Lamb, I am.

I love the sassy, tangy taste of arugula, but it can be hard to put together a salad that stands up to its swagger. When this week's CSA box brought us another great big bag of the stuff (plus microgreens and carrots and strawberries, oh my!), I was ready with a twist on one of our old favorites: lamb burger salads. Trust me, its a good one. It combines our newfound love of grilling (and a definite plus of living below the Mason Dixon is that you really can grill practically all year round) and there is no better stage for all of its great Greek flavors than a whole mess of beautiful tangled arugula.

The recipe is originally from Self Magazine c/o epicurious. I made some very minor changes to convert it from a burger to a salad and added the Sriracha sauce to give it some additional flavor and a bit of a punch.

Greek Burger Salad with Arugula, Tomatoes, and Feta
4 whole-wheat pitas (6 1/2 inches each)
1/4 cup skim milk
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 generous tablespoons chopped fresh mint
4 generous teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 pound lean ground lamb
4 cups arugula
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup peeled, seeded and finely diced cucumber
1/3 cup crumbled feta

Dressing
2/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt (I like Greek Fage yogurt)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey

Sriracha sauce to taste.

Heat oven to 350°F. Cut 1/4 off each pita (a half-moon shape from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock). Chop half-moons, transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with milk. Let soak 5 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess milk.

Purée soaked bread, onion, garlic, herbs and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Transfer purée to a bowl. Add lamb, season with salt and pepper and combine. Form into 4 patties.

Wrap pitas in foil and heat until warm, about 8 minutes. (Or place pitas between sheets of paper towel and microwave until warm, about 30 seconds.)

Cook burgers on the grill or on a skillet with teaspoons oil heated over medium-high heat until hot. Cook burgers to medium, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

Whisk yogurt, mint, garlic, mustard and honey in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare the salads. Divide the arugula between four plates. Break up the burgers and divide between the plates. Add tomato, red onion and cucumber to plates. Drizzle dressing over salads and add several good squirts of Sriracha to taste. Sprinkle with feta. Serve warm pitas and leftover dressing on the side.




Tip from M. Tumbleweed: once you have prepared the patties, make sure that you put them somewhere well out of reach of the dog.  Or else you will end up with three, instead of four, lamb burgers to go around.  (Tip from the dog: ignore those last two sentences entirely.)

Now that's my kind of dividend.

CSA. It stands for Community Supported Agriculture and the number of farms that offer some form of CSA program has been growing every year. While the exact mechanics can vary from farm to farm, the basic structure is this: you, the consumer seeking super fresh produce, pay the farmer for a "share" of the farm for the season. In exchange, you get your investment paid back to you over the course of the season in boxes of produce. In other words: you get dividends that you can eat. It is not entirely risk free. The farmer may have a bad season and the CSA is one way that they seek to spread the potential losses that they can suffer as a result of those particular characteristics of the business that can make a bad year beyond their control. But the rewards, which include providing support for a grower in your local community (in addition to the normal payout of delicious eats), are numerous.

I had long been curious about CSAs, but it wasn't until last Spring that we took the plunge and bought our very own share in a family farm outside of Charleston, South Carolina. It did not take us long to become completely hooked. Some CSAs let you choose what you get each week, but I preferred the way ours did it--the more common grab bag (or more accurately, grab bushel) arrangement, where you get a box of whatever happens to have come out of the ground each week. I came to relish the challenge of using whatever we were given and, with a lot of help from epicurious.com, we ate riotously lip-smackingly well that season.

We ate so well, in fact, that after the season ended, we couldn't wait to sign up again. But then work moved me to Columbia, South Carolina, and it initially looked like we were out of luck. Internet searches revealed no CSAs closer than an hour's drive away and I couldn't help but feel that to make a trip like that each week to pick up my bushel somewhat defeated the purpose of trying to eat local and do even just a little bit to shrink that environmental footprint (which I was painfully aware had become enormous in our transition from New York City dwellers to suburbanites with - gasp - not just one, but TWO cars).

But just as I had given up the dream of another gloriously local Spring, Columbia's very own urban farm, City Roots, announced its inaugural CSA season. I picked up my first box last Wednesday and could not be happier. Around these parts, City Roots is very rightfully known for its salad greens and the box was packed with goodies of this ilk, including arugula, pea shoots, three heads of red-leafed lettuce, and a bag of beet greens. Also inside was pure nostalgia of gardens from my childhood past: some of the most delicious strawberries I have ever tasted and carrots that retained that slightly sweet taste that you only find in carrots pulled directly from the earth.

Below are two of my favorite recipes that the box inspired this week. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Farmers Market Salad with Aged Gouda and Roasted Portabellas
3/4 lbs sliced portabella mushrooms
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 tbs red-wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
10 cups mixed spicy greens such as mustard, arugula, tatsoi, mizuna, and watercress
1 cup coarsely grated aged Gouda cheese

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

Toss mushrooms with 3 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl. Roast in 1 layer in a 4-sided sheet pan, turning once, until golden-brown and tender, about 15 minutes. Cool mushrooms.

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 5 tablespoons oil in a bowl until combined. Toss mushrooms, greens, and cheese with enough dressing to coat.

Recipe originally published in Gourmet Magazine. You can view the complete recipe online at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/354521

Goat Cheese and Beet Green Pasta
1 tbs + 1 tsp olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
6 cups washed and sliced beet greens
1/2 lb whole grain penne pasta
1/2 cup half n' half
2 ounces goat cheese
1/4 tsp fresh thyme
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Chop the beet greens, cut off the thick stalks. Submerge in a large bowl of cool water to remove dirt. Drain and pat dry.

Cook the pasta in salted water according to directions until al dente.

In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the garlic until golden. Add the mushrooms and saute until browned. Add sliced beet greens and saute until wilted, approximately 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the cream and goat cheese in a small bowl until well blended. Add to the skillet and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken slightly. Add fresh thyme, season with salt and pepper.

Add the cooked pasta and a few tablespoons of the pasta water to the skillet and saute with the sauce for one minute. Divide among plates, top with pistachios, extra grated cheese and freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.

Thanks to Susan Russo of foodblogga.com for the original recipe. (I tweaked some of the measurements a bit, added the garlic and mushrooms, and made some small other changes, including substituting whole grain penne pasta).