Lap Banded Living Meals By Betsy - Easter and Passover Menu Planning
By: Betsy Banks
It's menu-planning time. And menus are always a bit more fun when there's a holiday meal to plan. This week, we have two-both Easter and Passover. Being newly liberated from my in-laws, I'm celebrating only one. But old habits die hard, and the menu I'm planning will work for either. And it will also work for even the most cleanly-eating bandster.
Chocolate bunnies, marshmallow peeps, and Cadbury Minis are no longer in my Easter basket, having been replaced by healthier fare. But I won't miss them-and you won't either. There are simply too many healthy and appetizing choices from which to create fabulous celebratory meals.
My (never-quite-converted) former mother-in-law tells a tale of how, for years, she carefully prepared a lovely Passover dinner, never quite understanding her Jewish husband's lack of enthusiasm for the meal she so lovingly made. To be honest, I'm not convinced that the story hasn't been embellished to portray her passive-aggression in a more positive light-but the story was nonetheless instructional. Well before I married, I knew that the pork roast she served on Passover was a faux pas! Coming from a family for which ham was the centerpiece of all spring holiday meals, menu revision was on my agenda very early in the game
For a few years, I tried out various alternatives. I quickly learned that the foods I think of as celebratory-the prime ribs, the roast turkeys, the filets mignon-are occasion-specific; it felt somehow wrong to serve prime rib-a Christmas food!-for Easter dinner. A slave to tradition, I couldn't get over this perverse sense of betrayal of the roast. I knew another solution was necessary.
What I've settled on is lamb. This was a difficult solution for me to reach; lamb is a meat that really sort of turned me off. As a child, I despised the leg of lamb my mother prepared. The odor while cooking was off-putting, and its flavor strong and unappealing. The mint jelly with which my mother attempted to disguise this did not help. But my former husband loved lamb (more than he loved me, it turns out, but that is a story for another time and place), and. because ham was out, lamb seemed a good springtime alternative. I gritted my teeth, and took one for the team.
Fortunately, an ancient episode of The French Chef with Julia Child gave me the secret to successful lamb preparation: there is a gland in the lamb's leg that produces the strong odor and flavor. When removed by the butcher, the lamb becomes quite a different animal-milder in aroma and flavor. Wouldn't you know it? Julia was right as rain.
Still, my first time out of the box, I didn't quite trust the Grand Dame of cuisine. I instead chose a recipe with flavors bold enough to stand up to the gamey lamb I'd first known. I asked my butcher to first remove the gland (something I learned he does routinely, but that others often do not), and to cube the leg for kebabs. (The scraps, he grinds and gives to me for other uses; I will include recipes in my next column, along with a month's menus.) Then, I created a marinade that I continue to use today-even though I've seen the Lamb Light, and know now that there is no need to disguise its flavor. The marinade is a marriage of fresh rosemary, olive oil, black pepper, and lemon juice and zest. That's it! Into the bowl of a food processor, I place about three cups of fresh rosemary, stripped from the stems and about 5 good-sized cloves of garlic. With the processor running, I drizzle in about half a cup (give or take) of good-quality olive oil, and the juice of about five lemons. (Really, proportions are NOT important!) The aim is to produce a thick emulsion. Once I remove the bowl from the processor, I stir in the zest of the lemons and a liberal grinding of black pepper.
I thread the lamb cubes on bamboo skewers I've soaked in water (to prevent their incineration), place the skewers in a roasting pan or glass baking dish (depending on how many I have), add the marinade, and cover and refrigerate until grilling time. (Overnight is fine.) Shortly before mealtime, I grill the skewers over medium-hot coals until they reach 130°-135° (medium-rare). (For this, I recommend a meat thermometer fork. I have this one: Amazon.com Oven-Fork-Thermometer)
The rest of the meal is just as simple: garlic roasted asparagus and a simple barley salad with veggies and vinaigrette (again-no recipe! All it takes is cooked and cooled barley, finely diced springtime veggies, and any good vinaigrette, served chilled or at room temperature).
And then there's dessert. Oh, dessert-how I've forsaken dessert! As a bandster, I now avoid foods with sugar or refined flour, but have family members who still enjoy (and expect!) a holiday confection. A quandary? Not at all! It's with dessert that I am able to return to a happy Easter tradition from my childhood. I serve a simple strawberry shortcake, just as my mother did. For my family, there is buttery yellow cake with berries and whipped cream. For me, there are berries and whipped cream brightened with lemon zest and-get ready!-a sprinkle of finely chiffonaded fresh basil. Yes-basil! It elevates the humble berry to holiday-special.
Joyous holidays to all!
Coming up: A months' menus and recipes
Betsy Banks
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