Spring Recipes: Lamb, Asparagus and Eggs

I was so excited when I logged in to my blog this morning to find that my Spring Photo Challenge post was being featured on Freshly Pressed! Thank you all for reading and for your comments! I truly LOVE writing about/photographing food, so it is amazing to have my efforts recognized by so many and to be part of the WordPress blogging community. Yesterday I wrote about some of my favorite foods of spring and today I share the recipes.

Spiced Lamb Kebabs

Lamb always reminds me of spring. When I was growing up, my grandma cooked a leg of lamb for Easter each year and we ate it with mint jelly. Here’s a different take on lamb with mint. The cinnamon might sound strange, but try it — it makes the lamb smell and taste so good!

Yields 4 kebabs

• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• skewers

Preheat the grill to high. Mix the ground lamb and the spices. Divide the lamb into four equal parts. Form each portion into the shape of a hot dog and push a skewer through the length of the meat. Place the lamb kebabs onto the grill and sear the meat on each side. Continue to cook until the internal temperature of the lamb reaches 160 degrees. Serve with mint yogurt sauce.

Mint Yogurt Sauce

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated or minced
• 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and serve as a dipping sauce for the lamb.

Roasted Asparagus

I ate this entire platter of roasted asparagus for dinner tonight, along with the poached egg and hollandaise sauce. It was so good, I just couldn’t stop! The asparagus was sweet from being roasted and fragrant from the tarragon; the egg was creamy, a nice contrast to the crunchy asparagus; and the lemony hollandaise gave each bite a bright, fresh finish.

• 1 pound asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon tarragon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and tarragon. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until it’s tender.

Hollandaise Sauce

I made the mistake of trying to multi-task while making the hollandaise sauce, and I ended up making scrambled lemon eggs (not once but twice, I’m ashamed to say). So I’m sharing my newly acquired hollandaise wisdom with you: don’t try to make it while your toddler is crying, your dogs are barking, etc. You must focus on the hollandaise! I borrowed this recipe from Food Network/Tyler Florence.

Yields 1 cup of sauce

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 stick of butter
• pinch of salt

Whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together until the mixture thickens and doubles in size. (I recommend using a mixer for this – otherwise your arm will feel like it’s going to fall off before you’re done.) Melt the butter. Pour the egg mixture into the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Whisk vigorously, while gradually adding the butter. Don’t let the top of the double boiler touch the water or get too hot or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. Continue whisking until the mixture is thickened. Serve warm.

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