Greek Tacos

There have been several recipes now that I have seen on Jeff Mauro's the Sandwich King that I have made not too long after they aired on the Food Network. This is one of those recipes. I made this once before and Phil said that they tasted pretty spot on to a Gyro that you get in a fast food place. Phil really likes Gyros so I thought this would be a fun recipe to try. I am indifferent about Gyros because I am not a fan of the Tzatziki sauce or the relish, so as you could probably guess the picture is Phil's plate not mine. Oh well, at least he likes most everything, so I can get a decent picture from somewhere and not just meat and cheese that is on my taco. If you are a Gyro fan and you do not have a Gyro spit in your kitchen, then this is a perfect recipe for you.

Greek Tacos
Adapted from Jeff Mauro

Lamb:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground lamb
Salt
Pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry red wine

Tzatziki:

1 cucumber
Salt
1 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Cucumber Tomato Relish:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 diced tomatoes
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, diced
Ground black pepper

Non pocket pitas

For the Tzatziki: Grate the cucumber  on the large holes of a box grater and place in a fine meshed strainer fitted over a bowl. Salt the cucumber and let sit 10 minutes. Then squeeze out any excess moisture. Add the strained cucumber into a bowl with the yogurt, feta, and garlic. Refrigerate, until ready to use.

For the cucumber tomato relish: Toss the olive oil, vinegar, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions in a bowl and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Cover and let set at least one hour for the flavors to blend together.

For the lamb: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the lamb, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until the meat gets nice and golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the oregano and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add tomato paste and red wine and scrape any bits up that have adhered to the pan. Stir to combine.

Assembles tacos and enjoy.

This recipe is linked on: Mix it Up Mondays, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, On the Menu Monday,  Makin You Crave Monday, Your Creative Time Out,  Wednesday Extravaganza, What's Cooking Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday

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Pesto Crusted Rack of Lamb

Phil is going to be out of town the next couple of days and then we are going to Iowa for Christmas so I wanted to make a nice dinner for our last night alone before the holidays. I have been wanting to make a rack of lamb for a while now. I have seen several recipes for herb crusted rack of lamb and they all looked so good. I found this recipe from the newest Fine Cooking magazine. I really like this magazine because it has a lot of fancier recipes, but they are easy to make. I found a small rack of lamb at our local grocery store and the bones were already frenched. I think that is makes them look so much fancier when the bones are bare. The lamb came out amazing. Very tender and flavorful. I was really worried I would either way under cook or way over cook it. We have an oven thermometer that stays inside while it is cooking and alerts us when the meat reaches our desired doneness. The thermometer has been some of the best money we have spent because every cut of meat we have made with it has come out perfect. I would definitely suggest getting one, especially if you like to roast meats.

Pesto Crusted Rack of Lamb
Adapted from Fine Cooking

1 8-or-9 bone frenched lamb rack
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat until hot. Rub the lamb rack with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sear all sides, about one minute per side. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in a food processor add parsley, 6 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, and salt and pulse until paste forms.

In a small bowl combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.

After rack has rested 20 minutes rub with pesto and then top with breadcrumbs.

Roast in oven for 40 minutes for medium.

Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

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