Both are pronounced the same. One uses chunks of meat, the other has ground meat. I had ground lamb, and did not want to make lamburgers or meatballs. So I started looking for ideas. I found several possibilities, some of which required ingredients not currently available (fresh basil), or ended up swamping the lamb in other flavors. Lamb should taste like lamb.

As usual, the final result was partly recipe, partly “swap this for that, add a bit of this” based on what was in my pantry. The original recipes called for tomato paste, but I used sun-dried tomatoes instead. The result wasn’t as pretty and smoothly saucy as the photos from the food sites, but tasted great.

One pound ground lamb

olive oil for sauteeing

one large rib of celery, one carrot, one medium onion, all chopped fine (almost minced)

1/4-1/3 cup red wine or enough to deglaze pan

One can diced or chunk tomatoes (15 oz) or roasted tomatoes

six sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil was used)

three cloves of garlic (or a little more)

spices (rosemary, a shake of basil)

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the veggies and garlic, and sautee until soft. Add the lamb and brown. Add red wine, sufficient to deglaze pan and loosen the brown bits. Add canned tomatoes, then sliced sun-dried. Follow with garlic and spices. Reduce heat and simmer until the flavors blend. You should still be able to taste the lamb. Serve with pasta (I served it over cauliflower).

This got rave reviews at RedQuarters. The lamb flavor went well with the mellow veggies and tomatoes, aided by the red wine*. I’d like to scale it up, to get more meals out of it, but the lamb only came in single pound packs, and I was lucky to find those.

*All the alcohol cooked off, so it wasn’t a problem for me.

That’s sort of where I started, but without making the meatballs, and without adding the leafy greens or orzo pasta. Inspired by the basic idea of Italian Wedding Soup is probably the better way to describe it.

I scored a pound of ground lamb (lamburger) on clearance.

2 C chicken broth, plus water

1 c chopped onion

2 T chopped garlic (I like garlic)

Sauté the meat in oil, then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the broth, and water to cover, plus a little more. For spices I used basil, a commercial five-pepper blend (bell, cayenne, and some others), a few bits of rosemary, and a shake of smoked paprika. I let it simmer for half an hour, then turned off the fire.

The next day I chopped three carrots into thin slices, and did the same for four stalks of celery. Those went into the pot with a bit more water, since I wanted soup. I brought it to a vigorous boil, then let it simmer for an hour or so. The flavor was very good, “bright” with a bit of warmth but not overwhelming. Lamb has a distinct flavor, and I wanted to play that up.

The original recipe is for ground Italian sausage, or a 50/50 blend of ground pork and ground beef, made into small meatballs. After you do the same things with the garlic and onion that I did, you add carrots, celery, leafy greens, and orzo. I may toss rice in next time, just a quarter cup or so, to thicken it. Letting it sit overnight helped the flavors mellow.

Mom wanted Salad Nicoise, a tuna, green-bean, boiled egg, olives, small boiled potatoes, and light dressing. It originated in Nice, France. This was … not really feasible. However, when leftover salad, and tiny potatoes, appeared in the fridge, and two tins of tuna showed up on the counter, I got the HINT.

Salad 1.0 was a Caesar salad from a kit, with cherry tomatoes, and half a green bell pepper and half a cucumber added. It wasn’t bad, and as much dressing as came with the lettuce, I was glad I’d tossed in the other stuff.

Salad 2.0 used the remains of the Caesar salad, plus 1 hard boiled egg, two small cans of water-packed tuna (well drained), a few more tomatoes, the rest of the cucumber and bell pepper, about a third of a cup of walnuts (broken into pieces by hand), two boiled “new potatoes,”* and Parmesan cheese grated over the top. The potatoes, cut into chunks, worked well to get the last of the dressing out of the storage container holding the remaining green salad. I blended everything, did not worry about adding more dressing or croutons, and served with bread on the side.

It was pronounced a success, even if it wasn’t really Salad Nicoise. Traditional dressings are more oil-based rather than cream-based, which fits the place of origin and how salads were typically made in that part of the world.

*They are small (usually), round red potatoes with a thin skin. In my family they usually get served boiled, with green beans. I’ve seen them sold as “spring potatoes.” What you want are small, thin-skinned, and not too floury potatoes of some kind.