Kalamata Stuffed Lamb

I love lamb and this is one of my favorite recipes. I've made this with mushrooms (use regular black olives and saute the mushrooms first and omit the thyme)

1 leg of lamb 7-8 lbs; boneless and butterflied (have the butcher do this for you)
1 c fresh bread crumbs
¼ c flat leaf parsley-chopped
3 lg cloves garlic, chopped
½ lb kalamata (or other Mediterranean style olive) coarsely chopped
½ lb Feta cheese, crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs dried rosemary chopped
2 tbs pure Olive Oil
2 tbs Lemon juice (about 1 lemon)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay the butterflied leg of lamb flat on a work surface, fat-side down and pound briefly to flatten. Combine the bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, feta cheese, olives, rosemary, olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl and blend well to make a coarse stuffing for the lamb. Spread the stuffing evenly along the center of the inside of the leg of lamb. Fold the lamb toward the center, one side then the other, to enclose the stuffing and form a roll. Tie the roll in several places with butchers twine so that it does not open during cooking. Season the outside of the lamb with the salt and pepper and place, seam-side down in a roasting pan. Place in the oven and roast 70 minutes, for medium rare. Remove the lamb and allow the roast to cool 20 minutes before slicing.

Armenian No-Cook Itch Pilaf

1 cup #1 bulgur
1 small can tomato sauce
½ of tomato sauce can worth of water
salt
paprika
juice of 1 ½ lemons
chopped parsley and chives

Mix bulgur, tomato sauce and water. Wait until liquid is absorbed. Add the rest of the ingredients to taste.

Kibbeh

LENTIL AND BULGUR CAKES
This is a vegetarian "kibbeh" with lentils in place of the meat, from "The Cuisine of Armenia," by Sonia Uvezian. (At its root, kibbeh is an oblong meatball of lamb and moistened bulgur, stuffed with cooked meat, vegetables, spices, and nuts. It can also be made with rice, semolina, or matzo meal instead of bulgur, and with fish, spinach, red lentils, pumpkins, potatoes, veal, beef, rabbit, turkey, and other ingredients.")

1 c Dried lentils
3 c Water
Salt
¾ c Butter
¾ c Bulgur, fine grade
1 med Onion, finely chopped
¼ c Finely chopped green or sweet red pepper
¼c Finely chopped green onions (white part and 2" of green parts)
¼c Finely chopped parsley
¼ c Finely chopped fresh mint
Paprika

Combine lentils, water and dash salt in heavy saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, then simmer until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Add more hot water if needed. Stir in 1/2 cup butter and bulgur. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Set aside 15 minutes.

In heavy skillet, melt remaining 1/4 cup butter over moderate heat. Add onion. Saute until golden brown, stirring frequently. In large mixing bowl combine sauteed onions, lentil and bulgur mixture.

Dipping hands occasionally into bowl of warm water, knead mixture until well blended, 2-3 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons sweet pepper, 3 tablespoons green onions, 3 tablespoons parsley and 3 tablespoons mint to mixture and mix well. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Keeping hands moistened, form mixture into patties. Arrange on serving dish. Sprinkle with reserved sweet pepper, green onions, parsley and mint. Season to taste with paprika. Serve with cucumber and tomato salad.

Thank you Marika Eva

Հելլո. Ի ամ տհրիլլեդ տո հավե ա ֆոլլուինգ ֆոր մյ բլոգս. Ի ամ ալսո տհրիլլեդ տո հավե ֆոունդ հտտպ://ամ.տրանսլիտ.ցց/ ւհիչ տրանսլատես ենգլիշ ինտո Արմենիան



This is amazing! I found http://am.translit.cc/ which translates English into Armenian , RussianGreek. I came across this link on Marika Eva's blog (she ALWAYS has such interesting posts about Armenia, Georgia and Russia-she's from Montreal and I would love to sit and talk with her one day!)
Anyway since I do not have an Armenian keyboard-this is amazing. I just type what I want then translate and copy and paste! Yay!!

I came across these handy kitchen tips. (I love "handy tips"!!!)If you have any tips- leave a message and I will post.

Also : if you have a favorite recipe (Armenian or otherwise) please pass it on. I would love to hear from you.

Measuring Cups :

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
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Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
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Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
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Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
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Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
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To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
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For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

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Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
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Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza.

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Easy Deviled Eggs Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

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Reheating refrigerated bread To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster