Icelandic Lamb Soup

From the land of volcanoes and Scandi-babes comes one of Iceland's famed recipes: Kjötsúpa. No idea what this means?  You are not alone.  Kjötsúpa is a lamb soup. Not sure why, but this dish made me realize just how much my taste buds have evolved. I wouldn't have touched it as a kid. Lamb was stinky and root vegetables were gross. Ok, ok, I would have touched it, because I wasn't allowed dessert unless I ate my main course first. Anyways, I hope you savour this lamb-based broth and simple combination of ingredients as much as I did. Root vegetables are definitely in season in Alberta, so finding turnips, potatoes and carrots was a snap. I even managed to find some Alberta lamb too!

Now here's my attempt to shamelessly plug this soup: Pick up a crusty loaf of French bread, ply it with chunks of cold butter and pour yourself a glass of red wine to enjoy it with. This combination just might make your cold winter evening a little less chilly. 

Adapted from: http://www.soupsong.com

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 2.5 kg lamb shank(s), bone in
• Dried onions and other herbs (I used an onion soup mix...might be cheating)
• Half a large onion, diced
• 5 carrots, cubed
• 3 small turnips cubed
• 3 medium yellow or white potatoes, cubed
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• Salt & pepper to taste

Bring to a boil the water, lamb and onion in a large saucepan and once boiling, reduce heat to simmer. Add the herbs and dried onions and let simmer for forty minutes. Add the carrots, turnips and potatoes and cook on low heat for thirty minutes, or until the vegetables have softened. Removed the lamb shanks and trim the meat off the bones. Discard the bones and add the lamb pieces back into the soup. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Tzatziki & Pomegranate Tabbouleh

I was going to use any lamb leftovers in a stew, but had so much tzatziki left that I used both in souvlaki pitas.  Good little lunch idea if you're bored of sandwiches.


Serves 8
Adapted from: http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com


Leg of Lamb

• 6 shallots, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 T sugar
• 2 T coriander
• 1 1/2 T salt
• 1 T red chile flakes
• 1 (6 lb) leg of lamb (bone-in)

In a large bowl, mix together the shallots, garlic, rosemary, sugar, coriander, salt, and red pepper flakes.  Rub onto the surface of the lamb.  Set the lamb in a large glass baking dish and refrigerate over night, covered in plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Remove the lamb from the fridge and rinse it off.  Pat it dry.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Brown the lamb on both sides.

Set the lamb in a roasting pan and roast, fat side up, until it reaches an internal temperature of 140-150 degrees, about 1 1/2 hours.  Transfer to a platter and let sit for 20 minutes before cutting.

Tzatziki
Makes about 2 cups

• 2 cups Greek yogurt
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 T minced shallots

Stir together all the ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined.

Pomegranate Tabbouleh Salad
Serves 4, adapted from

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup bulgur
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup mint, chopped
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup cucumber, chopped 
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 cup feta
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 1/2 T honey
• 1 t dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring the water to a boil.  Stir in the bulgur.  Cover and turn off heat.  Let sit for 20 minutes.

Toss the bulgur with the parsley, mint, scallions, tomatoes, cucumber, almonds, pomegranate seeds, and feta.

In a separate bowl, stir together the olive oil through mustard.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Toss with the bulgur mixture until it is coated.