Seventy-second Post ~ Curry Lamb Shish Kebabs with Wild Rice

Tonight I had my friend Jess over for dinner. We had decided (based on a random facebook post) that tonight would be all about lamb. She'd bring a red wine, and I'd create an entrée. So one afternoon when I needed a break from studying, I brainstormed some ideas and sketched this meal out. Here's what you'll need:

For the marinade:

~ one clove crushed garlic

~ curry powder

~ soy sauce

~ white wine

~ apricot jam

~ thyme

~ honey

~ bay leaf

For the shishes (read this post for my rant on the linguistic wrongness of "shish kebab"):

~ lamb tenderloins (or, as it turned out, butterflied leg of lamb)

~ onion

~ yellow pepper

~ garlic

~ baby bella mushrooms

~ dried apricots

For the rice:

~ Uncle Ben's fast-cook recipe long grain and wild rice. Follow the directions and just as it's getting ready to sit and steam for 5 minutes, toss in a good couple handfuls of dried cranberries. This can be made right as you begin cooking - it can steam for a while until you're ready to eat.

I was surprised to learn that lamb tenderloins are not a regularly stocked item; turns out I've just gotten lucky each time I've gone to Wegmans and gotten them previously. This time I found butterflied leg of lamb, and was told by the helpful staff that it is tougher than the tenderloins, but if I plan to marinade it, it will be good. So I made the marinade ahead and let it sit in it for over 24 hours. The end result was super flavorful, tender lamb.

Here's how I made the marinade.

In a sauce pan, start some white wine and olive oil heating up. Add a good swirl of soy sauce and several whole sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf. Add some curry powder. As it starts to seriously simmer, add a few tablespoons of apricot jam and then some honey to taste. Crush in a clove of garlic last of all.

Let it sit and cube the lamb. Put it in a bowl and when the marinade is room temperature, pour it over the lamb. Saran wrap it and let it rest in the fridge over night. In the morning, stir it around and cover it and put it back in the fridge for the day.

Once it's time to get cookin', slice up the pepper and onion while you simmer the mushrooms in some white wine, salt and EVOO. In a separate pan, caramelize the onion with some oil and sugar. When the fire alarm goes off, splash in some white wine (which solves a lot of kitchen problems) and add the peppers. Let them sautee until just tender. Let everything sit and cool in prep bowls. Preheat your toaster oven. When you're ready, skewer your shishes with apricots, lamb, mushrooms, peppers and onions. Place in a pan and pour the remaining marinade over the top. Broil until the lamb is cooked to your liking. We liked ours medium-rare, so it didn't take too long! Serve over wild rice.

Jess and I enjoyed this meal with a Peruvian merlot by Santa Rita. It was spicy and fruity and had a luxurious, velvety finish that paired beautifully with the meal. Naturally, girl-talk paired perfectly with this meal as well, so it was, all in all, a perfect evening!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,

AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.