Shawarma Lamb with Couscous Salad

Sunset Magazine seems to have a lot of interesting recipes and this Shawarma Lamb with Couscous Salad is just another new and interesting flavor we had for dinner. It was pretty easy to cook, but you need to get the meat from a butcher as I've never seen it in an isle of a grocery store.

Shawarma Lamb with Couscous Salad
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup couscous
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/2 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lbs top round lamb steak, thinly sliced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Greek yogurt

Bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan, Add the couscous, cover tightly, remove from heat, and let sit for 5 minutes. Uncover, fluff, and add carrots and parsley, 2 tbsp oil, zest and juice of one lemon (I found this too be too much lemon so I suggest you add to taste).

Cook the onions in remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan over high heat until edges are charred, 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic, lamb, cumin, stirring, until lamb is cooked through and browned, about 10 more minutes.

Divide couscous among 4 plates and top with lamb mixture. Mix yogurt with remaining lemon juice (to taste) and serve with lamb.

Notes:
* Instead of adding the cumin, salt and pepper later, I marinated the meat in it.
* I did not add oil to the couscous, and used 1 tbsp to fry the onions.

Grilled Mediterranean Vegetable Sandwiches

This is another recipe I found while browsing through Sunset Magazine. We decided to make them at home and take them out for a little picnic dinner in the park. They were very tasty, and I used the broiler instead of the outdoor grill. I also substituted most of the mayonnaise for yogurt to make it a little more fat free. This is a recipe we are going to make pretty often this summer.

Grilled Mediterranean Vegetable Sandwiches

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp lemon juice

About ½ cup crumbled feta cheese, softened

2 small zucchini, thinly sliced length-wise

2 portabella mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch thick

1 eggplant, sliced ¼ inch thick

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large ciabatta loaf, cut horizontally

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

2 cups baby arugula

Heat grill to high (450 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit). Brush the zucchini, eggplant, and mushrooms with oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill, turning once, until softened and grill marks appear. Mix together the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice and set aside. Cut the ciabatta loaf into four and grill, cut side down, for about 2 minutes, or until grill marks appear. Spread the tops with the feta cheese and the bottom with the garlic mayonnaise. Assemble all the vegetables and serve.