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Yogurt with Quince and Almonds


First course was pretty much what it sounds like. Blanched green beans and chopped up tomatoes with some thinly sliced red onion. The one thing that really brought this dish together was the vinaigrette. The red wine and feta vinaigrette really made it. I love this greek thing with feta in a vinaigrette. The cheese soaks up the flavours of the vinegar, shallots and garlic and then tossed with the vegetables is so delicious, simple and fresh.
Of course, it is the beginning of march and I'm using hothouse tomatoes that are not the greatest. It just reminds me, along with the current nice weather, that summer is around the corner, and if using fresh local ingredients, this is the perfect salad to
showcase fresh product. Using a variety of different tomatoes in season would not only boost the colour and visual, but is a great way to utilize the different kinds we get here in Quebec.
I have NO complaints about this salad. I didn't change anything about it except I didn't have any yellow beans. It was dead simple and everyone loved it. A great quick weeknight meal. Keep with the Greek theme and add a bit of grilled fish with it. Would be a super lunch!

Next was a pasta dish. Orzo is not a really common pasta used by many people. It is a rice shaped pasta used in Italian, Greek and Turkish cooking. It is common in soups and salads, but this time, on its own with some prawns and tomatoes. We cooked it like you would cook pasta. Drained and set aside. Sauteed onion, garlic and tomatoes were cooked together and the orzo and prawns added back in. Lastly some baby spinach was tossed in and barely wilted. Finally we topped it with feta cheese and it was done. A simple pasta dish utilizing a different pasta shape that I love. Not sure if this is really that Greek, but Greek and Italian cuisine can cross over a lot and similar in many ways. I'm not complaining.

I didn't want to disappoint people and not cook lamb for this class. So I figured I would do what the book says. I taught them how to roast a lamb. Not a whole lamb though, just the leg.
We did just what the recipe called for. Butterfly the leg and stuff it. It was stuffed with a mixture of sun dried tomatoes, olives, lots of herbs, and garlic. It was pureed in the food processor and smeared all inside the lamb. It was then tied up and placed in the fridge to marinate a bit and firm up a bit. We skipped this step. I just put it into the oven. The remaining stuffing was put in the bottom of the roasting pan with a bit of water and whisked together to make a sort of sauce. The lamb was placed on a rack, seam side up, which I thought was a good idea. This way, when cooking, the marinade doesn't seep out of the lamb, it melts into the meat instead.
One problem I had with this recipe was the cooking temperature and time. The recipe said to cook it for 1 hour at 375*. I did this, for the first hour! But it was not cooked. I don't think the meat I bought was not much bigger than what the recipe called for either. So I had to bump up the temperature to 400* and I think in total, it took at least 1 hour 40 minutes. It threw my timing off. Not only that, but he mentions that the internal temperature for medium rare is 140*. I cooked to 135* because I could not wait, and it was medium well, which is fine for me. I'm not a big fan of leg of lamb at medium rare. So again, it internal temperature was off.
But besides that, The lamb tasted great. It was juicy and really flavourful with the briny herbiness of the stuffing. If you decide to make it though, watch the timing. it'll take you longer than the recipe says.
On the side we prepared an exceptionally briny vegetable dish. Potatoes with olives, capers, caperberries and Anchovy vinaigrette. The potatoes, capers and olives were placed in a saute pan and tossed together to warm. Seperatley in the food processor, i added in anchovy, shallots, lots of fresh herbs, dijon and vinegar and olive oil. It was buzzed up until smooth and then drizzled into the sauteed vegetables. It looked like a typical mediteranian dish with the capers and olives. Paired with the lamb, it was a well rounded dish.

Lastly was the dessert. There are NO desserts in this book. Lately I have come across a few books with no desserts. Is this a new trend?
Lucky there was one very traditional dessert that was there using good thick greek yogurt with quince and almonds. Due to the lack of quince this time of year, instead of cooking down and candying fresh quince, I opted for a simple bought quince jelly. The recipe also called for Jordan almonds, but i bought regular almonds. It was a simple preparation with the yogurt, quince on top, with crushed almonds. I loved this yogurt, it was mousse like with the perfect amount of sour. The Quince jelly balanced with the sweetness and the almonds gave it some crunch. A perfect end to a rather heavy meal.

I'm a big fan of this book. I could open to any page and cook that recipe. The flavours are fresh, cooking techniques are simple and the result is tasty. I think everyone enjoyed all the dishes, even though we had to wait for the lamb. But it was worth it.

Next class: Basic Thai Cooking