After Easter,
Rosie had a bit of lamb leftover.
I put some feelers out
(I asked Marion.)
and she offered several suggestions
as to what to do with my lamb.
I decided to go with Julia Child's Moussaka
from From Julia Child's Kitchen.
Please check out
Julia Child on Good Morning America
when she prepared moussaka back in 1987.
It's a classic.
So sit back and enjoy my preparation
of moussaka,
which, btw,
is nothing like Julia's.
Does that surprise you?
Julia's recipe called for ground lamb.
I used slices from a leg o' lamb.
Julia's recipe called for eggplant.
I used squash and zucchini.
OK, so I didn't make moussaka.
I made Lamb Moreovers.
One onion, one celery stalk,
and about 7 cloves of garlic.
Chop the celery and onion
and mince the garlic.
I'd saved the lamb gravy,
so that got added next,
along with a few globules of fat.
I removed most of the fat,
but a little bit adds some extra flavor.
While the lamb stew was at a bare simmer,
I started on the eggpla - eh -
the squash and zucchini.
At 12:00 is the grated cheese.
Continuing clockwise,
chopped mint,
casserole dish with sauteed squash, zucchini, and onion,
saute pan with veggies,
and lamb mixture.
This is a layered dish.
I started with the veggies,
a sprinkling of mint
then the lamb,
and the cheese.
And two more layers of the above.
I loved this.
The flavor of the lamb was even better
than the lamb at Easter.
I loved the nuttiness of the garbanzos.
Squash and zucchini and onions
worked very well with this dish.
The V8 gave the tomato mixture
a kick.
Butter beans were buttery.
Green peas were a taste of spring.
Then you have the ooey-gooeyness
of melted cheeses.
My apologies to Julia
for saying this was her recipe.
Her recipe was my starting point
and I went off on my own tangent,
as so often happens.
But I tell you what -
Julia would approve of this,
if only because she inspired someone
to get in the kitchen and cook.
You don't have to follow a recipe exactly.
(Nix that if you're baking.
Baking is chemistry.)
Most importantly,
have fun cooking.
Enjoy it.
You're feeding yourself.
You're feeding your family.
You're feeding your soul.
And if Julia herself were here
at my home for dinner,
I'd be happy to serve her my Lamb Moreovers
and I'd bet she'd enjoy it every bit as much as I did.
Boy, that looks good. I see a leg o' lamb in my future just so I can have left overs to make this with. Betcha could have washed out that sauce can with V8. Sorry, the devil made me say it...
ReplyDeleteThat looks great !
ReplyDeleteZzzadig, I'm going to make a conscious effort (as opposed to an unconscious one) to wash my tomato cans out with wine and V8 every chance I get. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Zzzadig, it's not leftovers.
ReplyDeleteIt's MOREOVERS.