Recipe: Grilled Okra with Berbere Spice

Ingredients for Grilled Okra + Marinade:
1 pound fresh okra
2 teaspoons Berbere spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, microplaned
3 tablespoons lemon juice
9 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 quarts water

Ingredients for Cheese:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Berber spice
1 green hill cheese from sweet grass dairy*

*substitute your favorite soft ripened double cream cow's milk cheese

Step 1
To Prepare Cheese

• Begin by seasoning the cheese with salt and Berbere spice.
• Wrap the cheese with foil, leaving an opening on the top of the foil.
• Place the cheese on the coolest part of your grill and leave for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is warmed through and completely soft.
• Remove cheese from grill, unwrap, and serve with your okra.

Step 2
To Prepare Grilled Okra + Marinade:

• Soak wooden skewers in a bowl of water, submerged for 1 hour. Remove skewers from water and skewer your okra. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl add your Berbere spice, salt, garlic, and lemon juice. Whisk in olive oil and set aside.
• With a pastry brush, mix your marinade well and brush lightly onto the okra.
• Place the okra skewers on the hottest part of your grill and rotate every two minutes.
• Remove from the grill after 6 minutes or when the okra has a nice char and good color.
• Remove okra from the skewers and dress with the remaining marinade and place on a plate.

Recipe: Grilled Lamb Chops & Summer Vegetables

Ingredients:
4 lamb blade chops
4 cups summer squash
4 cups scallions
olive oil
salt
black pepper

To Prepare

• Light your grill.
• Season your summer vegetable squash (front and back) & scallions with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on the grill for 5 minutes on each side then set aside.
• Season your lamb with the Harissa paste (separate recipe). Place the lamb chops on the hottest part of the grill for that caramelization.
• Grill each lamb chop on both sides for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside until ready to eat.
• Place the pilaf (separate recipe) on the base of your plate, then the lamb chops and vegetables around the pilaf.

Recipe: Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:
2 cups of Jefferson Red Rice
1/2 white onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 sprigs thyme
1 lemon, zested
salt to taste
pepper to taste

To Prepare

• Soak rice over night. *Please note: this type of rice splits open while it cooks and has a firmer texture than white rice.
• Bring 8 cups of water to a boil and salt the water.
• After soaking overnight, strain the rice and add to the boiling salted water. Cook the rice like pasta and strain just before fully cooked. Pat dry with a paper towel.
• In a sauté pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and cook your onions and garlic until fragrant and translucent.
• Add your rice to your cooked onions and garlic along with your thyme. Sauté over medium heat until it's dry and fluffy.
• Remove the thyme, add the lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover the lid to keep warm until serving with the lamb.

Recipe: Harissa Paste

Ingredients:
3 ounces each of mixed dried chili, seeded and stemmed - *ancho, guajillo, and chile de arbol
7 sundried tomatoes
2 roasted red bell peppers, seeded, peeled, and stemmed
6 cloves garlic
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted ground caraway seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted ground cumin seeds

To Prepare

• Place your dried chilies and tomatoes in a bowl. Pour boiling hot water over the chilies and tomatoes. Let steep overnight.
• Drain and wrap in a cheese cloth. Press out extra moister. In the robot coupe, pulse chili tomato mix with red bell peppers, garlic, salt, and spices until they are evenly chopped.
• Slowly stream extra virgin olive oil until paste comes together. * Taste for salt and set aside to season your lamb chops.

Recipe: Ruby Red Shrimp with Court Bouillon

Ingredients:
1 pound ruby red shrimp
12 ounces dry white wine
12 ounces water
1 garlic head
1 yellow spanish onion
3 ounces salt
2 ounces sugar
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 bay leaf
1 lemon
3 cups scallion tops
1 1/2 cup olive oil
few sprigs of parsley

To Prepare Court Bouillon

• In a medium saucepan, reduce the white wine by half and remove from stove.
• Add in the water, garlic, onion, sugar, salt, fennel seed, and bay leaf
• Place the saucepan back on the stove and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.
• Simmer for 30 minutes, then strain, and reserve the liquid. Set aside to cool.
• Add in the lemon and sprigs of parsley in the saucepan.
• Steep these ingredients into the court bouillon once it comes to a boil.
• Remove from the heat and steep for another 30 minutes in the fridge. Set aside until the shrimp are ready.

To Prepare Ruby Red Shrimp

• Peel shrimp and reserve their shells in the freezer for later use for a stock or sauce.
• Slice the shrimp vertically.
• Place the shrimp in a shallow rimmed bowl and cover with your chilled court bouillon.
• Place in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours then enjoy!

To Prepare Scallion Oil

• Add scallion tops and olive oil to the blender. Blend so it has a nice smooth consistency.
• Bring the creation from blender to the stovetop in a medium pan and heat the oil through and then immediately ice it through.
• Once the scallion oil has come to a boil, remove from the stove and strain into a bowl. Set aside in the fridge to cool down and keep the beautiful green color!