To make our Sunday cookouts more interesting this summer we have decided to go in an international direction. Since we wanted to serve boneless leg of lamb, Greek cuisine seemed like a natural. Joe applied the “charred and scruffed” approach to the lamb, making a board dressing with roasted garlic, Greek olive oil and fresh Italian (oops) parsley, salt and pepper.
We like to serve two entrees and at first were thinking chicken but a recipe in Bon Appetit and the unanimous positive user reviews convinced me otherwise. Whole bronzino, a Mediterranean sea bass, already a favorite of ours, seasoned simply with a little olive oil, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. The light and flaky cooked fish is drizzled with ladolemono, a classic Greek vinaigrette. What makes this vinaigrette unique is the one-to-one ratio of acid to oil as opposed to the traditional one-to-three, found in most vinaigrettes. Fresh squeezed lemon juice is combined with Greek extra virgin olive oil and dried (we used fresh since we had it ) Greek oregano is crumbled over the top. Very simple and delicious, I know we will repeat this again.
Grilled vegetables, though not exclusively Greek, are an important part of Mediterranean cuisine and complimented both entrees very nicely. A Greek potato salad of fingerling potatoes, haricots verts, crumbled feta and black olives was a Bobby Flay contribution. Since we love green salads I made a classic Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and Kalamata olives. I like to combine those ingredients with some crunchy Romaine lettuce and top it with a simple vinaigrette of red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic and Greek extra virgin olive oil. Spanakopita or spinach pie was a natural addition, a dish that I often make when our crop of spring spinach is plentiful. Sometimes I make this dish with puff pastry but since the theme was Greek I used phyllo. I made whole wheat pita breads to wrap up the lamb and vegetables, just wished they had puffed up more. Next time I will bake them on the Kamado.
I made tzatziki, the Greek cucumber yogurt sauce that is accented with lemon, garlic and fresh dill. It went perfectly with the lamb and grilled vegetables. When I made this as a caterer I would need to strain the yogurt to give it a thicker texture. The ready availability of Greek yogurt has eliminated that step.
Dessert was Kathy’s delicious and flaky baklava and cheesecake topped with my homemade strawberry frozen yogurt. Greek wines and licoricey iced tea were the beverages. A delectable feast that was enjoyed by all.
Grilled Branzino with Ladolemono
From Bon Appetit June 2011
Makes 2-4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 whole bone-in branzino, cleaned
- 1T extra virgin olive oil, Greek preferably
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2c ladolemono (recipe follows)
- 1T dried Greek oregano
Directions
- Prepare a grill to medium high heat. Brush fish with oil and season skin and cavity with salt and pepper
- Grill fish, turning once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter, drizzle with ladolemono, crumble oregano over, and serve
Ladolemono
Make 1/2 cup
Ingredients
- 1/4c fresh lemon juice
- 1/4c extra virgin olive oil, Greek preferably
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Whisk together lemon juice and oil. Whisk in kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
- The boneless leg of lamb was marinated in garlic, rosemary and olive oil.
