Easter Leftover Save: Leg of Lamb Ziti in a Pesto Feta Spinach Cream Sauce

Gathering with my huge family over the holidays every year is a blessing for many reasons. One of those reasons is leftovers.

This time, when Easter dinner was over, they packed me with two big gobs of roasted leg of lamb. So naturally, my first wonder is how to introduce my leg of lamb to my spinach collection. So I figured pasta would be a good mediator. And I was right.

Use whatever leftover protein you may have from Easter in this recipe. Ham...lamb...tofu? I think they would all be good here. 

You will need:

2 c. mini ziti

about 4 tbs feta

about 1/2 c. sharp white cheddar cheese

1 tbs. cream cheese

2 c. milk

2-3 tbs basil pesto

1/4-1/2 lb. baked lamb leftovers from Easter dinner

1/2 c. frozen cut leaf spinach

1/3 c. sunflower seeds

dash of flour

salt & pepper to taste

Prep all of your ingredients. This helps avoid burning things. Which I may or may not do often. Slice then cut the lamb into bite size slivers. If you're using blocks of cheddar and feta instead of shreds or crumbles, chop those up. Put half of the feta aside to save for topping.

Using a medium/large pan, sizzle a generous splash of light frying oil (I used veggie) into a pan and brown the garlic. Then add in the lamb -- stir around a bit to sear. Then add in the spinach and toss around until lamb is seared and spinach is cooked. Add salt/pepper to taste. I added a tiny bit of garlic powder as well. Now's a good time to start boiling the ziti.

Before pouring in the milk, sprinkle about a teaspoon or two of flour over the lamb and fold in until integrated. Then pour over the milk. Add in pesto and cheeses (saving half of the feta for a crumble topping to sprinkle on later).

Stir around on low-medium heat and let simmer until the milk reduces and it starts to become creamy. Careful not to burn. 

Brown the sunflower seeds in a pan. Medium heat for a few minutes should do. Stir around. Remove from heat once toasty.

When the mini ziti is done boiling, and when the cream sauce looks saucy, drain the mini ziti and pour over the sauce. Fold all together until uniform.

In the serving dish, sprinkle over the toasted sunflower seeds and extra crumbled feta. For added flavor,  sprinkle on some salt and pepper and drizzle on a bit of extra virgin olive oil. 

Then, sit back and enjoy! Just realized the sunflower arrangement + sunflower seed topping...it was meant to be.

-A+D