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Post by lagatta on Apr 20, 2011 11:15:30 GMT
Sephardic Jews, such as Rachel, have slightly different categories of foods prohibited at Passover. If I recall, they can eat rice and legumes, forbidden to Ashkenazi people at least by many authorities. But being French, there is a good chance Rachel never particularly followed such rules; the matzos remain as a cultural symbol.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2011 22:14:58 GMT
The Sunday NY Times this past week has 3 fabulous Leg of Lamb recipes by Mark Bittman. One is a Yogurt-Marinated Leg of Lamb with Cardamon and Orange,another,Lamb with Herb Paste and Spinach,and the last one is Leg of Lamb with Moroccan Spices. All sound perfectly divine.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 28, 2011 7:11:13 GMT
Any plans for next Sunday? I have not given the meal a thought yet. It's now 4 days after Easter and I STILL haven't given the meal a thought! I'm not a fan of ham, which is the mainstay for Easter in my experience.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 10:07:41 GMT
I have not had a leg of lamb in ages, so I think I will be organizing my own Easter soon.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 28, 2011 15:21:32 GMT
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Post by hwinpp on May 3, 2011 8:41:33 GMT
My sister also had leg of lamb, I'm so envious.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2012 6:58:34 GMT
Time to start thinking about my leg of lamb again. I know that Easter is in April this year, but have not paid attention to the specific date. I just know that it is approaching because all of the stores are overflowing with huge quantities of chocolate, which is all that certain people would eat for their Easter meal if they could.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 17, 2012 16:28:37 GMT
Easter weekend will be in Ottawa for us! Yeah! My girlfriend is an excellent cook. I would imagine it would be ham, but she does like to surprise us. Will report back.
I have never eaten lamb before. This must be unbelievable to some of you, but I just have avoided it at every opportunity.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2012 16:53:13 GMT
Mary had a little lamb, but not Mich.....
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Post by auntieannie on Mar 17, 2012 19:36:25 GMT
K2, Madhur Jaffrey has a fab leg of lamb recipe... Shah Jahani leg of lamb. ah... you wouldn't like it, I suddenly remember it incorporates dried apricots and ground almonds.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 17, 2012 19:56:57 GMT
:)My mom's name is Mary... maybe that is why she never cooked lamb.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2012 20:36:19 GMT
K2, Madhur Jaffrey has a fab leg of lamb recipe... Shah Jahani leg of lamb. ah... you wouldn't like it, I suddenly remember it incorporates dried apricots and ground almonds. I've had the Arabic versions of lamb -- usually quite good, but it's true that they are a little sweeter than I would prefer. Almonds, raisins, cloves, cinnamon...
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Post by auntieannie on Mar 17, 2012 21:42:54 GMT
I think the recipes were created for good ol' mutton. so what you list would go some way towards masking some of its strong taste.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 17, 2012 22:39:48 GMT
Mich, perhaps your Greek friend with the great resto could turn you on to lamb? I love lamb - matter of fact, I like mutton too, but indeed it calls for more assertive spicing.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 18, 2012 8:11:59 GMT
Mich, do you avoid lamb because you don't like the taste or the thought of that cute little fluffy thing? If it's the cute fluffy - then scrub that from your mind because they don't slaughter those. LAMB as we know it in the butchers shop is a sheep that only has two teeth but resembles a great big sheep. Once the animal has got beyond this stage it becaomes mutton. Well, that's what I have been told but I would like someone else to confirm what a LAMB really is.
I bought a deboned leg yesterday for today's Sunday roast. I paid 5 euros a kilo and this leg is 2kg. I actually wanted a deboned shoulder so I could stuff it with all kinds of prunes and herbs but they had none.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 18, 2012 15:00:24 GMT
I have always just thought I would not like the taste. I think I avoid trying it because I know there are so many other options on the menus when out that I know I will enjoy. I just glance over it. When I have been invited to dinners they have never served lamb. My girlfriend has never made lamb for me either and I do not think I have ever told her not to? Maybe this will become my next challenge... Cheers! Mich
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2012 15:55:35 GMT
I ate lamb as a matter of course as a child when we were in France, just because my grandmother served it and I fully trusted anything she made, with the one exception of blood sausage which it took me many years to finally try (and which is still not one of my favourites). I was told by my mother once that the lamb I had eaten at Sunday lunch the day before was actually goat -- they had told me it was lamb because they were afraid that I would refuse to eat goat at that young and tender age.
I don't think that I have had the opportunity to eat goat since then, so I just assume that it tastes similar to lamb -- after all, goat and ewe cheese have similarities in taste. I must think to buy some goat one of these days (available in all of the Indian butcher shops nearby) and determine this for myself.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Mar 18, 2012 17:14:02 GMT
As a child, I wasn't very fond of the overcooked lamb chops my Mom cooked. But now I like lamb in a variety of preparations.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 22, 2012 20:59:23 GMT
Goat does taste very similar to lamb or mutton (depending on the age of the animals). It is usually lower in fat than lamb, and "tougher", that is takes longer to cook. Curried goat (different from a South Asian curry) is a very popular dish in much of the Caribbean, with different spicing by island. I've had the Jamaican, Trinidadian, Haitian and Martiniquais varieties. I'm cooking some of that frozen stew mutton from Australia one finds in Indian butcher shops - it is a natural fro the crockpot, though I sautéed the stew chunks and onions first, and will finish it with the spices and rest of the vegetables tomorrow. It is a pseudo-Indonesian stew, a bit similar to a curry. We have very good local lamb (and goat) but it would almost be a waste to use them for such a dish - this stuff cost about 7$ a kilo. Mich, I'm sure your Greek friend has lots of lovely lamb dishes. Don, what a shame to overcook lamb chops! Some of the tougher cuts do require long, slow cooking, but that isn't roasting or grilling in a frying pan. I've had a horribly overcooked, grey leg of lamb at a buffet - what a shame as that is a prime cut that shouldn't be overcooked. Whether it should be rare or medium (bloody or pink) is a matter of personal choice, but turning it into shoe leather is an insult to the animal. Tod, I have seen tiny milk lambs, usually at Easter - a delicacy for Mediterranean people - but you won't be eating them by accident as they are more expensive. Often they are the little boys, from sheep farms specialising in "milk" varieties of ovine.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2012 21:03:02 GMT
I need my lamb to be pink.
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Post by hwinpp on Mar 23, 2012 6:57:51 GMT
When's Easter? I need a leg of lamb or something else Easterish.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2012 8:20:24 GMT
It seems to be April 8th on this side of the planet.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 23, 2012 8:44:25 GMT
My calender says Good Friday 6th April - Easter Monday 9th, so Sunday 8th it is!
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Post by hwinpp on Mar 23, 2012 8:58:24 GMT
Good. I'll be back home then, maybe some foreign owned place will have something.
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Post by auntieannie on Mar 24, 2012 23:10:30 GMT
Greek orthodox Easter will be the following week (15th April)
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Post by lagatta on Mar 26, 2012 23:21:22 GMT
Yes, of course. In our climate, that means Greeks get a bit more chance of being able to roast their lambs outdoors than Italians, Portuguese etc do. But with some luck everyone will be doing so this year, as even if we get the odd spring snow the ground just didn't freeze over and everything warms in the sun.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2012 12:31:33 GMT
I really must buy my frozen leg of lamb at Picard this week -- I have been thinking about it too long. (Frozen and imported from New Zealand because the local lamb costs 4 times more without being 4 times better.)
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Post by tod2 on Apr 2, 2012 15:01:14 GMT
If you buy it today and let it defrost naturally and slowly in the refridgerator it should be ready by Friday to be plugged unmercifully with garlic slithers, rosemary leaves and thirdly, anchovies. A further time sitting in the cool will have it perfect for Sunday - halfway through roasting brush the skin with honey mixed with spices- I would use Duqqa (also spelled dukkah or dukka)
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Post by Kimby on Apr 5, 2012 5:50:52 GMT
mich, you really should give lamb a chance. I was hesitant because my family NEVER served it, and my parents - and my sister who spent a semester abroad in London - had bad experiences with mutton. But I tried it on a trip, and liked it, and now I often order it when travelling and in restaurants, because Mr. Kimby has not overcome his own reluctance to eat lamb so I don't cook it myself.
Moroccan tagine dishes are especially good with lamb. Do you have a Moroccan restaurant near you?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2012 19:47:11 GMT
So, I finally hunted down and killed a lamb in the streets of Paris tonight and dragged its leg back to my hovel. My Easter meal is on track.
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