Lunch is served with this Greek lamb and rice.
I’m a lunch packer and I always have been, ever since the days when Baba would come home and comment on how the admins in his office would spend $12 a day on lunch when they were only making $12 an hour or less when he, Dr. MD would head to Burger King for his 99c Junior Whopper. How thrifty is that? Not that I thought getting a Junior Whopper for lunch was a good idea, but I took his point to heart. As such, it’s a pretty rare day that I buy lunch.
Back in Chicago, when I did, one of my favorite places to go was Greek Kitchen. It was in the hospital across the street, smelled fantastic and they really made a delicious gyro platter, served with an excuse to get fries. One time when reheating the leftovers, I mixed everything (sans fries) in a big bowl, and the whole thing came together in what reminded me of almost a Greek-ish paella, and it was so good, I was determined to try recreate it to make a Greek-ish paella at home.
Well, a quicker version anyway.
I do not have a wall-size rotisserie in my house. Nor did I have the inclination to spend a few hours roasting some lamb. Therefore, this version is less like the Greek-ish paella I had dreamed of in my head but more like just seasoned lamb and rice. I browned some ground lamb with oregano, cumin, lemon and rosemary and tossed it with rice, cooked in a risotto-like way. The whole thing was finished off with parsley, lemon, feta and onion salad for what ended up a pretty swell dish.
But man, sometimes I just really miss Greek Kitchen.
Greek Lamb and Rice
Easy one-pot Greek lamb and rice is a delicious way to get the flavors of a gyro sandwich in a rice bowl.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1 TB oregano
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 TB unsalted butter
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 cups low sodium or homemade chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup feta cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Directions
- Step 1 Make the onion salad by combining the red onion, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and the juice of 1 lemon. Toss and set aside.
- Step 2 In a large saucepan, add 2 TB olive oil and the ground lamb. When half browned, add the garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, red pepper and rosemary. Continue cooking until brown. Add the juice of half the lemon, mix well and remove from pan.
- Step 3 In the same pan, add the butter and onion and cook until onion is soft. Add the rice and garlic and cook 1 minute until toasted. One cup at a time, add the stock and water, adding it little by until all the stock and water are used up and the liquid is absorbed. Add the lamb back in, along with the peas, remaining lemon juice, parsley, feta, red onion salad, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve while warm.
