Easter Bestovers: Lamb Sandwich

Disclaimer:  McKenzie and I are consulting dietitians for Lean on Lamb, the Tri-Lamb Group.

We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend spent with the ones you love!  I celebrated both Passover and Easter this weekend, with a fun, boisterous Passover dinner in Vancouver with Elie’s family and a lovely, relaxing Easter lunch at our home with my Mom and good friends.  Both holidays are poignant reminders to pause and be grateful.

Of course, no holiday is complete without our traditional favorite foods. When I was growing up, we raised sheep, so we often had lamb for Easter.  For Easter lunch, we served a roasted leg of lamb, based on this recipe.  I bought a boneless leg of lamb, and butterflied it, slathering it inside and out with a mixture of butter, garlic, Dijon mustard, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, salt and red pepper flakes before rolling it and roasting it to a perfect medium-rare.  I served it topped with a fresh salad of thinly sliced radish and fennel marinated in lemon juice and olive oil.  It was delicious!.

Of course, one of the benefits of roasting a leg of lamb is leftovers.  Twitter has been buzzing with ideas for using leftover lamb, including these creative recipes from Food & Wine.  But when it comes to leftover lamb, I’m all about the sandwich.  Sometimes I’ll stuff lamb slices into a pita with chopped cucumber and tomato and tahini sauce.  Or turn the lamb into tacos with homemade tortillas and a spicy cilantro sauce.

But this time, I went Southern.  Think, pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw, except with lamb: toasted whole wheat bread slathered with spicy Dijon mustard and piled high with a cabbage, fennel and radish slaw and slices of leftover lamb.  Delicious.  Here’s how you make it.

Bestover: Lamb Sandwich with Cabbage Slaw 

Leftover leg of lamb, sliced

Purple cabbage, thinly sliced

Fennel, thinly sliced

Radish, thinly sliced

Fresh parsley, chopped

Sea salt

Black pepper

Red pepper flakes

Lemon Juice

Extra virgin olive oil

Whole wheat bread, toasted

Dijon Mustard

This is more of a method than a recipe.  Scale the ingredients to the number of sandwiches you are making, and make the slaw exactly how you like it. 

In a bowl, combine together the shredded cabbage, thinly sliced fennel, thinly sliced radish and chopped parsley.  Add a pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Squeeze on a little lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.  Toss together.

Spread both pieces of toasted bread with Dijon mustard.  Top the bottom slice with a heaping cup of slaw and then place about 3 ounces of lamb slices on top of the slaw.  Cover the sandwich with the top slice of bread, cut in half and enjoy!  As always, food is best when shared with someone you love.  

Roasted Broccoli & Red Pepper Cheese Toast

It seems a little silly to even post this recipe as a blog post, because it is so simple.  But sometimes, simple is best.  And hey, it’s Monday, right? We need a no-brainer to help us ease into the week.

 So here you go, a healthy, veggie heavy cheese toast recipe.  If you have leftover roasted vegetables from last night’s dinner, this could be ready in as little as 10 minutes.  I would eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Enjoy!

Roasted Broccoli & Red Pepper Cheese Toast

Serves 4

1 head broccoli, cut into florets

2 red peppers, cored and sliced

1 – 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Zest of one lemon

Pinch of sea salt

Pinch of red pepper flakes

4 thick slices whole wheat bread

4 ounces aged goat or sheep milk cheese, like a young Manchego

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Place the broccoli and red peppers on a rimmed sheet pan.  Drizzle with olive oil, lemon zest, salt and red pepper flakes.  Toss the vegetables together to coat and then place the sheet pan in the oven.  Roast for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are deep golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Place the bread in a toaster and toast until medium-brown.  Place the toast on a baking sheet and divide the roasted broccoli and red pepper between the pieces of toast.  Top each piece with 1 ounce of cheese.  Place the toasts in the oven and cook until the cheese is bubbling and browned, about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with additional sea salt, if desired. 

Enjoy!