What to do with ground lamb? Recipe for Lamb Pizza with Peppers and Arugula

This is the second installment in the Lamb Supper Club series {one more to come}. To refreshen your memory, here's the first part: Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb.

I'm participating in this supper club hosted by the Tri-Lamb Group, a collaborative initiative of lamb producer organizations from the U.S., New Zealand and Australia which focuses on educating Americans about lamb. {Note: although I receive ingredients to make each recipe, there is no $$ compensation involved. And as always, all opinions are my own.}

Unlike my first supper club, which had a total attendance of 1, me, due to Hurricane Irene, this time around, my friends Cecilia and Laetitia joined me! Not only did they come over for dinner, but Cecilia brought carrot cake from Whole Foods, and Laetitia brought a bottle of sparkling wine: ♥ thoughtful guests.

This time I got to work with ground lamb in a recipe for Lamb Pizza with Peppers and Arugula. {Both the recipe and the ingredients were provided for me by the Tri-Lamb Group. You can find more information on lamb and other recipes here.}

Ingredients
1 package premade whole grain pizza dough (about 1 pound), thawed if frozen
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground lamb
1 medium shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste {I added more to make the base more saucy}
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
3/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
2 cups arugula

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Brush rimmed baking sheet with 1 teaspoon of oil. Using your hands spread dough over the entire length of the baking sheet and push the dough to the edges. Bake the pizza dough for about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. {I actually used a stainless steal skillet and it worked out fine!} Add lamb, shallots, garlic, tomato paste, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook until the lamb has browned.

3. Brush the pre baked pizza crust with a teaspoon of oil. Evenly distribute the cooked lam mixture, top with pepperoncini and goat cheese and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with arugula.

The two photos below were taken by Cecilia with her iphone. Please enjoy my super organized kitchen! {huh!}

Thoughts: this was an incredibly easy meal to put together. I loved the combination of lamb with vinegary pepperoncini, mild goat cheese and the freshness of arugula.

I still had a pound of lamb left over after the pizza supper club and the following day made Lamb Shepherd's Pie with it: I'll share the recipe next week.

For now, a few facts about lamb:

On average, 3-ounce portion of lamb contains
30% of your daily zinc, which contributes to growth and development and is necessary to heal wounds
25% of the daily value of niacin, necessary for processing nutrients and proper enzyme function
40% the daily value of vitamin B, which functions as a co-enzyme for many important metabolic reactions
47% of your daily value of protein, essential for adequate growth, immune function, muscle mainteance and healing wounds

But most importantly, it's versatile and tastes great!!

I hope you all have a good weekend. Please let me know if you've ever cooked with ground lamb and what you've made.

And before I sign off, I want to share with you one of my little dreams that has finally come true: TheKitchn included my Roasted Pear & Buttermilk Sorbet in their delicious links today!

I'm in great company with:
• Apple Cranberry Oatmeal Bake - Karma Cucina.
• Kabocha Shiruko - Humble Bean.
• Fresh Cauliflower Salad with Crispy Capers, Olives, Shaved Red Onion and Herbs with a Grainy Mustard - Lemon Vinaigrette - SnailsView.

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