Za'atar Crusted Leg of Lamb - Dinner Ideas

Hello readers!I decided to share another dinner idea, My family loves when I make lamb for dinner. It is something that I learned while working at Hi Rise Bread Co, serving a variety of lamb dishes for take out dinner and I got pretty good at it.

a close view of za'atar spice blend 

I love cooking with Middle Eastern spices. And Za'atar ou Zaatar is a wonderfully tangy, herb-forward Middle Eastern traditional spice blend. Za'atar is  very versatile,it can be used on meat,veggies,rice,bread,in dipping oil.. It's a  mixture of dried herbs, sesame seeds, and sumac, and often salt, a centuries-old mixture dating back to the 13th century, at least. What those herbs are and how all those ingredients are proportioned changes from culture to culture and family to family. In much of the Middle East, za'atar recipes are closely guarded secrets, and there are also substantial regional variations. In Jordan, the za'atar is particularly heavy on the sumac, so it looks red. Lebanese za'atar may have dried orange zest; Israeli za'atar (adopted from Arab communities much like the American adoption of salsa) often includes dried dill. But

there are some standards: the most common herbs are thyme and oregano and they make up the bulk of the blend. Marjoram, mint, sage, or savory are also common. You can buy za'atar at a local Middle Eastern Market or at gourmet or spice stores like Penzeys,Christina spices in Cambridge,Ma or at Dean and DeLuca online store.
Give it a try and use some Za'atar in your kitchen, I bet you will like it!

Za'atar Crusted Leg Of Lamb

Ingredients
1- 5lbs to 6 lbs of boneless leg of lamb
3 springs of fresh rosemary leaves picked
5 cloves garlic cut in lengthwise in smaller  pieces
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup za'atar
salt
pepper



How to make it:
preheat oven to 300F
Make incisions into the lamb with a small paring knife.Stuff the rosemary and garlic deep down into the incisions you have made.
Tie the lamb with butcher twine for a more even cook.
Pour olive oil liberally over the lamb and rub in with your hand, sprinkle with salt and pepper all over and rub a good amount of za'atar all over the lamb.
Place the lamb into the preheated oven at 300F for one hour. After one hour lower the oven to 220F and check the lamb every hour basting with the juices from the lamb all over it using a pastry brush.
The total cook time for the lamb will be about 5 - 5:30 hours depending on the size of the lamb and the oven you are using. What we are looking here is a very tender leg of lamb, you can insert a small knife on the top and if you encounter no resistance that means the lamb is ready. Take out the oven. There is no need to rest the meat when cooked this way. Tranfer to a platter slice it and its ready to be served.
For the sides, couscous and roasted cauliflower with wilted arugula or spinach will go really well.
Enjoy,

Pri =)

 Stuffing with garlic and rosemary

Ready for oven! if you have a few extra garlic and rosemary you can place the in your roasting pan as well with the lamb

Lamb already sliced. Unfortunately ,I forgot to take a picture before slicing 

Pan Seared Halibut with Cherry Tomato Chutney

Monday morning, I was working in the kitchen prepping with my husband for a tasting he was going to have at The Water Works Museum a new venue for us. And I know how hard he works and how important this tasting was for him. While he was searing this beautiful black cod for the tasting he was mentioning to another co-worker how much he likes fish and what type of fish he likes and Halibut is on the favorite fish list.
After work when I went grocery shopping.They had this great looking Halibut at Whole Foods and also and pretty good looking cherry tomatoes, so that's how Monday's dinner took its shape. I also wanted to reward my husband for working so hard and since It's been a while I've posted a something savory here, and I decided to share this recipe with you.

Pan Seared Halibut with Cherry Tomato Chutney

Ingredients for the Chutney

1 pint of cherry tomatoes,quartered

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 brown sugar 

1/4 cup red onions, small diced

1/4 cup yellow or red bell pepper, small diced

1/2 Jalapeno, minced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon coriander 

a pinch of salt & pepper  

a pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoon of parsley chopped

How to make it

On a sauce pot over medium heat add the rice vinegar and sugar, stir often until it has cooked down to a syrup consistence.

Add the onions,peppers,jalapeno,spices,salt and pepper.Let it cook for 5 minutes and add the tomatoes. Keep stirring frequently  once the tomatoes start to get soft, lower the heat and cook for about 10 more minutes or until it gets thicker like a chuncky jam consistence remove from heat add parsley and adjust salt and pepper as needed.

For the fish

4 6oz to 8oz portions of Halibut 

preheat oven to 350 F

Brush the fish with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper all over.In a large skillet add olive oil in high moderated heat wait until the oil gets hot and the Halibut presentation side down sear for about 3 min or until it gets a golden brown color.Using a fish spatula flip it over cook the other side of the fish for 2-3 min.

And finish the fish in the oven for about 5-6 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145F.Transfer the halibut to plates and topped with chutney

For sides you can do something as simple as roasted potatoes and braised swiss chards with go really well with it.

Enjoy!

Pri =)

pretty cherry tomatoes

You want to add your tomatoes at this point 

Really close to be done

Yum!

And by the way I just heard that we got accepted to work on that venue. Great news!

Fig & Chai Tea Bread - Holiday Baking

First... Sorry for not posting anything here for a while, to be  more specifically since before our 2 week vacation in November. Maybe I should write a blog post about places to visit and eat in Portland and Chicago we had such a great time and we ate delicious food everywhere we went.

Well but for now let's post something useful for the Holidays.

Holiday baking  can be a great way to create personal homemade gifts for people you care about, without getting exhausted by holiday shopping plus it will leave your kitchen smelling so deliciously great.You won't break the bank and can avoid lines and parking lot panic by spending an afternoon at home instead of the mall specially if you are expecting to get hit by a snow storm inside in a warm kitchen is the best place to be.

This year I tried this new recipe for a holiday tea bread and we wrapped with a jar of my winter jam flavor.A Great gift for family, friends and co-workers.


For this recipe I used paper loaf pan  you can order from amazon or buy at your favorite baking supplies store.
these are the ones I used : 6 inch by 2.5 inch by 2 inch loaf pan



Fig and Chai Tea Bread
(this recipe makes about 3 loaf of the size above) 

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups  organic all purpose flour
1 cup of dark brown sugar 
2/3 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of ground clove
1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
 a pinch of salt
1 cup of chopped fresh figs
1 cup strong chai tea *see notes
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
a couple of quartered figs to decorate on the top


*  Strong Chai tea: boil 1 1/4 cup of water add 4 bags of chai tea of your choice one cinnamon stick and 1/2 teaspoon of whole cloves and zests of an orange and  let it steep at least an hour, strain it before using  

How to make it:

Buttered your loaf pans and preheat the oven to 350 F.

In your mixer  cream the butter and sugar well and add one egg at a time, beat well. Add the vanilla extract and  the mix.

Mix the salt, baking soda, and spices to the flour and  add the milk to the chai tea

Add the flour mix and the chai/milk to the mixer in 3 parts alternating. 

Gently fold in the chopped figs

Pour batter into the prepared pans, place the quartered figs on top of the batter and press down gently into the batter so they will stay where you want them

Then bake for 50 minutes  or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

 Once is cool off wrap them in cellophane, use some baker's twine and stickers or make your own label to make it pretty. And it's

ready! Enjoy.

Pri

get all of you ingredients

Fig Chai Tea Bread factory in my kitchen

Ready!

Fall recipes - Thai Carrot Soup

Here it's me, proudly showing off my homegrown carrots
 

Recently, I was able to harvest a pretty big amount of awesome looking carrots out of the garden. It's one thing that totally makes my morning to go out to the garden and pull out of the soil something that I planted as a tiny seed and now it's this beautiful vegetable that I can cook and make a dish for my family to enjoy

Carrots are a good source of fiber, vitamin C and potassium, as well as vitamin B6, folate, and several minerals including calcium and magnesium .Also they are are an excellent source of beta-carotene. Beta carotene is important for eyesight, skin health, and normal growth.One thing that a lot people don't know about is that The leaves of carrot are considered edible and are highly nutritive, rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. They contain 6 times the vitamin C of the root and are a great source of potassium and calcium. A simple use of them is to mix some in with a mixed green salad, or add to coleslaw. You may also use it for garnish or as a substitute to parsley. Combine your common sense and your creative skills, and invent something! That's what makes cooking fun. It is a form of art. 

So, I will share this recipe  with you that I made the other day is my version of the Thai Carrot Soup that my husband made for Amuse course last Valentine's Day dinner.

Thai Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

(makes about 5 portions) 

  1 medium yellow onion ,small dice

    1  celery stalk ,small diced

    1 garlic clove, chopped

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    1 lb carrot, cut in 1-inch pieces

    1 inch piece fresh ginger , peeled and chopped

    1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

    1/2 teaspoon of carrots tops, chopped

    1/4 teaspoon of turmeric

    1/4 coriander

    1/4 teaspoon of hot paprika

    3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock for a vegetarian version

    1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

    2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

    1 cup coconut milk, 

    salt and pepper added as needed

For garnish: cilantro leaves, carrot tops, roasted cashews, sour cream

How to make it:

In a large soup pot, saute onion, celery and garlic in oil, over medium heat, stirring so as not to let the onions burn
Add the carrots, ginger, red pepper flakes,the carrot tops,all the spices and the stock, and simmer covered, for about 40 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to mix well.Add salt and pepper as needed 
Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it is smooth
Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with, chopped cashews,cilantro leaves,a carrot top leaf and a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy,

Pri =)

Onion, celery and garlic sauteing in oil 

Just added the carrots, crushed red pepper, spices, stock , put a lit on and let it simmer for 40 min

Make sure to hame a smooth texture

Ready to serve! Add a couple slices of toasted baguette, if you desi