What a combination. Soft and subtly tangy bread topped with oniony charnushka seeds. Shredded lamb flavored with lemon, red wine, garlic, and rosemary. The salty heat of harissa The peppery fresh heat of watercress. A healthy daub of goat cheese. Make these bite sized for sliders that will disappear in minutes or cut yourself a proper sized piece of bread and make this a sandwich.
I’ve wanted to talk about this sandwich for days. But I had a quandary. Give you three recipes just to make a sandwich or stretch things out. I, fan shaggy dogs, opted to make a short story long. Both the lamb and the bread can be enjoyed in so many ways it seemed silly to combine them here. The pesto also has possibilities beyond sandwiches but this slider is also quite good with watercress in its pure form. My personal favorite (undocumented in photo form) combined the pesto and a few leaves of fresh cress.
I love watercress, it is childhood and being a grown up all rolled up into one amazingly good for you green. My parents picked it wild from the ditch (stream would sound better here, but that would be inaccurate) that ran beside our house. It is early spring in Colorado, sun bright on cold clear water, mountain peaks white with snow, my mother in her waders, scarf tied around her head foraging for greens, the scent of renewal and spice, outdoors, nature.
And it is also, years later, sitting across from friends at a tiny table at Tea and Sympathy in Greenwich village having an egg salad and watercress sandwich whilst sipping tea and feeling so grown up and cosmopolitan.
A delicate green with bold flavor that still can surprise me with its heat. Watercress is both the wilds of youth and the wide avenues of young adulthood.
Shredded Lamb Sliders
Makes about 30 sliders with leftover bread and lamb
ingredients
- About 2 cups of 5 hour lamb-shredded with a fork and reheated with its juices until warm, if necessary
- Tangy Yogurt Flat Bread with charnushka
- ½ cup Goat cheese
- Harissa
- 1 ½- 2 cups Watercress- whole or as a pesto (instructions below)
directions
- To make watercress pesto simply combine a clove of garlic (roughly chopped) and about a one-inch square of parmesan or reggiano also roughly chopped in the bowl of a food processesor. Process about ten seconds then add a bunch of watercress (about a cup and a half, trimmed of its largest stems and about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Process other five or so seconds and then add 2-3 T of roasted pine nuts (optional) and process until smooth.
- To assemble the sandwiches cut the flat bread into two inch squares and then split them for sandwiches.
- Slather the bottom half with goat cheese and thinly coat the top half with harissa. Add the lamb, top with a generous amount of watercress, and complete assembly.
- These are still delicious when the lamb has cooled but are best when the lamb is still warm.
Shredded Lamb Sliders
Ingredients
- About 2 cups of 5 hour lamb-shredded with a fork and reheated with its juices until warm if necessary
- Tangy Yogurt Flat Bread with charnushka
- ½ cup Goat cheese
- Harissa
- 1 ½- 2 cups Watercress- whole or as a pesto
Instructions
- To make watercress pesto simply combine a clove of garlic (roughly chopped) and about a one-inch square of parmesan or reggiano also roughly chopped in the bowl of a food processesor. Process about ten seconds then add a bunch of watercress (about a cup and a half, trimmed of its largest stems and about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Process other five or so seconds and then add 2-3 T of roasted pine nuts (optional) and process until smooth.
- To assemble the sandwiches cut the flat bread into two inch squares and then split them for sandwiches.
- Slather the bottom half with goat cheese and thinly coat the top half with harissa. Add the lamb, top with a generous amount of watercress, and complete assembly.
- These are still delicious when the lamb has cooled but are best when the lamb is still warm.
Looks delicious. And these pictures look appetizing!