Sharing the meat love - Part II

4kg Leg of lamb

Meat giving festivals!

Sharing food with people during celebrations and festivals is an age old tradition no matter what your religion or beliefs.  Once a year we feast on Turkey at Xmas. At Easter we gorge on chocolate. Then there is Eid twice a year. The most recent Eid festival for Muslims was the Eid that is known as the Festival of Sacrifice. During this occasion many immigrant families pay for the slaughter of a whole animal here in the UK and also back in the villages of the old country. The meat is then divided and distributed to friends, family and the poor in their home villages. This tradition of meat giving is awesome and I was lucky enough to receive a 4kg whole leg of lamb from my parents this weekend!

I researched many different recipes on line and Madhur Jaffrey’s version of spicy yogurt lamb got me excited. I read a few more similar recipes on line and came up with this creation which worked a treat. I would have liked to have marinated the leg for 24 hours but it was too big for the fridge and there were hungry people available to treat and feed!

Cinnamon, Cumin, Black peppercorns, Cloves and Cardamom pods

Garlic, Onion, Ginger

I made 2 marinades. The 1^st was smeared into slits made in the flesh of the lamb and left for an hour before the 2^nd one was applied. Ideally the meat would then be left overnight before slow roasting for 3-6hrs.

Marinade no.1

1 large onion - peeled and roughly chopped into chunks

8 cloves of garlic - peeled left whole

1 small knob of ginger - peeled

Garam Masala[translates to hot spice mix]: you can use powder but if you make your own you get more of a punch

To make your own Garam Masala dry roast the following:

1 small stick of Cinnamon,

10 whole black Peppercorns,

Seeds of 10 Cardamom pods

2 teaspoons of Cumin seeds  

6 Cloves

Then these are ground into a powder along with one or two teaspoons of

Dry red chilli flakes.

Zest and juice of a lemon

2-3 green chillies chopped up

Salt

Pop all of the above apart from the green chillies into a food processor and grind into a course paste – loosen up with a bit of water if it does not whizz up well in the machine. I added some powdered Garam Masala as well and added the chopped green chillies at the end.

Grinding the Garam Masala ingredients with red chilli flakes

Onion, garlic ginger and lemon paste with extra powdered Garam masala

Yogurt, Ground Almond, Tumeric powder, Nutmeg and Brown sugar

Marinade no.2

Ground almonds – 5/6 tablespoons

Plain fat free yogurt – 1 whole pot

Turmeric – ½ teaspoon

Grated nutmeg [very small quantity – just a couple of grates]

Brown sugar – 5/6 tablespoons

Mix all these into a thick paste

The 2 marinades ready

1st marinade on

Score the meat - I put deep cuts into the flesh and used a spoon to get the 1st marinade into the slits. The lemon in this paste will start tenderising the meat straight away. After a 1-2 hours smear it with the 2nd marinade so that the yogurt can get to work. Preheat the oven to maximum while the meat marinades and then cover the meat in foil and pop it in at 200 degrees C for 30min before turning down to 180 C for another 2.5hrs. Rest the meat for 30-45min before carving.

I served this with a Butternut Squash curry, Mashed Green Bean salsa and Parathas. The perfect alternative to a Sunday roast - asian style! 

Needless to say even for 5 of us eating that was way too much meat. The left over meat is going to be turned into a curried lamb saag [spinach] for tomorrow! Joy!

Salted Caramel Tarte Tatin

I’m doing dessert this Xmas for the family and I wanted to try something I had never made before and non-traditional. This recipe is courtesy of delicious magazine – the October issue claiming that it’s the best pudding in the world caught my eye. Normally I am not a dessert person, preferring options like cheese to end a meal, but the picture on the front cover made me salivate and I wanted to have a go. Often with dessert recipes I find they never turn out as well as I would hope for but this one worked and I am going to practice making it a few more times to get it absolutely perfect by December!

So here’s what you need:

8 Braeburn apples – peeled, cored and cut in half

200g of golden caster sugar

50g of unsalted butter

½ tsp of flaky sea salt

375 block all-butter puff pastry

Plain flour for dusting

You also need a flat based [about 20cm wide] oven proof frying pan with a handle

The recipe called for all butter puff pastry but I couldn’t find it in the supermarket so I got some puff pastry mix that had to be kneaded with water, folded and rolled out on a clean surface dusted with flour. I managed to follow the instructions and make the pastry but I will try the all butter puff pastry next time. I also only had caster sugar in the house so it wasn’t as golden as it could have been!

So here’s what you do:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C [fan]

Put the sugar in the pan on a low heat with a couple of tablespoons of water and stir to dissolve

Then put the heat up and bubble for 5 minutes and watch it like a hawk as it will turn golden quite quickly – swirl the pan around but don’t stir. Be very careful as the sugar is extremely hot like lava!

Go as dark as you can with the caramel without burning the sugar, before you take it off the heat

Pop the butter in and let it fizzle and melt then sprinkle over the salt

Place the apples cut side up in the pan snugly and fill in any gaps with any extra bits of apple you have

Place the pan back on the heat on low for another 5 minutes

Then remove it from the heat and allow the apples to cool completely

Meanwhile make the pastry or roll it out

Gently place over the pan and trim off the excess before tucking in the edges

Pop it in the oven for 30min and check to see if the crust have risen and turned golden

Rest the pan but drain off the excess liquid carefully into a small pan

Reduce the syrup down to a sticky consistency

Very carefully place a plate over the pan and invert over the sink away from you

Once the tart is turned out, dribble over the syrup and allow to rest

I think my tart turned out pretty similar to the picture in the magazine - it certainly tasted fantastic and was gone within minutes. I will be tweaking the recipe every time I practice - maybe with cinnamon next time and caramelising everything a bit more!

Cornish Hake & Samphire

Cornish Hake with a white bean sauce, potatoes and samphire

Cornish hake in white bean sauce and a side of samphire

Hake is very popular in Spain and after watching an old episode of Rick Steins Spanish tours, I got an idea to adapt the recipe for our Cornish Hake – which is a fab meaty fish with a great light texture. You can find it at supermarket fish counters and they are best on the bone for better flavour.

I was excited to be able to serve this dish up with a side of samphire which is also known as sea asparagus. I've had it in restaurants before and it has a lovely crunch and is as salty as the sea, so you don't need any seasoning for it and it goes very well with all kinds of fish. It can be eaten raw or fried or sauteed with some garlic. I was really pleased to find this being sold at the local supermarket and jumped at the chance to include it to this meal. Nutritionally it aids digestion, it is a diuretic and contains minerals, iodine and vitamins A, C and D. However if you can't find samphire you could always substitute it with a side of good old English asparagus if it is in season or justsome trusty green beans.

Ingredients:

Hake steaks on the bone : ask the fishmonger to scale them. Score them on both sides when you get them home, ready for cooking

For the White bean sauce:

Olive oil [about 2 tablespoons]

1 large onion – peeled and sliced finely
Sea salt and black pepper for seasoning
2 cloves of garlic – peeled and sliced into rounds
½ a lemon for juice
2 or 3 anchovies – finely chopped [canned anchovies in olive oil]
Can of white beans – Cannellini/Butter beans: drained and washed in cold water
½ litre of hot chicken stock with a sprinkle of saffron threads in: make out of stock cube and boiling water or even better if you have some home made stuff

Garnish: chopped up parsley and grated lemon zest

Samphire – washed and drained

Boiled new potatoes – get these on the boil as you cook the fish

Get everything prepared and ready including the hot stock then start the on the sauce for the fish:

 

Cornish Hake scored on each side

 

Lemon, Garlic slices, chopped parsley, lemon zest and chopped up anchovies

Soften the onions in olive oil

 

1.       Fry the onions in a little olive oil [about 2 tablespoons]

2.       When they are soft add a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper

3.       Add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes  

4.       Add the chopped up anchovies and turn the heat right down- allow them to melt away   

        gently into the onions

5.       Squeeze in some lemon juice

6.       Add the fish on the onions and chuck in the beans

7.       Top with the saffron and hot chicken stock so that the fish has enough liquid to poach in but

        don't drown them

8.       Simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on [you may have to adjust the time depending on the

        size of your steaks

9.       Then turn the fish over and sprinkle with parsley and lemon zest

10.   Switch the cooker off and keep the fish covered for another 5 minutes before checking with

        a knife to see if it cooked through. If it isn’t then continue to cook for another 5min on low

        heat. It all depends on the thickness of your fish steaks. If it looks and feels cooked and

        opaque all the way to the bone then take off the heat and set aside. It’s better to slightly

        undercook the fish and allow it to continue gently poaching in its own hot liquid, off the

        heat.

11.   Now get a wok/frying pan really hot – pop in some olive oil and throw the samphire in

        quickly and turn over as fast as you can for just a minute or two and take off the heat

12.   Taste the fish for seasoning and adjust before serving up!

 

Baba Ghanoush = Aubergine Mash

Lamb and Baba Ghanoush with green beans

Side orders. What do you always go for? Potatoes? Carrots? Peas? Beans?  I can always go for green beans and peas - they are my favourites. I sometimes jazz them up with spices or a bit of fried onions, garlic and chicken stock if I get fed up just steaming/boiling them.

However, if you’ve got a really nice piece of protein that is the star of the show you sometimes need a more interesting entourage that will make it shine even brighter. This week I have been loving aubergines and so here is a great meal idea to share with you all:

Lamb steaks with Aubergine mash and green beans

Lamb steaks [bone in]: marinade in Salt, Freshly ground black pepper, rosemary, crushed garlic and fresh thyme [set aside for however long you have before you cook them – overnight is best but a couple of hours will also do! They should be at room temperature before cooking]

Green beans to steam

Ingredients for Babaganoush [i.e. Aubergine mash]:

1 Fat Aubergine [pricked with a fork all over]

1 clove of garlic peeled and crushed
½ tablespoon of tahini paste
2 tablespoons of plain fat free yogurt
Olive oil [about 1 tablespoon]

Garnishes: Squeeze of Lemon
Pinch of Sea salt
Pinch of Black pepper
Pinch of Smoked paprika
Handful of Pine nuts [dry roasted in a pan]
Parsley [finely chopped]

Aubergine mash goes brilliantly with lamb. This recipe is easily tweaked to your own taste and dead easy to make. Aubergines are spongy inside and full of water. They tend to soak up gallons of oil if you fry them and can take ages in the oven. The easiest way to cook them and soften them without using any fat at all is to actually stick the whole thing in a microwave.

1.       Pre heat the fan oven to 200 degrees C for the lamb

2.      Prick the skin of the Aubergine with a fork all over. Place in a dish and whack it in the microwave for 10min on the highest setting. Check after 5 minutes then after 10 minutes. When its deflated and soft when prodded with a knife, it’s done. If not, then stick it back in for another 5 minutes. Be careful with the steam coming off the aubergine – it will be scalding. Pop it on a chopping board and slice open. When you can handle it – hold the top with one hand, and scrape the innards out with a spoon. Discard the purple skin. Using a knife and fork chop the hot flesh into bits and then leave to cool a little.

 

 

3. While it’s resting, get a clean bowl and pop in your crushed garlic, a pinch of salt, squeeze of lemon juice and the Tahini and the yogurt. Remember tahini is very rich so a little goes a long way. Mix everything up and taste – if its needs tweaking do so now and keep checking the seasoning. You can add more tahini or yogurt as you see fit. With the seasoning Aubergine can take a lot of salt but do it in small increments to get the right balance.

 

 

4. Once you are happy with the dressing, slide the aubergine flesh into the bowl and drizzle on some olive oil [about a tablespoon]. Fold everything together and taste to check the seasoning and adjust accordingly. 

5.Now for the garnishes. I love a texture contrast with dry roasted pine nuts. I also like a sprinkle of smoked paprika but you can leave this out if you like. Drizzle over some olive oil before you dish up and don't forget the parsley!

This dip is great at parties with crudités. But it’s luxurious enough to be served as a side for my lamb.

As for my lamb steaks which were bathed in garlic, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper for about 2 hours - they were roasted in the oven and finished off under the grill. The left over babaganoush was still delicious the next day- cold and smeared over toast for breakfast!

5. Set the babaganoush aside. Pop the lamb steaks in the oven and turn down the heat to 160 degrees; Leave them in to roast for 10 – 15min then finish under a hot grill for another 5 minutes and then leave to rest. My steaks ended up medium. If you want them to be pinker then reduce the cooking time and keep checking them so they don’t over cook.

6. When the lamb is resting steam the green beans till al dente

7. Serve up with all the elements and a good pinot noir.


 

Outstanding Ox cheeks in Oxford

Braised ox cheek with pot roasted vegetables, mousseline potato and bone marrow

On route to Oxford for a mini away break we stopped off for lunch at a Michelin star restaurant called Sir Charles Napier, in the heart of leafy Oxfordshire. The unassuming exterior of this place in the middle of nowhere masks a gorgeous cosy interior and a lucious garden out the back. Strewn through the premises are large sculptures of animals made by Michael Cooper - slightly alarming but all in good fun. It was sunny but cold when we arrived so sadly, sitting outside was not an option. In the back room with the sun shining in and only one other table occupied for lunch we had a pretty intimate dining experience which will not be forgotten.

 

 

My starter of Game terrine was served with a very tidy salad and Hubby had Crab with quails eggs encased in a potato cup. The presentation, taste and textures were outstanding. The level of detail put into each dish explains why they have a Michelin star and have been allowed to keep it for 2013! Within that salad of radishes and beetroot chutney there was a small quinelle of foie gras parfait which went so well with the terrine, that it brought a tear of joy to my eyes. Hubby's main of Ox cheeks had extra details like apple jelly squares and bone marrow.

 

 



The Ox cheek main was so tender it must have been braised for days! However my main course was by far the best out of the two. I ordered the Cannon of lamb and promptly forgot about the bits and pieces it was meant to come with. When it arrived I was delighted to receive not only a fan of tender lamb on a bed of kale but also some sweetbreads AND a side order of lamby hotpot. The lamb was of course local - so local I believe it was from the next field! I was delighted to get an individual pot of perfectly sliced coins of potatoes hiding soft mouth melting cubes of lamb. It was divine. It was sublime. It was .. is making my mouth water right now!

 

Canon of lamb, devilled sweetbreads on a bed of kale and puree of celeriac and cauliflower, topped with pea shoots

 

lamb hot pot with red cabbage as a side order

 

After such a satisfying main there was no room for dessert as far as I was concerned but Hubs went for a sticky toffee pudding with a twist. I decided to check out the cheese board just to have a nosy but once it arrived I couldn't resist! This was one of the best cheese boards I have seen in a while. The only other comparable one I have come across is the one in Chez Bruce in Wandsworth!

Sticky toffee pudding and banana mille feuille with passion fruit sorbet

 

I failed to memorise any of the names of the cheeses I picked - 2 were from England and one from Spain, all were spectacular with the fig jam. This was followed by coffee and truffles filled with salted caramel [!!!] and subsequently resulted in me needing a 2 hour nap in the car on route to Oxford itself. I also failed to buy the chef a drink for such a sumptuous feast. I think I may have to return next summer so we can sit outside to enjoy the garden for an al fresco lunch and buy the kitchen staff some well deserved 'thank you' drinks. Find an excuse to go. Even if you are not heading to Oxford, make a detour. It's worth it!