Thursday, June 4, 2009

Veni, vidi, vici, Cordero?


I came, I saw, I conquered & then there was the Lamb....Of all the things I have fed by hand & I NEVER wanted to eat very much of, top of the list would have to be Lamb! Mr. Texas to Mexico does love a good rack of Lamb & friends of ours in Mexico gave me cause to give it a second thought. True, I can go most Summer months without meat of any form but being the daughter of generations of Texas Ranch folk I would be a bit of a hypocrite to eschew meat or those who eat it. Hope that statement won't get me kicked out of the Veggie establishments I enjoy visiting around in & around Austin~ Having said that I recently brought home a leg of lamb & we had a Roasted Leg of Lamb for dinner. The Earthy flavors of Rosemary & tangy taste of Mustard meld well with the texture & taste of Lamb.
I then conquered our next Lamb related meal by whipping up some Portobello & Lamb Quesadillas. Oven roasted Portobellos sliced thin, shredded Lamb, Black Beans warmed up in a fabulous Central Market Multi-grain Tortilla & served with a mound of fresh Guacamole! The only thing which could have made the meal better would have been an absolute Box Free Existence at our home....Currently we are in Veni, Vidi Vici mode with the hundreds of moving boxes still in our home! Small steps........ seeing & conquering can be very different sides of the coin or moving crate as it might be! I'll be digging out for a while yet trying to mix what came from Mexico back into our Texas lives. In the mean time we continue to settle in, visit Family, Friends & our favorite Farmer's markets on the weekends. The blogging might be slow for a while but slow food, good conversation & enjoyment of life have always been important at our house. ¡Buen Provecho!



Cordero Asado con Mostaza
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Stone Ground Brown Mustard
2 Tbsp chopped Fresh Rosemary
1/3 cup of Honey
1 tsp. each Black Pepper & Salt
1 tsp lime zest
1 Clove Shallots, minced
4 pounds whole leg of lamb, trimmed to remove most fat

Mix the honey, mustard, rosemary, ground black pepper, lime zest and shallots. Mix well and apply to the Lamb. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator 3 to 4 hrs.

Preheat oven to 450*
Place Lamb in a roasting pan after removing some of the marinade with a spatula, reserve for basting purposes.
Bake at medium rare, during this time brush roast with the marinade just keeping moist, meat will gradually glaze & brown. The internal temperature should be at least 145* when taken with a meat thermometer. Rest the Roast for about 10 minutes before carving, slicing into 1/3 inch slices against the grain. t 450* for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 400* and roast for 1 & 10 hour more minutes for medium rare. The internal temperature should be at least 145* when taken with a meat thermometer. Let the roast rest for about 10 minutes before carving.




















Portobello y Cordero Quesadillas
2 cups Roasted Lamb, shredded
8 oz. shredded Oaxaca Cheese, fine shredded
2 Portobello mushrooms, oven roasted & sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup canned Black Beans, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh Tomatoes
Whole wheat, Flour or Multi-grain Tortillas
Fresh Guacamole

Prep all ingredients & have all filling ingredients ready next to the cooking area. We made these ingredients available & had everyone prepare their own quesadilla once it was set up & ready to go. Over medium high heated gridle or skillet, heat tortilla & layer in cheese, portabella, lamb, few tsp. black beans & tomatoes & top with a little more cheese then layer on one more tortilla. This creates a "sandwich of tortillas with your fillings caught between 2 layers of tortillas. When it starts to slightly brown flip it over, (careful not to drop any ingredients out of the sides & then toast a few more moments till it is slightly browned, cut into wedges & serve with fresh Guacamole.

18 comments:

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Lamb quesadillas..yum. So many ways to make quesadillas, so little time. Never thought to make them with lamb. Sounds delicioso. (Just cause my maiden name is Cordero doesn't make me partial, does it?)

Dee said...

Ha,ha! Yes, you would be partial I would think. You could also use that phrase, Veni, vidi, vici, Cordero! Who knew??

Chef E said...

Oh my my...you have taken quesadillas to a new and wonderful level my friend!

That lamb, and those quesadillas look like they rock, and wish we could, well, wish one in front of use!

Yummmmmm...hope all is going well, the unpacking is sad, but remembering helps us to grow in many ways!

Anonymous said...

This roasted lamb sounds so so good and wow, lamb quesadillas! Fantastic!

Chef Fresco said...

I've never had lamb quesadillas! These look so good with the portabellos and mound of guac!

Jill said...

Quesadillas are one of my first choices for comfort food! They sound incredible and the pic made my mouth water!

Reeni said...

I can't bring myself to eat lamb, and I'm not much of a meat-eater myself. But with that said your preparation of it does look really good, especially the quesadillas!

Angie's Recipes said...

Quesadillas....this looks terrific.

Heather S-G said...

Lamb quesedillas...oh my! This lamb looks so tender and mouthwatering...I've actually been craving lamb shanks for a while now. So thanks, you've only made it worse ;)

Culinary Wannabe said...

I love lamb, but save it for special occasions. Since we don't eat it very often it feels like a bit of a treat. So nice of your friends to share with you! Thanks for stopping by as well!

Hornsfan said...

The lamb was delish in both of it's incarnations :)

Abby said...

I've only had ground lamb in England, and I didn't like it. I have a feeling this would be much more flavorful and yummy!

Gloria Chadwick said...

I love leg of lamb and your recipe sounds delicious. I totally love the lamb quesadillas with portobello mushrooms!! :) Have fun unpacking.

Tangled Noodle said...

That leg of lamb looks incredible! Mr. Noodle would make short work of it so I'm not sure there'd be any left for the quesadillas. 8-)

I can commiserate - we've moved several times and I always have to resign myself to several months of a cardboard-box-decorated living room. Have fun!

Chef E said...

Email me please. I would love to keep in contact, since it seems you might not start your blog back up!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Your quesadillas look fantastic! i would never have thought to use lamb.

Donna-FFW said...

Oh absolutely mouthwatering. What a great take on the quesadilla. delicious!!

Unpacking, I am still doing it also, it just plain bites in my opinion! No organization makes my skin crawl.

The Duo Dishes said...

Oooh, those quesadillas. They are making us hungry. Good thing it's lunch time. Too bad we can't have these.