Marshalls Abroad

Antipasti Carne Christmas Life

He Asked for a Small Mediterranean Feast

While Cam was gone, I asked him what he’d want for his welcome home dinner. All he could talk about was roast lamb {the recipe is from my amazing Mama} and my homemade mezze — tzatiki dip, hummus, baba ganoush, heirloom tomato salad and whole wheat pita breads to go with. My husband is an even happier man now.

Homemade tzatiki. I feel like saying, amen. It’s so delicious & fresh {and good for you} and would also be great as a thick salad dressing or side to roasted veggies.  

Tzatiki Dip
1 cucumber, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz non-fat plain greek yogurt
1-2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon EVOO
pinch of salt
1/2 fresh lemon juice, squeezed
Mix all of the ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve!

 Baba Ganoush
1 large eggplant {or 2-4 japanese eggplants}, charred
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons EVOO
pinch of salt
about 1 tablespoon tahini
Roast the eggplants in the oven or char them on the bbq until they’re darkened. Cool in cold water and drain. Peel the skins off and pulse the insides in a blender or food processor. Add in the remaining ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve! Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds.

Emina’s Roast Lamb w/ Fresh Rosemary, Thyme & Lemon
 1 leg of lamb
10 cloves of garlic, minced
EVOO
leaves from 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
fresh thyme leaves
3 lemons
sea salt
Drizzle EVOO all over the lamb leg and cover it in the garlic and sea salt and the rosemary & thyme leaves. Slice the leg in various spots to stuff more in it. Squeeze the lemons on top; cover in foil and let marinate overnight or up to two days. Roast in a preheated oven at 450 for about 2 hours.

Whole Wheat Pita Breads
{makes 10}
3 C Flour ~ 2 C Whole Wheat, 1 C White
1 T Salt
2 T Raw Sugar
1 Teaspoon White Sugar
1 Packet Dry Active Yeast
1 1/2 C Warm Water
2 T EVOO
In
1/2 C warm water {not lukewarm!} dissolve the packet of yeast. Stir in
the teaspoon of sugar. This will help the yeast to activate. Set aside
for 5-10 minutes until the yeast doubles in size. In a medium sized
bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sugar with a fork. Pour in the yeast mixture, 1
cup of water and the EVOO. It should form into a sticky ball. On a well-floured
surface, knead the dough with your hands for about 5-10
minutes. Oil a medium-sized bowl and put the dough ball in it, making
sure to coat all sides in the olive oil. Set aside for about an hour to an hour
and a half to let rise.

Preheat your oven to 450. Punch
the dough down with your hand or fist to release the air bubbles and
then divide it into small dough balls. Mine made 10. Spread each to about 1/4 – 1/8 inch
thick. Stick as many into the open oven onto the baking sheet or pizza
stone as will fit and bake for about 10 minutes or until the tops begin
to turn golden. After they’ve cooled, drizzle on a little EVOO. They are
absolutely the best hot out of the oven!


Comments

  1. Jenna says

    I'm SO glad you and your love are back together again 🙂 AND Jurgen would LOVE everything about this meal… finally a leg of lamb recipe that actually looks feasible! As soon as he signs for his new job next year I'm going to replicate this 🙂

    xxx
    Jenna

  4. J+H @ Beyond The Stoop says

    i agree about the homemade tzatziki! i remember having a craving for it when i just started working and was super poor (like, worse than college! living in the city is expensive, kids!)

    greek yogurt was just hitting the market, and was SO expensive. so, i made my own with REGULAR yogurt! i rubberbanded a coffee filter to the top of a coffee mug, put a few scoops of plain regular yogurt on top, and let it sit in the fridge overnight…

    voila! in the morning it was the consistancy of greek yogurt!

    cheers 🙂

  5. McKenzie says

    This looks AH-mazing. The way you capture your cooking is an art. I'm just sitting over here trying to figure out how to get invited to a dinner party at your place 🙂 So glad you and your man are together again! With roasted lamb. Which makes it even better.

  7. Tim and Lanna Britt says

    "What do you mean he don't eat no meat??… It's okay. I make lamb."

    That looks amazing!!! Just add that to my cooking wish list once I have appliances to cook with!
    love,
    lanneybear

  9. madeleine says

    you need to come stand over me while I am cooking and remind me to not serve out of pots! All craig wanted was brownies, he ate the entire pan as soon as he walked in the door

  11. Legally Lovely says

    This looks delicious! I've never eaten lamb, but it looks absolutely gorgeous. Your recipe calls for plenty of garlic, which is my one true love in life, so I think I need to try it!

  12. Jessica Lynn says

    lol my husband keeps changing his welcome-home dinner like every five minutes. Your food looks amazing and I'm excited to try the whole wheat pita!

    By the way, I'm totally jealous of the lighting you have there—it's just gorgeous compared to the constant rain we're getting here.

  16. Melanie Fontaine says

    The food looks really mouthwatering – fresh, light and healthy! I'll try my hand at the pita breads on the weekends. I really love them, but for some reason I don't eat them too often. The idea of some fresh out of the oven and served with some nice vegetables really is so appealing! 🙂

  19. Nicole Marie says

    one day i am going to hire you to come be my personal chef. I don't even need to eat the food, I just want it to be in front of me so i can look at it's real live prettiness… well obviously i want to eat it too

  22. Ragan says

    oh my goodness, this looks SO delicious. I am thoroughly impressed, you are an amazing cook. AND a great photographer to boot! 😉

  24. L says

    You are amazing!! And Cam is a lucky guy. I am sitting here having not eaten dinner yet, and I want to leap into your pictures. 🙂 I'm so excited for you guys and your trip to NZ. Have a wonderful time!! Can't wait to see pics.

  25. Brooke says

    Yay for a lovely Welcome Home/Re-Thanksgiving dinner! This looks delicious! I will absolutely be making ALL of these recipes for my hubby soon 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!

You Might Also Like