Braised Lamb with Chickpeas

From one of my favorite food bloggers, Mark Matsumoto, comes this delectable recipe for Braised Lamb with Chickpeas.  Serve with lavash, yogurt, and mint.  Eyes will roll.

Grilling bonanza!

This weekend was a lovely excuse to steal away to the country and hijack my parents' patio BBQ for some grilling gratification. The menu was:

Grilled zucchini rolls with herbed goat cheese
Local tomatoes with mozzarella and fresh basil
Sweet corn on the cob
Rosemary & Dijon grilled butterflied leg of lamb
Grilled summer peaches with vanilla bean ice cream

You can survey the spoils below. The last image is of a leftover salad I made the following day, with corn, tomato, basil, crispy bacon, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, cayenne, salt & pepper. So sweet and zippy, I highly recommend this combination!

Chicken pizza?!!

Yes, folks, you read that right: Chicken pizza. Or, really, chicken lamejun. Lamejun is a flatbread made in Armenia and Turkey that is typically topped with ground lamb, onion, and spices chopped finely into a paste. This non-traditional version, again taken from Ana Sortun's "Spice," is a wonderful adaptation. Imagine an aromatic chicken meatball spread all over a thin piece of bread (called lavash). Having just acquired an 11-cup Cuisinart food processor (thanks, Mom!), I thought I would take it for a test drive with this simple recipe:

Chicken Lamejun with Roasted Red Peppers, Pistachios, and Za'atar
(makes 4 large lamejun)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small Spanish onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 scallions, trimmed and minced
1 teaspoon za'atar (see previous post)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg white
1/4 cup milk
1 cup toasted and ground pistachios
4 rectangular pieces of lavash
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 roasted red peppers, deseeded, skinned, and sliced into strips
Homemade labneh (see previous post) for serving

1. Trim chicken breasts of any cartilage or fat and cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes.
2. Grind the chicken in a food processor until you get a smooth paste, for about 1 minute.
3. Use the pulse button to add in the onion and scallions, za'atar, salt, and egg white.
4. Remove the mixture to a small bowl, and stir in the milk and pistachios.
5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
6. Spread a thin, even layer of the chicken mixture onto each lavash, all the way to the edges.
7. Put the lamejuns on a baking sheet or a pizza stone (or even in a baking dish that is too small, so the ends hang over the sides - you'll end up with a bowl-shaped lamejun!) and bake for about 15 minutes, until the lavash is crisp and the chicken mixture is totally cooked (it should be completely firm).
8. Serve each lamejun with a few red pepper strips and a dollop of labneh cheese.

Dan enjoyed his lamejun!

SPiCE II

I'm still totally digging this cookbook, Spice, and have finally stopped drooling long enough to produce one of its recipes: "Spoon Lamb," alongside a jeweled basmati rice pilaf of my own invention and the previously mentioned roasted chickpeas. While I would love to share with you all the exact steps I took to make this ridiculously delicious braised lamb dish, I fear copyright law infringement and will therefore keep this vague and picture-laden. Please note, the photos are courtesy of Kat Cheng Photography, and they're awesome. Check out Kat's site for other amazing photographs of non-edibles.

Some lamb highlights:
1. The butcher cut the lamb shoulder chops to order, as requested, in 2-inch thick crosswise pieces, with a really scary table saw.
2. After browning the lamb and sprinkling it with fresh ground cumin, I braised it in red wine with some vegetables for 3 hours, totally unattended. Meaning: Ultimate couch-potato time with Dan!
3. The sauce I later made from the strained braising liquid included a never-before-used ingredient: pomegranate molasses. Very tart, and good when counterbalanced with the acidity of lemon juice and the richness of butter.
4. The lamb consumption was accompanied by grateful moans. Always a good sign :)

"spoon lamb" with jeweled rice pilaf and crunchy roasted chickpeas