Showing posts with label dried oregano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dried oregano. Show all posts

Sunday, August 21, 2011

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!

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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!

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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... :)

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