Upscale Gyros

There was a show that I caught on The Cooking Channel the other day called "Cook Like An Iron Chef". It had a recipe for lamb that looked a little different, so I thought i'd try it.It ended up being too much work given the outcome which was a type of upscale gyro, albeit with no bread. However, there were some very good components within the recipe that I just may work into my regular repitoire.

First off, fresh oregano is awesome in salad. The recipe called for a vinegarette dressing that used fresh chopped oregano with radish, cucumber and radish greens. Radish greens are too bitter for me, so I just substituted romaine lettuce. The fresh oregano stripped off the stalks and chopped fine made for an awesome break from the salad blahs. Great flavor and highly recommended.

Secondly, the lamb itself was dredged in flour, dipped in egg and then coated with a mixture of panko bread crumbs and grated parmesan. While I am certainly no stranger to the extra crispy wonders of panko, it had never occurred to me to mix grated cheese into the crumbs. Previously, I would start with cheese, then egg, and then the plain panko. The result here was a much more tasty crust, not to mention an overall more consistent golden brown appearance.

So when we plated this thing, we started by putting down a yogurt sauce called "tzaziki" that was ok, but it was made with greek yogurt which also is just too bitter in flavor for me. The yogurt was mixed with some grated cucumber, lemon,garlic, salt and pepper. it was okay, but I just cant see myself reaching for that recipe again. The lamb cutlets went on top, with the salad on top of that. It actually tasted pretty good, and the textures of crispy,creamy and crunchy went well together.

So although the dinner that night was only a mild success, it did yield some interesting flavor techniques and combinations that I may in fact find myself returning to at some later date.