The Feast

In Greek culture, they celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15th. Since that was just a few days ago, I thought it was appropriate to make their celebratory dish for this occasion. Lamb yiouvetsi is a traditionally special meal that is served for the family lunch during this holiday. I decided to serve it with a Greek salad and some yummy baklava for dessert!

The lamb yiouvetsi came together really quickly, aside from the cooking time. I cut a lamb shoulder up into serving-size portions and put it in a roasting pan with a can of tomatoes, some minced garlic cloves, EVOO, dried oregano, salt and pepper and some hot water. After an hour and 10 minutes in the oven, I took the lamb out of the pot, added some orzo and stirred it all up, added the lamb back to the pan and cooked it for another 40 minutes. If I did this again, I'd probably cut the lamb into larger pieces so that it didn't cook as quickly...it was a little dry, but still, a delicious meal!

The Greek salad was totally simple to put together - just some romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions, crumbled feta and black olives. The dressing is just EVOO and lemon, with a bit of salt and pepper. If you put it in a closeable container, you can shake it vigorously so that the mixture emulsifies. It's totally refreshing, and seriously easy! I opted for some heirloom tomatoes to give the salad a bit of local flair, as well!

As for that baklava, oh my goodness! After I made all the layers of fillo dough, brushed with melted butter, and layered with a pistacio-almond-sugar mixture, I covered it with a coffee and sugar syrup flavored with cardamon, clove and cinnamon. The ooey-gooey texture of the baklava is so delicious, and this was really an easy dessert...and you know how I am with the baking... :)

Where will our journey take us next? Stay tuned...