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1001 Ways to Cook Lamb (well, maybe not quite that many)

© Sonia Michaels

I just bought half a lamb. (Vegetarians, stop reading now!) I don't usually buy large quantities of food all at once, since we don't have a deep-freeze, but the price was great, the lamb was organically raised, and I just couldn't resist. Now, though, I have 20 pounds of lamb in my freezer, so it's time to find some new recipes! I'm tired of the old British standby - overcooked leg of lamb with over-sweetened mint sauce - so I'm looking for something a bit more interesting, though hopefully not too labor-intensive.

A quick search for the phrase "lamb chop" on http://www.epicurious.com (Shari Lewis fans, stop reading now! Just kidding.) provides me with a list of 53 possibilities, from the basic (rosemary and garlic lamb chops) to the exotic (lamb chops with spicy mango sauce.) I'm in the mood for Greek or Middle Eastern food these days, though, so I re-do the search within the "Greek" category. Only two recipes (12 recipes if I limit my search to just the word "lamb"), but one of them looks great - Barbara Yianni's Grilled Lamb, from "The Complete Meat Cookbook." I'll have to cut the recipe down, since I'm not planning to serve 4 lbs of lamb to two adults and a three-year-old, but I like the idea of a simple marinade (olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper), and it's still warm enough to fire up the outdoor grill. Find the recipe at http://food.epicurious.com/run/recipe/vi...

For the shanks and stew meat, I think I'll have to go back to my old standby Mishmishaya, from Joyce Goldstein's great Mediterranean cookbook (see earlier article at this site, http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/medi... ) I love this recipe - while I know some people aren't big fans of meat dishes cooked with fruit, the apricots and raisins really make the dish special.

There are also a couple of recipes involving black olives - since I just bought a 3-litre vat of olives, perhaps I'll consider making the Agnello con Olive Neri (http://food.epicurious.com/run/recipe/vi... ) or the Rosemary-Lamb Kebabs with Tapenade-Rosemary Aioli. That's a lot of rosemary (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon), but I think there may be enough in my tiny patio herb garden to do the job. http://food.epicurious.com/run/recipe/vi...

Well, that takes care of a few pounds of my freezer stash of lamb - but I still need inspiration. The Searchable Online Archive of Recipes (http://soar.berkeley.edu/recipes/ ) offers 248 recipes in the "lamb" category, from "Afghani Lamb with Spinach" through "Yiovetsi" (tomatoes, cloves, cinnamon, kefalotiri cheese). Lots of recipes involving mint, some that include yogurt, and a couple that require Gorgonzola (that sounds like an amazing combination). There are also some Asian/South Asian recipes, such as Lamb with Yoghurt, Coconut Milk & Almond Masala (Badami Gosht) - this recipe requires cardamom, saffron, ginger, and ground almonds. Not in the least Mediterranean, but it looks wonderful.

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