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I've been nagging Robin to help me make a lasagna with sheep cheese for awhile, primarily because I have an allergy to dairy, which means a "real" lasagna is simply out of the question for me. Somewhere along the way this morphed into a recipe that was something closer to the whole sheep lasagna. We substituted ground lamb in place of the normal meats you would include in a lasagna and instead of spinach we used Marche, the greens also known as lamb's lettuce. The result was an outstanding dish that stacks up nicely against any of the more traditional lasagna recipes (just because I shouldn't eat dairy doesn't mean I don't sample on occasion).

Whole Sheep Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

Lasagna Noodles

Meat
2lbs ground lamb (coarse if you can get it)
1 Tbl fennel
2 Tsp red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper to taste

Sauce
28oz can Crushed Tomatoes (San Marzano)
1/2 yellow sweet onion (diced)
5 whole cloves garlic
1 Tsp red pepper flakes
1Tsp anchovy paste
3 Tbl EVOO
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine (Sangiovese / Chianti)
1/4 cup total basil, oregano, thyme
1 pint grape tomatoes

Filling
16oz cubed soft sheep milk's cheese
1 cup grated pecorino romano
3-4oz Mache (lamb's lettuce) or sub spinach
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves whole
2-3 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven 375
2. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until almost al dente. Remove from heat and set aside in a little water and olive oil
3. While the noodles are boiling, use a medium saute pan to brown lamb and combine with ingredients for seasoning meat. At this time you can also start your sauce by sweating your onions and garlic in medium sized sauce pan, combing the onion and garlic with olive oil, anchovy paste, red pepper flakes, and salt & pepper.
4. Once meat is brown set aside.
5. Finish sauce by adding wine, cook to reduce till liquid is almost gone.
6. Add crushed tomatoes to the sauce, simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes (this is a good place to sample the wine you purchased for dinner)
7. Prepare your filling by picking basil, cubing soft cheeses, grating pecorino romano (reserve half cup of cheese for top). Combine all filling ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
8. Slice mushrooms
9. Add chopped herbs and grape tomatoes to sauce. Combine meat and sauce at this point.
10. Using the saute pan from your meat add olive oil and saute mushrooms on medium high to high. Add salt, pepper, and thyme to mushrooms. Saute till browned. Add mushrooms to bowl with filling.
11. Prepare lasagna 9x12 baking dish so you can start making layers.
12. Coat the bottom of dish with a layer of sauce, followed by a layer of noodles, and then a layer of filling (veggies cheese and mushrooms).
13. Repeat layers until you get to your last row of noodles, then finish with a layer of sauce and sprinkle the reserve cheese on the top.
14. Cover with foil and place in oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Remove foil, change oven setting to broil. Cook lasagna until topping is golden brown and bubbly (5 minutes max). Don't walk away at this stage or the lasagna will burn.
15. Remove from oven, allow to rest for 5-7 minutes before serving.
16. Serve with bread, salad, and your favorite Italian wine.

The three sheep cheeses used in this recipe are pecorino romano, pecorino di pienza, and brigante pecorino pinna. The pecorino romano is an excellent cheese for grating, the other two cheeses a much better for melting.

This cake takes just a few minutes to put together. It's great when the guests are on the way.It tastes great with warm with ice cream ( this I learned from one of my readers).

Peach mixture:

6-8 peaches

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of sugar

Flour mixture:

1 and 1/2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 of a teaspoon of salt

1 cup of sugar

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

2/3 cup of oil

On top (makes a sugary crust)

1 tablespoon of sugar

a handful of pecans

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Chop the peaches into squares (size doesn't matter)
2. Put in bowl with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, eggs, oil and 1/4 of a teaspoon of cinnamon
4. Oil a round baking pan and places peaches on bottom.
5. Pour the flour mixture on top.
6. Sprinkle pecans on top. Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar evenly on cake.
7. Bake for 40 minutes or until ready.

Bruschetta is one of those really easy things to make that just tastes so good. It is pronounced Brus- ket- Ta in Italian. I especially like the taste of ricotta salata, a mellow tasting cheese made from Sheep's milk. Ricotta Salata is dense and has a salty flavor. It is similar to feta but is a lot more mild. Be sure to use tomatoes that are okay to eat (any tomatoes will work fine). For a list of tainted tomatoes, click here
Bruschetta

Bread( enough for 8 slices)
6- 8 ripe tomatoes(diced)
4 garlic cloves
Olive Oil
Ricotta Salata cheese
Basil

1. Heat broiler. Place toasts on broiler.
2. Rub garlic on bread.
3. Place tomatoes and basil on bread and grate ricotta salata on top.
4. Drizzle olive oil and place under broiler again for a few seconds if desired.

I came up with this recipe for those days when you really don't have time to cook but the guests are on the way. It is simple and uses only ingredients that you have in your pantry.

Ingredients:

Puff Pastry
Tomato sauce (any kind will work, even spiced up canned tomatoes)
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan (grated)
Oregano (fresh works better but you can use the spice)
A kitchen ring or a glass to make circle shapes
A mini muffin tin

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Defrost puff pastry according to directions.
3. Flour the work area.
2. Roll dough out thin and make circles using rings.
3. Place each circle in each hole of the mini muffin tin.
4. Use your fingers to stick the dough to the edges of the muffin tin.
5. Brush circles with olive oil.
6. Spread sauce on them.
7. Place an olive in each tin.
8 Cover with mozzarella
9. Cover with grated parmesan and oregano.
10 Bake for 12-15 minutes

.

I made this pasta in a cooking class for bachelors that I taught. I wanted something that was fairly inexpensive (cheap vodka works fine) and had a romantic feel to it. The bachelors kept telling me about how they made it for their dates and they loved it.
Sexy!

Ingredients:

500 grams of pasta
Salt
1 and a half tablespoons of butter
Olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
1 and a half cups of whole canned tomatoes (diced)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Fresh thyme (about 4 sprigs)
250 ml of cream
¼ cup of vodka
Tabasco
Fresh Basil
Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil and butter in pan. Put onion in butter and sauté until transparent.

2. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and thyme. Cook while stirring, until the liquid
disappears (about 10 minutes).

3. Add cream, vodka and Tabasco until thick (about 3 minutes).
4. At the same time, cook pasta according to directions.
5. Mix with sauce and top with basil and Parmesan if desired.

These are easy to prep and easy to impress. The pistachio spice rub adds lots of flavor and the aioli mellows the heat. Mint and ripe grape tomatoes make this a fresh and satisfying meal. However, I wouldn't recommend them for a "first date"... unless you consider seeing your companion with half a burger shoved into their mouth exciting.

A great wine pairing for this would be a White Burgundy, a Sauvignon Blanc, or a steel-fermented Chardonnay of some kind. Your date likes beer instead? How about a Pilsner or Hefeweizen?

Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Burgers

24 oz ground lamb (or 18oz lamb stew meat and 6 oz ground pork)
1 cup pistachios (shelled)
1 tsp fresh ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp fresh ground coriander
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper
olive oil

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 small sweet onion, sliced
handful of fresh mint
handful of flat leaf parsley
2 tsp raw sugar
2 lemons, zest and juice

1/4 cup mayo
1 clove garlic, minced

4 rolls (potato, brioche, or other sweet roll)

1. combine tomatoes, onion, torn mint, torn parsley, 2 Tbl olive oil, juice of one lemon, salt, and pepper (to taste) in a medium bowl; allow to rest at room temperature
2. mix mayo, zest of 2 lemons, juice of 1 lemon, garlic, salt, and pepper (to taste) in a small serving dish; set aside
3. pour pistachios into a seal-top bag and smash till ground coarse (I recommend a rolling pin) or use a fancy food processor; add spices and spread out on a plate
4. heat a 10-12" skillet on med-high heat
5. if ground lamb is unavailable you can grind lamb stew meat in a food processor till medium-coarse, then combine with ground pork; form 4 patties, approximately 6oz each and season with salt and pepper; press into the pistachio mixture to coat
6. add about 3 Tbl olive oil to the skillet; place burgers in pan (don't overcrowd) press and cover very loosely with a lid to avoid splatter; cook approx 5 min or till deeply browned; flip and finish 4 min (check for doneness here- medium to medium-rare is preferable for good quality lamb); remove to a paper towel to rest
7. halve and toast rolls if desired; spread aioli on both sides, place your burger, add the salad on top, and serve with a large napkin.

Shnitzel is quick, easy and filling. I love bringing these to picnics because they taste so good cold. The Japanese Panko bread crumbs add a crispier texture than regular bread crumbs.

Ingredients:

About 4- 6 pieces of thin boneless chicken breasts
2 eggs
salt and pepper
1/2 a cup of flour
1 cup of Panko Bread Crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs, coarser than regular bread crumbs)
oil for frying

1. Mix two eggs with two tablepoons of water.
2. Set up work station in this order:
1 plate with chicken, 1 plate with flour, 1 plate with egg, 1 plate with bread crumbs.
3. Add salt and pepper to flour.
4. Heat a tiny bit of oil in non-stick pan. (You can deep- fry if you prefer)
5. When the oil is hot, dip chicken in flour, shake off excess, dip in egg, dip in bread crumbs (make sure to coat both sides)
6. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.

You can just keep adding more ingredients as needed. No need for exact measurements. I prefer them thick but my husband likes them thinner. To make them thinner, pound the chicken with the back of a glass before you start the dipping process.

Nothing beats homemade granola. It tastes a million times better than store- bought granola. The cherries in this recipe add a unique touch. The temperature is higher than other granola recipes which makes it brown and super crunchy.

Ingredients:

A little less than a half a cup of honey
A half a stick of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 cups of rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 a cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 a cup of pumpkin seeds
1/2 a cup of sliced almonds
1/2 a cup of dried cherries
1/2 a cup of sweetened coconut flakes

1. Heat oven at 340 degrees.
2 Heat butter, vanilla and honey in small saucepan and cook on low until ingredients are melted.

3 Place all dry ingredients in bowl. Add melted ingredients and mix until thoroughly coated.

4. Spread ingredients in single layer on baking sheet. Use two baking sheets if needed. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Keep opening the oven and giving the ingredients a little toss.

Ingredients before going into the oven

The finished granola is brown, crunchy and delicious!

Serving Suggestions:
Layered with yogurt and fruit.

Give as a gift in little bags.

Labaneh or labne is a soft, thick Middle Eastern cheese made of
of full fat yogurt that has been strained overnight. Labaneh tastes wonderful with pita, olive oil and za'atar.
Za'atar or zahatar is the name of a spice mix widely used in the Middle East. It is also the name of the herb used in this spice mix that could be referred to as European oregano (different types of marjoram and wintersweet). Other components of this spice mix are ground dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, toasted sesame seeds, sumac and salt. You can get Za'atar at spice specialty stores or at Middle Eastern Grocery stores.

Labaneh with olive oil and za'atar.

Za'atar

Ingredients:
1 tub of full fat yogurt
1 tablespoon of salt(if desired)
a coffee filter or a cheesecloth
a mesh strainer, sieve or colander
a large bowl

1. Add salt to yogurt if desired.
2. Pour yogurt into coffee filter and place in strainer on top of a bowl. Cheesecloth method: Place yogurt in cheesecloth and place over strainer and bowl.
3. Let sit in fridge for 12- 24 hours. After 12 hours it acquires a thick consistency . If a thicker Labaneh is preferred, leave to drain for another 12 hours.
4. Drain liquid.
That's it! You have Labaneh.
To make Labaneh with za'atar: Spread Labaneh on a round plate, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle zaatar on top. Dip pita slices in this spread.
Other Labaneh ideas:
Make a cheese spread by mixing it with fresh herbs such as basil or chives.
Substitute sour cream for labaneh next to your favorite dish.

Lavender lemon sorbet is a wonderful treat for the adventurous palate.
This sorbet will coat your tongue with a lemony-rosy flavor that can be used to cleanse your palate between courses or as a refreshing dessert . It sounds fancy but it is actually quite simple. No special equipment needed. A food processor adds a thicker texture to the sorbet.

Ingredients:

3/4 of a cup to 1 cup of sugar.
2 and 1/4 cups of water
1 tablespoon of dried culinary lavender (found in specialty food stores or in spice shops)
Juice of one big lemon or two little ones
Note: Too much lavender can have a soapy taste so make sure not to use a heaping tablespoon. You can even start with a little less than a tablespoon and add as you taste

1. Stir 3/4 of a cup of sugar into water in a saucepan until it dissolves. Add the lavender and bring to a boil on medium- high heat. Taste and add the rest of sugar if not sweet enough. If too sweet add more lemon juice.
2. Transfer to a thin baking dish. A thin layer will freeze faster. Let cool and remove lavender with a strainer.

3. Freeze for about an hour or until slightly frozen. After an hour, quickly process in food processor for just a few seconds until all mixed. Return to freezer and do it again after 2 hours. Keep doing this every few hours until you get the desired consistency.
If you don't have a food processor just scrape with a spoon and mix each time.

4. Scoop and serve.