If you are a fan of Turkish cuisine, I am sure you have had Iskender. Iskender is one of the most famous meat foods of northwestern Turkey and takes its name from its inventor, İskender Efendi, who lived in Bursa in the late 19th century. It is prepared from thinly cut grilled lamb basted with a spicy tomato sauce over pieces of lavash bread slathered with melted butter and yogurt. I think Iskender is just delicious and wanted to try preparing it at home. I purchased a piece of butterflied leg of lamb that we grilled, prepared a tomato sauce, heated pita pieces, and topped it off with yogurt. I was in heaven. An absolute delicious combination and very different and unique. The flavors are just outstanding and a very fun dish to prepare and to eat. A great new recipe to add and one that I am sure many of you have never tried. Give this one a try, I think you will be glad you did. Finger licking good!
- 1 1/2 pounds butterflied leg of lamb
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- TOMATO SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup finely diced onion
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cumin (adjust according to taste)
- 15 oz. can tomato purée
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- PITAS
- Pita bread - plan one pita per person
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- ACCOMPANIMENTS
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced
- To prepare tomato sauce - heat olive oil in a heavy sauce pan, cook onions until soft. Add cumin and stir to combine. Add tomato purée and salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Prepare grill. Rub sides of lamb with olive oil and generously salt and pepper. Grill lamb over medium high heat for 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. While resting, prepare pitas. Slice lamb into thin pieces.
- Cut pitas into small rectangular pieces, bake in a preheated 350 oven for 10 minutes. Top with melted butter.
- To serve - place pitas on a large serving plate, top with sliced lamb, tomato sauce and yogurt. Garnish with Italian parsley.