Best Mediterranean Lamb Recipes

MEDITERRANEAN LAMB AND LENTIL STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the lamb cubes and bones and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add onion and garlic and continue cooking about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Stir in the lentils, 2 cups of the chicken broth, tomatoes, carrots and the thyme, sage and basil. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender but not quite done, stirring occasionally. Depending on the type and freshness of the lentils, this will take from 15 to 30 minutes. If the stew seems dry, add more broth (up to one cup additional). Discard the lamb bones.
• Add the spinach and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Garnish individual servings with some of the crumbled cheese.

MEDITERRANEAN RACK OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Place lamb in a shallow roasting pan. In small bowl, combine the lemon zest, oregano, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Rub over lamb., Bake 30-40 minutes or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°; medium, 140°; medium-well, 145°). Let stand 5 minutes before cutting. If desired, serve with fresh oregano and lemon slices.

MEDITERRANEAN LAMB BURGERS

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
• Mix the ground lamb, ground beef, mint, ginger, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a large bowl until just combined. Divide evenly into four portions and shape in to large patties. Set aside. Mix Greek yogurt, lemon zest, 1 clove garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl; cover and refrigerate.
• Cook the lamb and beef patties on the preheated grill until the burgers are cooked to your desired degree of doneness, 3 to 4 minutes per side for well done. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Place the slices of onion and green tomato on the grill. Cook until lightly charred, about 1 minute on each side.
• Spread yogurt sauce over the sliced ciabatta rolls. Assemble each burger by placing the patty on the the roll, and dividing the feta cheese slices over the patties. Top with a slice of grilled tomato, grilled onion, and 2 leaves of arugula, followed by the top half of the roll.

MEDITERRANEAN PASTA WITH LAMB MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• For meatballs: combine lamb, 2 teaspoons of the spice mix, the ground matzoh crackers, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3/4 cup feta cheese. Mix until combined but do not overmix. Divide into 16 equal portions; shape into meatballs. Place meatballs on rack over cookie sheet so grease will drain from meatballs while cooking; bake 20 minutes.
• For sauce: heat olive oil in saucepan over medium heat and add shallots and remaining garlic. Cook until limp and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, remainder of spice mix, cinnamon, pepper, remainder of the salt, chicken stock, and parsley. Bring to boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until thick, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
• To cooked sauce add sliced green onion, and meatballs stirring gently to coat. Serve meatballs with sauce over pasta and garnish with remaining feta cheese.
• In a blender or coffee grinder pulse coriander, rosemary, thyme, cumin, marjoram, oregano, and onion until a fine consistency.

BASIL GRILLED MEDITERRANEAN LAMB CHOPS

Steps:

• Pat lamb chops dry and arrange in a single layer in a shallow glass baking dish.
• Whisk Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and pepper together in a small bowl. Whisk in oil slowly until marinade is smooth. Stir in basil. Pour marinade over lamb chops, turning to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours.
• Bring lamb chops to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Grill lamb chops until browned, 5 to 10 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

MEDITERRANEAN LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan. Add the shanks and sear over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
• Add the onion, garlic, celery root, carrots, olives and ginger. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove vegetables from pot and set aside.
• Add the wine, increase the heat to high and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients, except coriander leaves and parsley leaves. Stir to combine. Return the shanks and vegetables to the saucepan. Cover partly and simmer gently over medium-low heat until the meat begins to fall off the bone, about 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, combine the coriander and the parsley in a bowl. Set aside. Remove the bay leaf from the saucepan and discard. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the shanks among 4 plates. Ladle the sauce over each shank. Garnish with the coriander-parsley mixture and serve immediately. Serve with white bean puree (recipe below).

MEDITERRANEAN LAMB MEATBALL SANDWICHES WITH YOGURT SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine onion, mint, and garlic in a food processor; process until minced. Add lamb, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper; process until smooth.
• Form 1 1/2 teaspoon of the lamb mixture into a ball. Repeat with remaining lamb mixture to make 20 meatballs.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Fill a large skillet with 1/4 inch of oil; heat over medium heat until bubbles form around the end of a wooden spoon dipped into the oil. Add half of the meatballs; cook until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
• Bake meatballs in the preheated oven until center is no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
• Mix yogurt, tahini, and lemon juice together in a bowl to make yogurt sauce.
• Place 2 to 3 tablespoons yogurt sauce in a line down the center of each sheet of lavash. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of feta cheese, 1/4 cup of lettuce, 2 tablespoons of tomato, 2 tablespoons of cucumber, and 5 meatballs. Fold up one end and sides of the lavash to roll into wraps.

MEDITERRANEAN LAMB SHANKS WITH CREAMY POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add lamb; brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Using tongs, transfer lamb to plate. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Sauté until vegetables brown and begin to soften, scraping up browned bits, about 10 minutes. Return lamb to pot, pushing gently into vegetables. Add tomatoes, broth, rosemary sprigs, thyme sprigs, and peppercorns. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover pot; transfer to oven. Roast until meat is tender and pulls easily from bone, turning occasionally, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, bring 8 cups water and salt to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Gradually whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until thickened and tender, stirring frequently, about 22 minutes. Whisk in butter and minced thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove lamb and herbs from pot; discard herbs. Place pot over medium-high heat and boil until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Divide polenta among 6 large bowls; top each with 1 lamb shank. Pour sauce over; serve.

MEDITERRANEAN GRILLED LAMB STEAKS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook garlic, bay leaf, fennel seeds, and zest, stirring, until fennel seeds are golden, about 1 minute. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 3 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium, then add tomatoes with their juice, artichokes, and olives and cook, covered, until vegetables are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Discard bay leaf and zest.
• Meanwhile, heat grill pan over medium-high heat until hot.
• Cut lamb across the grain into 4 (1-inch-thick) steaks. Brush both sides of steaks with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (total).
• Grill lamb, turning once, about 10 minutes total for medium-rare.
• Spoon tomato mixture onto plates and top with lamb.

MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES WITH LAMB

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Cook the lamb and shallots over a high heat for 2-3 mins until golden. Add the courgettes and stir-fry for 3-4 mins until beginning to soften.
• Add the spices and toss well, then add the peppers and garlic. Reduce the heat and cook over a moderate heat for 4-5 mins until they start to soften.
• Pour in the stock and stir to coat. Add the tomatoes, season, then cover with a lid and simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally until the veg are tender. Stir through the coriander to serve.

LAMB CHOPS MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE

Steps:

• Sprinkle the chops with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet large enough to hold the chops in one layer. Add the chops and cook over medium heat until browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Turn, sprinkle with the thyme, and cook about 5 minutes more for rare, longer for medium or well done. Remove to a warm platter and keep warm.
• Pour off the fat from the skillet and add the eggplant and zucchini. Cook, stirring over high heat, until lightly wilted. Add the onions, garlic and cumin, and cook 2 minutes, stirring until wilted. Add the wine, tomatoes, bay leaf, olives and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, and simmer for 5 minutes, adding any juices that have accumulated on the platter around the lamb chops. Continue cooking for 1 minute.
• Remove the bay leaf, sprinkle with the basil, and serve.

MEDITERRANEAN LAMB-AND COUSCOUS-STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• Slice peppers in half lengthwise through the stems and remove seeds.
• Place halves, cut side down, in a 12-by-17-inch baking pan.
• Bake in a 450 degree, regular or convection oven until lightly browned and tender when pierced,13 to 18 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a 10-to-12-inch frying pan over high heat, stir onions, garlic, thyme, mint and rosemary in olive oil until onions are limp and begining to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add ground lamb and 3 tablespoons lemon juice.
• Stir until lamb is browned and crumbly, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir in broth, couscous, and remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
• Bring to a boil, then cover and remove from heat; let stand until liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender to bite, 3to 4 minutes.
• Stir in parsley; add salt to taste.
• Turn pepper halves over; fill each with about 2/3 cup lamb mixture.
• Sprinkle feta cheese evenly over filling.
• Bake until cheese is slightly melted, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer peppers to a platter.
• Serve.

MEDITERRANEAN ROAST LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350F, lightly oil a shallow roasting pan.
• In your blender (food Processor), with the metal blade blend the olives, garlic, spices and oil.
• Blend until almost pureed.
• Smear all over the lamb leg, place roast in the pan and roast for apprx 1 hour (apprx 20 minutes per lb.) or until the internal temp reaches 155F.
• Let it rest for 10 minutes before carving.

MEDITERRANEAN STYLE LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Separately cooked white beans and braised fennel and 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil.
• Blue print stew technique: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Coat the meat with flour and shake off excess. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole. Brown the meat, in batches, until browned on all sides. Remove browned meat to a plate. Add seasoning vegetables to remaining oil in casserole, cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until totally tender. Return browned meat to seasoning vegetables with juices that have collected on the plate. Add optional tomato ingredients, bouquet garni and liquid. Season lightly with salt, bring to a simmer, cover and set in oven to cook for about 1 1/2 hours or longer or until meat is fork tender. Remove casserole from oven, remove meat and keep warm, degrease the liquid. Either puree the solids into the liquid to form a thick sauce, or strain the solids out and reduce the sauce until intensely flavored. Add any additional seasoning ingredient (like barbecue sauce) and fresh herbs at last minute. To cook the vegetable garnish, either cook it in the stew liquid before you puree or reduce it, then return the meat to the liquid to rewarm it. Or cook the garnishes separately.

GRILLED MEDITERRANEAN LAMB SANDWICH

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Mix lamb, shallot, mint, paprika, cumin, salt, coriander, cinnamon, black pepper, and adobo together gently in a bowl. Form lamb mixture into 8 cylinders approximately 1x3 inches in size, using about 3 tablespoons of mixture per cylinder.
• Reduce grill heat to medium; transfer lamb to grill and cook until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 3 to 4 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove from grill.
• Mix yogurt, tahini, and lemon juice together in a bowl until sauce is uniform.
• Spread 1/4 of the yogurt sauce down the middle of each pita; top with lamb, tomato, feta cheese, and lettuce.

ROAST LEG OF LAMB - MEDITERRANEAN STYLE

Steps:

• Remove all the fat from the lamb (or most of it).
• Make small slits just large enough for garlic slivers evenly in the leg of lamb, and insert the garlic slivers.
• Cut the carrots into thick slices, the onions and lemons into quarters.
• Rub the lamb with olive oil, put salt and pepper all over.
• Put the lamb into a pan and place all the vegetables around it.
• Fill up with olive oil (1/2- 1 cup) and boiling water.
• Put into oven at 400°F and roast for an hour.
• After one hour, turn meat over and fill pan with the whole bottle of beer.
• Put back into oven for another hour.
• The vegetables give a very nice sauce.
• Experiment with the amount of lemon.
• A nice variation is adding potatoes (quarters) when turning the lamb, gives great side-dish.

LAMB SHANKS MEDITERRANEAN

Steps:

• Chop the onions, zucchini, carrots, and garlic.
• In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Cook the lamb shanks, 2 at a time, turning until browned on all sides. Remove shanks to a plate.
• Drain off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from the pan. Add the onions and cook about 8 minutes until golden. Stir in zucchini and carrots and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in garlic, basil, oregano, mint, tomato sauce, and wine. Heat to boiling. Add lamb shanks and press them into the sauce.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer 3-3 1/2 hours, until lamb is very tender and falls away from the bone.
• Stir in lemon juice, olives, and pepper. Serve over orzo or rice.

CREAMY MEDITERRANEAN SAUCE FOR PORK, CHICKEN, OR LAMB

Steps:

• Base -- Add 2 teaspoons olive oil to your saute pan; if using non stick 1 teaspoon is fine. Heat to medium / medium high heat. Add in the onions and cook 2 minutes; then add in the capers, olives and mushrooms and cook another minute or two to combine all the flavors.
• Sauce -- Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and scrape up any bits. Cook another minute to reduce the wine. Reduce the heat to medium and add in the tomatoes, artichoke hearts and cream, stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper; go easy on the salt. Nothing more is needed.
• Simmer -- Just simmer on medium / medium low and let the sauce reduce. It will take about 10 minutes to slightly thicken. Remember this is not a THICK sauce or gravy.
• Serve -- Spoon the sauce over grilled pork, chicken or lamb. This is excellent over rice, pasta (I love orzo for this), couscous and even butter noodles. This is even excellent over a baked potato topped with feta cheese. Fresh basil makes a nice garnish if you want. ENJOY!

MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE LAMB STEW

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender process the tomatoes with juice until smooth; set aside.
• Place the currants in a heat-proof bowl; cover with very hot water and set aside while browning the lamb.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven.
• Season the lamb with salt and ground black pepper; add to the oil and brown on both sides; remove the lamb to a plate or bowl.
• Add in onions and cook stirring for about 5 minutes adding in the garlic and red chili flakes the last 2 minutes of cooking.
• Add in tomato paste and bay leaf; cook stirring for 1 minute.
• Return the lamb with all the juices that have accumulated in the bowl back to the pot.
• Drain the water from the currants.
• Add in the pureed tomatoes, currants and all remaining ingredients except the salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil stirring over medium heat.
• Reduce heat to very low and simmer uncovered for about 1-1/2 hours or until the lamb is tender.
• About halfway through cooking season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.
• Just before serving remove and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaf (if you are making this a day in advance refrigerate with the cinnamon stick and bay leaf left in).

MEDITERRANEAN LAMB BURGERS

Steps:

• Cut each pita bread in half, crosswise, to form a pocket. Wrap pitas in foil and warm in a 300 degree oven while preparing burgers.
• Make sauce by combining yogurt, cucumber, and lemon juice to serve as a sauce.
• Thoroughly combine remaining ingredients by gently kneading with your fingers. Shape into 8 1/2-inch thick, oval patties to accommodate the pita halves. Barbecue or broil, leaving them a little pink in the middle keeps the burgers from tasting dry.
• Let your diners fill each pita half with a burger and choices of sliced pickles, tomatoes, and red onion,then a dollop of sauce.