Peanut-Crusted Lamb Kebabs in the Style of Burkina Faso

This is a simple, but satisfying dish. Lamb, peanuts, and a little bit of heat are an excellent combination. You'll need a little bit of time to marinate the lamb, but otherwise this dish is a quick and easy dinner, especially if you have someone else to put in charge of the grill.

One year ago: Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za'atar, and Lemon
Two years ago: Pork Tenderloin in Creamy Mustard Sauce
Three years ago: Minestrina Tricolore
Four years ago: Corn and Black Bean Tamale Pie

Peanut-Crusted Lamb Kebabs in the Style of Burkina Faso (from Planet Barbecue!)

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb lamb, preferably fatty shoulder, cut into 3/4" cubes
1 small onion, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 - 2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
bamboo skewers

1. Place lamb in bowl and sprinkle with onion, ginger, salt, pepper, allspice and cayenne. Add oil and mix well. Marinate covered 15 minutes - 1 hour.
2. Place peanuts in food processor and grind in bursts until powdery (be careful not to continuously grind and make peanut butter!).
3. Thread lamb onto skewers, alternating fatty pieces with lean.
4. Preheat grill to high.
5. Dip each kebab in ground peanuts, rolling to get it to stick and knocking off excess. Arrange on hot grate.
6. Grill until golden brown on outside and cooked to taste, 1.5 - 2 minutes per side or 6 - 8 minutes total for medium.

Bobotie

First of all, please note that this recipe is not a quick, weeknight dinner. It is, however, a flavourful, rich dish that I think would be outstanding as a hearty winter dinner. A nicely spiced ground beef is covered with a layer of custard, giving you hearty beef and rich eggs. I roughly halved the recipe and cooked it in a loaf pan, rather than a square pan, so I needed a bit extra cooking time (and my oven always seems to run cool). I also messed up and added chili powder instead of curry powder initially as a substitute for the Green Masala, however, the masala is quite spicy according to the recipe, so that may be a good addition if you like a tiny bit of heat. Serve this dish when you need a little comfort as an alternative to Shepherd's Pie or meatloaf.

One year ago: Peppermint Meringues
Two years ago: Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes

Bobotie (from The Soul of a New Cuisine)

Ingredients
560g ground beef
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Green Masala or curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed coriander seeds
2 tomatoes, chopped or 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup crushed peanuts or smooth peanut butter, unsweetened
2 tsp salt, divided
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
pinch of ground nutmeg

1. Heat a Dutch oven or other large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and onion and cook, stirring to break up any lumps until beef is well browned, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in garlic, masala, cumin, coriander, and tomatoes, reduce heat to low and cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the bread crumbs, peanuts, 1 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/2 cup water and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove beef mixture from pot and drain on paper towels. Transfer to a plate and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 2 quart baking dish.
6. Whisk together milk, eggs, egg yolks, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt.
7. Spread beef mixture in bottom of pan and press down to pack well.
8. Pour egg mixture over beef mixture.
9. Set baking dish in a larger baking pan and add enough hot water to come 1" up the sides of the baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
10. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes until custard topping is golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Pickled Cabbage

Our CSA box seems to think we should be eating cabbage right now. The problem is, I'm not a huge fan of cabbage for the sake of cabbage. Luckily, if you cover it in enough tasty seasoning, I think it's delicious (or I can't taste the cabbage at that point!). The recipe below claims to make 4 servings, but I'm not sure how 2 cups of cabbage plus some red onion can be a serving! I didn't have fresh grapefruit on hand, so I just threw in some juice that was sitting in the fridge. Even without the grapefruit juice though, the mix is quite nice. I also substituted chili powder for harissa because I didn't have the time to make it. Next time, I will do this recipe right. Don't skip on the basil and cilantro on this!

One year ago: Spicy Red Beef Curry
Two years ago: Egg Drop

Pickled Cabbage (from The Soul of a New Cuisine)

Ingredients
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp Harissa
1/2 head Napa cabbage shredded (about 8 cups)
1 grapefruit, peel and pith removed and segments sliced, juice reserved
2 sprigs basil, leaves only, chopped
2 sprigs cilantro, chopped
one 2" piece ginger, peeled and grated

1. Combine vinegar, soy sauce, water, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Transfer to small bowl and let cool.
2. Add onion, garlic, peanuts, peanut oil, and harissa to vinegar mixture and stir well.
3. Put cabbage in a deep baking dish or large bowl and pour mixture over it. Toss to combine.
4. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.
5. Drain cabbage and transfer to large bowl. Add grapefruit segments and juice, basil, cilantro, and ginger, tossing to mix.

Lamb Stir-Fry

My first foray into African cooking came as a happy coincidence. I had bought Samuelsson's African cookbook, but wasn't expecting to cook from it any time soon as I needed to make some spice blends first. One of the recipes in the book popped up though while I was searching for something to do with kale. Even better, it would use some of the CSA tomatoes. Also, no specialty spice blends needed. Best of all, I just happened to have some chopped up lamb meat sitting in the freezer. The taste didn't seem very foreign to me, but it was quite delicious, quick, and easy.

One year ago: Celebration Yellow Rice

Lamb Stir-Fry (from The Soul of a New Cuisine)

Ingredients
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 medium red onion, sliced
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
2" piece ginger, grated
8 ounces kale, cleaned and shredded
1 1/2 lbs boneless lamb loin, cut into 1/2" thick slices
1/2 tsp salt
4 tomatoes, chopped or 2 cups chopped canned tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat oil in large heavy skillet over high heat. Add onion, cardamom, cumin, garlic, and ginger and saute until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.
2. Add kale and saute until wilted, about 4 minutes.
3. Remove kale mixture from pan with tongs and set aside.
4. Add lamb to pan and stir-fry until browned on all sides.
5. Sprinkle with salt, add tomatoes, and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Return kale mixture to pan and stir until heated through, 3 - 5 minutes. Season with pepper.