This week I decided to do something that required more than half an hour to prep and cook and something more fancy. I went with this recipe for Mediterranean Braised Lamb with Couscous because it was still simple enough for me to make after coming home from work. I spent Monday night buying everything at Whole Foods and prepping. Tuesday night was just throwing everything into the pot and let it braised for 1.5hrs. Easy!

The recipe called for lamb shoulder or leg of lamb but Whole Foods was selling stewed lamb meat for a dollar cheaper so I got that instead.

My relationship with braising anything has never been good. No matter what I braise, it usually comes out oily, bland and thin. I followed his recipe pretty closely and it did not look anything like the photo. What did I do wrong?! Though everyone said it was good and Steph, she loves lamb, said this was her favorite Jamie Oliver dish I have made so far. And for some reason I did a combination of couscous and basmati rice.

Then after letting the stew sit in the fridge for couple of days, I was able to scoop up all the fat that had hardened on top. I also drained the liquid from the stew and used it to cook couscous. The lamb mixture I heated it up on a pan and added some creme fraiche and oh wow! It was delicious! So next time I am going to let any stew that I make sit in the fridge for a day or 2 before serving it.

The corner of 16th St. and Prospect Park West has had quite a history in the three years I’ve lived here. The space is only big enough to house a tiny kitchen, so it’s always been perfect for a take-out joint. When I first moved in the corner was home to a lousy falafel place. Eventually it that was replaced by a Filipino place, which I thought was mediocre the one time I got food from them. Now it is home to another falafel place, with the unwieldy name Shawarma Mediterranean Grill Flame House (the take-out menu claims it is “House of the Flaming Kebab” as well, though I don’t think that is part of the name). I visited a mere week after they opened, and I am sorry to say that the falafel is not very good.

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Sometimes I think I’m kind of a grouch when it comes to eating. Why can’t I just enjoy a meal, especially when it’s free (as my meal at Barbounia was)? I think i often set my expectations too high. I wasn’t anticipating much when I first saw the menu at Barbounia, but then I read Frank Bruni’s one star review and I thought maybe there was hope for the meal after all. Unfortunately, the bread and olives brought out at the beginning of the lunch were the best parts. The bread was still warm from the oven, and crusted with sea salt and rosemary, and they brought out plenty more at our request. Look at those greedy hands reaching for the bread!

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