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The smell of rosemary, garlic, and citrus drifting through the warm Shuswap air… to me, that’s summer.
Here at Find Shuswap Food, summer means unforgettable days at the lake, exploring BC’s most vibrant trails, and enjoying amazing live music at Roots and Blues and Wednesdays on the Wharf. Most importantly, it means Shuswap fruit and berries are back in full swing.
This recipe is my ode to summer and to the farmers and food producers who make our community so memorable. Every single blueberry from Madalea Growers or apricot from Peterson’s Orchard carries an incredible amount of care and work. We are truly lucky to be connected to some of the world’s best fruit, vegetables, and proteins right here in the Shuswap.
For this dish, I prepared a beautiful leg of lamb — full of bright Caribbean summer flavours but served in the classic Sunday roast style I grew up loving.
In my family, roast dinners were always a Sunday tradition. My mom would make my dad’s favourite roast beef or chicken but add Puerto Rican spices from her own childhood. Every meal became a wonderful blend of cultures and traditions — Yorkshire puddings with chorizo and mash, chicken roasted with lemon, guava, and garlic.
For lamb, I look for rich meat that’s rosy pink with cream-white fat. I’ve never gone wrong with Maca Ranch or Yankee Flats Meats. I frenched the bone myself and tied it for even cooking (your local butcher can do this for you too).
I like to score the meat, insert garlic deep into the flesh, and marinate it overnight with paprika, salt, lemon zest, coriander, pepper, and sofrito. (See my family sofrito recipe below — or try Cecelia’s Flavour Fusions Herbaceous Fusion marinade in a pinch.)
Sides make a roast dinner truly shine, especially in summer when the markets are overflowing.
From La Grange at the farmers’ market, I grabbed bright yellow cauliflower and green beans. The cauliflower became Honey Harissa Charred Cauliflower with Pistachio and Sofrito — spicy, sweet, and a little smoky.
The beans were turned into Lemon Tarragon Green Beans, a chef-era favourite that balances the richness of the lamb.
And because my table isn’t complete without a big, beautiful salad, I used summer peas, mint, Peterson’s Orchard apricots, Madalea blueberries, and Tanto Latte creamy feta to make an Apricot, Mint, and Pea Salad with Lazy Daisy Farm haskap dressing.
I asked my guests to bring a bottle each from Marionette Winery (red) and Sunnybrae Vineyards (white).
The red brought depth to the lamb’s richness.
The white refreshed the palate between bites, making it perfect with the salad and cauliflower.
Ingredients
1 (3–5 lb) leg of lamb, bone-in, frenched, tied, Haitch bone removed
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 lemon, zested
1 tsp coriander
1 tbsp salt
125 ml sofrito
7 garlic cloves
Olive oil
Method
With a paring knife, poke holes in the lamb and insert peeled garlic cloves deep into the meat.
Mix spices in a bowl, drizzle olive oil over lamb, and rub spice blend over all meat except the bone.
Cover generously with sofrito. Place on a wire rack uncovered and marinate 3–24 hours.
Remove from fridge 1 hour before cooking. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roast until internal temp reaches 57°C (about 1–1.5 hours).
Rest 15–30 minutes before carving.
Ingredients
1 medium onion, cut into large pieces
1 large green pepper, deseeded, cut into large pieces
½ large red pepper, deseeded, cut into large pieces
1 jalapeño, deseeded, halved
12 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large bunch cilantro (stems and all), rough chopped
1 large bunch culantro (or more cilantro)
1 lime, juiced
3 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt
Method
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until finely chopped and semi-smooth.
Freeze in ice cube trays for later use — perfect in stews, beans, marinades, or arroz con pollo.
Ingredients
454 g green beans, trimmed
3 tbsp butter
Minced garlic (to taste)
Minced shallot (to taste)
Lemon juice (to taste)
Fresh tarragon, finely chopped
Salt & pepper (to taste)
Method
Bring salted water to a boil; prepare an ice bath.
Blanch beans for ~1 minute until vibrant green. Plunge into ice bath, then dry on paper towels.
In a hot sauté pan, melt butter, add garlic & shallots, cook until translucent.
Toss in beans, season, add tarragon, and finish with lemon juice.
Ingredients
12 apricots, halved and pitted
250 g sweet or summer peas, halved
4 cups spring mix or arugula
Fresh mint, small leaves
150 g blueberries
4 radishes, thinly sliced
200 g creamy feta (or cubed regular feta)
Method
Layer greens in a serving dish.
Arrange other ingredients in small groupings (like a charcuterie board) for visual appeal.
Top with feta and mint.
Serve with haskap red wine dressing (below).
Ingredients
3 tbsp haskap jam (or blueberry, saskatoon, currant)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Pinch of dry thyme
Salt & pepper (to taste)
¾ cup olive oil
Method
Whisk jam, vinegar, mustard, and thyme.
Slowly whisk in olive oil to emulsify (add a drop of ice water if it starts to split).
Season to taste.
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, cut into large florets
2 tbsp harissa paste (or blended chipotles)
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt (to taste)
3 tbsp sofrito
¼ cup pistachios
Method
Preheat oven to 425°F. Bring a pot of water to a boil; prepare ice bath.
Blanch cauliflower 2–3 minutes, plunge into ice bath, dry completely.
Mix harissa, honey, olive oil, and spices into a thick marinade.
Toss cauliflower in marinade, spread on parchment-lined sheet.
Roast 20 minutes, flipping halfway, until lightly charred.
Plate, sprinkle with salt, top with pistachios and small dollops of sofrito.
If you make this Shuswap Summer Lamb Dinner, share your photos and tag us at @Zestfoodhub on Instagram — we’d love to see your feast and hear how you made it your own.
Pictures by Becky Milk
Written by William Milk
