MY KITCHEN IN SPAIN: LAMB—THE 2ND, 3RD, 4TH AND 5TH TIME AROUND

A five-pound leg of lamb for dinner and only two people to eat it--a lot of leftovers to look forward to. (Link to the recipe for Roast Lamb with Spring Herbs is below.)

We were three for Easter dinner and one was vegetarian. Nevertheless, I wanted roast leg of lamb, roasted with lots of herbs. To start, we had asparagus grilled on the plancha, with sour orange mayonnaise. I served the lamb with browned potatoes on the side, a taboulleh salad (made with cous cous, not bulgur), eggplant pisto and a vegetable terrine. Strawberries with almond cookies for dessert.

From a five-pound leg of lamb, now I have a week’s worth of leftover lamb!

Leftovers for two

1st day—sliced lamb reheated with pan juices, embellished with preserved lemon and chopped dates. I dithered, almost deciding to serve the lamb cold with a mojo verde (green chile sauce, somewhat like chimichurri), but I wanted to reheat the lamb to melt the fat.

2nd day--cous cous with lamb, vegetables and chickpeas.

Leftovers from Easter dinner become a whole new meal--cous cous, eggplant pisto and roast lamb are recycled, with the addition of Moroccan spices, canned chickpeas, fresh carrots and zucchini.

3rd day: Lamb with spinach, Indian spices.

My favorite recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery (BBC Books; 1994), Lamb with Spinach (Dilli ka saag gosht). Made with spinach from a bag and pieces of roast lamb, it is quick to prepare.

4th day: Stuffed Eggplant, Turkish style.

Scraps of cooked lamb are folded in with onions and tomatoes and stuffed into eggplants. (Recipe below.) Served with rice pilaf and cucumbers with dill on the side.

5th day: Bone broth and vegetable soup

Lamb bone broth becomes spring vegetable soup.

Bonus: Lamb Shank. I separated the shank before roasting the lamb, carved the meat off the bone and saved the bone for the soup pot. The meat cut into pieces made a quick sauté for one—me—with garlic and rosemary, served with a little homemade chutney.

Stuffed Eggplant (Karniyarik)

Berenjena Rellena

I first sampled this stuffed eggplant dish at a cooking workshop in Istanbul given by Selin Rozanes of Turkish Flavors. There we made it with raw ground beef. In this version, I have used the last scraps of roast lamb, cut off the bones. The lamb needs only a few minutes to cook with the onions and tomatoes.

Long, thin eggplants are best for this recipe. The technique calls for peeling the eggplants in stripes, slow-frying the whole eggplants in oil, then “splitting their bellies” and stuffing. The eggplants finish in the oven. Delicious served with rice pilaf.

Turkish pepper sauce.

You will need Turkish pepper sauce, a mildly hot condiment. It’s easily made by blending roasted red bell peppers (or drained ones from a jar or can) with a spoonful of hot pimentón, Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes; lemon juice and salt.

The following recipe is for two servings, but the recipe is easily doubled or tripled.

Chopped lamb for stuffing eggplants.

2 medium eggplant (each about 10 ounces)

Olive oil

3 ounces cooked lamb (about 1 cup, chopped)

¾ cup grated or finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic

½ cup crushed tomato

1 tablespoon Turkish pepper sauce (directions above)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup chopped parsley

Sliced tomato, for topping

Sliced green pepper, for topping

1/3 cup hot water

Peel off strips of eggplant skin.

Trim the eggplants’ stems but don’t remove them. Use a vegetable peeler to remove three lengthwise strips of the skin, striping the peel. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a skillet. Fry the whole eggplants gently until they are golden on all sides and beginning to soften. Remove them and place in an oiled baking dish with the flatter sides up.

Slit eggplants, spread them open.

With a knife, slit open the eggplant from top to bottom, without cutting them all the way through. Use the fingers to gently spread open the slit, making a place for the filling.

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Chop or shred the cooked lamb and set aside.

Add more oil to the skillet, if needed. Sauté the onion and garlic on medium heat until softened, 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomato and pepper sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until sauce is thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the cooked lamb and heat. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the parsley.

Eggplants ready to bake.

Divide the lamb mixture between the two eggplants, pressing it into the slits and mounding it slightly. (If there is too much stuffing mixture, spread it around the eggplants in the baking dish.) Top with sliced tomato and green pepper. Pour the hot water into the baking dish.

Bake until the eggplants are bubbling hot and the pepper slices are cooked, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Cous Cous with Leftover Lamb

Cuscus con Cordero Asado

Instant cous cous (pictured top right) was presented the first time round as taboulleh, a salad with herbs, olive oil and lemon juice. After reheating in the microwave, I added raisins and almonds.

Eggplant pisto (top, left), a vegetable stew with peppers, onions and tomato, makes the basis of the cooking sauce for the carrots and zucchini.

Ras el hanout spice blend (center) gives authentic Moroccan flavor to this quickie meal with leftovers. If you don't have ras el hanout, combine a spoonful each of ground cumin and coriander with a half-teaspoon of turmeric, powdered ginger, cinnamon, black pepper and a pinch of cloves.

Add canned chickpeas, well drained, and some water or lamb bone broth to the pan. Cook until carrots and zucchini are tender. Add chunks of leftover roast lamb. Serve the lamb and vegetables around a heap of cous cous. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Lamb Bone Broth

Caldo de Cordero

Bones, skin and trimmings from the roast lamb and the uncooked shank are cooked with aromatics to make a flavorful broth. Once strained, the broth is chilled overnight. Then the congealed fat can be skimmed off.

For the vegetable soup, sauté chopped onions, garlic, celery, carrots and peppers in olive oil. Add cut-up vegetables--I've used chard, zucchini, potatoes and, for a touch of spring, fresh fava beans.

Peel the fava beans?

I don't usually peel the favas but I liked their bright green color when the outer skins are removed. They only need a few minutes to cook when the other vegetables are ready. The rest of the jar of chickpeas finish the soup. It's seasoned with cumin and thyme.

Indian Spiced Lamb with Spinach

Cordero con Espinacas Estilo India

Toast the spices and aromatics--peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, onions, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, chile--add spinach (from a bag) and yogurt. Stir in chunks of already-cooked lamb at the end. Serve with rice.