Showing posts with label lamb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lamb. Show all posts
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Lamb and Cannellini Bean Hotpot
You know how I am waiting for my kitchen to be rebuilt and Im living in amongst the new units? Well I cant get at most of my cookbooks and I hadnt realised how much I refer to them. There is a little bit of the shelf at the right hand side that is accessible and I managed to extract a little book called Lets Cook Simple Suppers by BBC Good Food (probably free with the Good Food Mag) and in it I found this recipe to use with my lamb chops. The recipe is actually for haricot beans but it does suggest cannellini or flageolet beans as an alternative.2 onions, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 x 500g can haricot beans, drained (or use cannellini or flageolet beans instread)
1 tsp dreid oregano
150ml/1/4 pint vegetable stock
200g can chpped tomatoes
8 lamb chops or 4 lamb leg steaks
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6/fan oven 180C. Fry the onions in 2 tablespoons of the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, beans and half the oregano, and stir briefly. Add the stock and tomatoes, season, then bring to the boil.
2. Tip and bean mixture into a large ovenproof dish. Lay the chops on top of a single layer.
3. Sprinkle with the remaining oregano, drizzle with the remaining oil and seaon. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes until the chops are tender and nicely browned.
You may notice in my photograph there are also mushrooms in my version, just a little bit of fridge-led cookery :)
Monday, March 24, 2014
Lamb Souvlaki Flatbread Sandwich with Tsatsiki Sauce
I have been thinking about this Lamb Souvlaki Sandwich with Tsatsiki Sauce way before we decided to have lamb for Palm Sunday Dinner, as a matter of fact, I really wanted to the lamb roast just so I could get the leftovers to make this dish. This is jusst my take on Greek food as, once again, I have absolutely no greek running through my veins, so I apologize in advance to all of the Greeks reading this for its lack of authenticity.
I made the tsatsiki sauce by combining 1 small container of Greek yogurt with 1/4 cup of grated English cucumber, 1 grated clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh dill, 1 tsp. of lemon zest, the juice of half the lemon and salt and pepper. Mix well and refrigerate for about 2 hours or more before eating.
Next step was to create a mini Greek salad to tumble over the sliced lamb sandwich. For the salad, I cut 1 tomato into wedges, sliced some English cucumber, tossed in several Kalamata olives and a few chopped Romaine lettuce leaves. Stirred them combine with 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, some dried oregano and salt and pepper.
Instead of raw onions, I decided to try them caramelized which I did by slowing sauteeing 1/2 of a sliced red onion very slowly in a skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper. When the onion were just about finished caramelizing in about 20 minutes, I added the thinly sliced lamb to the pan for just a second until it was heated through.
I assembled the sandwich, which I ate open faced with a knife and fork, by warming a roasted garlic Naan bread instead of pita and smearing it with a layer of the tsatsiki sauce. I layered on the warmed lamb and caramelized onions, the greek salad and another little dollop of sauce for good measure. The perfect way to showcase that left over holiday lamb!
Friday, February 21, 2014
Lamb Meatball Soup with Cabbage Barley
When I ordered my lamb last year, they asked if I wanted the bones for soup. Of course I did! Still, they were the last things sitting in the freezer when the new lamb arrived. (Yes my "fall lamb" just got here this week. Dont ask.) Anyway, out they came and I made a big pot of stock.
If you dont have bones to make your own stock, use beef stock, either home-made or from a carton. Just be sure to adjust the salt; that is, you may not even want to put in any, depending on how salty it is! You may also want to put in less Worcestershire sauce. I think Worcestershire sauce does great things for lamb stock - the flavours blend perfectly, and it gives the broth a bit more colour. Lamb stock, even if you roast the bones before you make it, tends to look a little dishwatery. But it too adds some salt, so be careful.
4 to 6 servings
1 hour prep time, not including cooking the barley or making the broth
Make the Broth:
3 to 4 pounds lamb bones
Put the lamb bones into a shallow roasting pan, and roast them at 375°C for about an hour, until quite browned.
Turn them into a large stock pot, and add water to cover them generously, and a bay leaf or two. Bring them to a slow simmer and simmer for 5 to 6 hours. Strain out the bones, and let cool. Chill overnight, then remove the hardened fat from the top.
You could instead start with 2 litres of prepared beef stock.
Cook the Barley:
1 1/2 cups barley
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups water
Rinse and clean the barley, and put it with the salt and water into a rice cooker. Turn it on, and let cook until done. Alternately, it can be put in a pot and brought to a simmer, then covered and cooked until tender, but it will have to be watched much more carefully. It should be done in about 45 minutes, but can be done any time in advance up to 24 hours ahead, and the cooked barley stored in the fridge until wanted.
Make the Meatballs:
450 grams (1 pound) ground lamb
1 extra-large egg
1 1/2 cups of the cooked barley
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon rubbed dried mint
2 teaspoons rubbed basil
1 teaspoon rubbed savory
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, ground
Put all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl, and mix well by hand. Form into smallish meatballs, and set them on a plate or tray until they have all been made.
Finish the Soup:
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
2 large onions
6 cups finely chopped green or Savoy cabbage
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet, and cook the meatballs in it until quite brown, turning to brown them evenly. Be gentle with them; the barley makes them a bit fragile. When they are well browned, put them in a large soup pot, along with 2 litres of the lamb stock and any remaining barley. Bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, peel and chop the onions. Trim and chop the cabbage.
Once the meatballs are out of the pan, add the onions and cook until fairly soft. Add the cabbage, and cook it down for a minute or two. Add a scoop of the lamb broth if it looks like getting brown.
Add the cabbage and onions to the soup. Swish out the pan with another scoop of the lamb broth, scraping up any browned bits to add to the soup.
Add the Worcestershire sauce to the soup, and season with salt. Since the homemade broth has had no salt added until this point you will likely need close to a teaspoon of it - add half that amount and test, then add more as needed. If you start with a prepared broth it will not likely need any additional salt.
Simmer the soup for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the meatballs and cabbage are done.
Last year at this time I made Trout with Ramps & Potatoes and Fruit & Nut Pilaf with Wild Rice. Not a whisker of a ramp to be seen yet this year though.
Read More..
If you dont have bones to make your own stock, use beef stock, either home-made or from a carton. Just be sure to adjust the salt; that is, you may not even want to put in any, depending on how salty it is! You may also want to put in less Worcestershire sauce. I think Worcestershire sauce does great things for lamb stock - the flavours blend perfectly, and it gives the broth a bit more colour. Lamb stock, even if you roast the bones before you make it, tends to look a little dishwatery. But it too adds some salt, so be careful.
4 to 6 servings
1 hour prep time, not including cooking the barley or making the broth
Make the Broth:
3 to 4 pounds lamb bones
Put the lamb bones into a shallow roasting pan, and roast them at 375°C for about an hour, until quite browned.
Turn them into a large stock pot, and add water to cover them generously, and a bay leaf or two. Bring them to a slow simmer and simmer for 5 to 6 hours. Strain out the bones, and let cool. Chill overnight, then remove the hardened fat from the top.
You could instead start with 2 litres of prepared beef stock.
Cook the Barley:
1 1/2 cups barley
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups water
Rinse and clean the barley, and put it with the salt and water into a rice cooker. Turn it on, and let cook until done. Alternately, it can be put in a pot and brought to a simmer, then covered and cooked until tender, but it will have to be watched much more carefully. It should be done in about 45 minutes, but can be done any time in advance up to 24 hours ahead, and the cooked barley stored in the fridge until wanted.
Make the Meatballs:
450 grams (1 pound) ground lamb
1 extra-large egg
1 1/2 cups of the cooked barley
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon rubbed dried mint
2 teaspoons rubbed basil
1 teaspoon rubbed savory
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, ground
Put all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl, and mix well by hand. Form into smallish meatballs, and set them on a plate or tray until they have all been made.
Finish the Soup:
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
2 large onions
6 cups finely chopped green or Savoy cabbage
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet, and cook the meatballs in it until quite brown, turning to brown them evenly. Be gentle with them; the barley makes them a bit fragile. When they are well browned, put them in a large soup pot, along with 2 litres of the lamb stock and any remaining barley. Bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, peel and chop the onions. Trim and chop the cabbage.
Once the meatballs are out of the pan, add the onions and cook until fairly soft. Add the cabbage, and cook it down for a minute or two. Add a scoop of the lamb broth if it looks like getting brown.
Add the cabbage and onions to the soup. Swish out the pan with another scoop of the lamb broth, scraping up any browned bits to add to the soup.
Add the Worcestershire sauce to the soup, and season with salt. Since the homemade broth has had no salt added until this point you will likely need close to a teaspoon of it - add half that amount and test, then add more as needed. If you start with a prepared broth it will not likely need any additional salt.
Simmer the soup for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the meatballs and cabbage are done.
Last year at this time I made Trout with Ramps & Potatoes and Fruit & Nut Pilaf with Wild Rice. Not a whisker of a ramp to be seen yet this year though.
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