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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Twelve in Ten Challenge: Making a Lamb Dish




Ryan and I added "making a lamb dish" to our Twelve in Ten Challenge list because we share a fondness for all things lamb but have never made it at home. We love to frequent the neighborhood gyro house and we never go to P.F. Changs without ordering the wok-seared lamb, but we hadn't ever really considered making it ourselves until we came up with this challenge. This month, we decided, was the month to tackle the lamb.

I have to say, this was more Ryan's feat than mine. I took care of the side dishes, but Ryan found the lamb recipe and did all of the cooking required. We enjoyed the lamb, pita bread, and tabbouleh along with a bottle of wine leftover from our wedding. Our good friends joined us for the meal while we wrapped up vacation plans for the trip we are currently on!

The verdict? This lamb was good! Ryan had to cut the lamb into smaller "grillable" pieces and the inevitable unevenness of some of them allowed for a few of the pieces to be slightly undercooked, but hey--it was his first try! The pieces that DID cook completely (the majority of them, I promise!) were great, wonderfully seasoned and a fabulous change from your standard steak or pork.

The mint yogurt sauce made for a great marinade, but we all agreed that the sauce was a little overpowering when added to the lamb. I would have preferred that the yogurt sauce have less spice and more of a lime flavor, so next time maybe we'll make a separate marinade and dipping sauce.

All in all, it was fun to try a new meal and check another thing off of our Challenge! Can't wait to see what's in store for April...

Lamb with Mint Yogurt Dipping Sauce
recipe from the Food Network

Ingredients:
-1 rack of boneless lamb legs
-1 cup plain yogurt (we used Greek yogurt)
-1 lime, juiced
-3 cloves garlic
-1 cup fresh mint leaves
-salt
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp paprika

Directions:

The Day Before-

1. Cut the lamb into equal sized pieces.

2. Prepare yogurt sauce by mixing the above ingredients (yogurt through paprika).

3. Place lamb "steaks" into a large bowl. Pour 1/2 of the prepared sauce over the lamb, making sure each piece is completely covered.

4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The Day Of-
1. Remove lamb from the refrigerator and prepare grill.
2. Grill lamb and cook to desired doneness.
3. Serve lamb with remainder of yogurt dipping sauce on the side (forgot to get a picture of the sauce with the lamb!)