lamb » Kavey Eats

Za’atar & Sumac Crusted Roast Leg of Lamb

09 Apr 2013 10 Responses »

Apr 092013

Whilst there’s something to be said for leaving well alone when you know the quality of the meat is good, sometimes it’s nice to add a little extra flavour to a roast dinner. I made a very quick and simple za’atar and sumac rub for this beautiful half leg of organic Welsh lamb from Graig Farm. It worked very well, creating a spicy and robustly flavoured crust but allowing the flavour of the lamb to shine.

I still have lots of Abu Kassem’s za’atar from the trip we made to his farm in Lebanon back in 2011. Follow that link to read more about how he selectively bred from wild herbs and how he now produces za’atar that is sold across Lebanon, from his farm in the south of the country. The za’atar mix he sells includes the herb itself, dried sumac berries, toasted sesame seeds and salt.

I’m not sure of the identify of the green plant Abu Kassem calls za’atar. It’s often translated as wild thyme but the term refers to several herbaceous plants including different oreganos, savouries, marjorams and thymes. Of course, all of these herbs work well with lamb.

I added more sumac as I wanted to bring out the lemon-citrus flavour of this element of Abu Kassem’s blend.

Za’atar & Sumac Crusted Roast Leg of Lamb

Ingredients
1 kg half leg of lamb
2 tablespoons za’atar spice blend
1 tablespoon powdered sumac
2 tablespoons olive oil

Note: For larger or smaller legs of lamb, adjust the volume of the spice and oil rub accordingly.

Method

Combine the za’atar, sumac and oil and mix well.
Rub the spice and oil mix all over the surface of the lamb joint.
Roast according to your normal temperature times. (I roasted for half an hour per 500 grams in a fan oven pre-heated to 180 C and my lamb was cooked to medium).
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Discount Code

Try Graig Farm organic Welsh lamb (or any other meat such as beef and pork) for yourself with a special discount code for Kavey Eats readers:

KAV222

The code gives you 20% off orders over £50 and also includes free delivery. It’s valid until June 30th 2013 and can be used three times per household. Of course, you can pass the code on to friends and family, if they’d like to place an order for themselves.

If you haven’t decided what to have for your Easter Sunday roast, get an order in fast for a superb joint of lamb. The boned rolled shoulder was gorgeous roasted with garlic and rosemary, and the leftovers made wonderful hoisin lettuce wraps and a delicious ragu with pasta.

Kavey Eats received a sample box of organic lamb from Graig Farm.

Organic Welsh Lamb from Graig Farm: Garam Masala Marinated Lamb Loin Chops

24 Mar 2013 1 Response »

Mar 242013

With ever rising populations and land pressure, I’m not being controversial when I state that we need to reduce the amount of meat in our diets and increase the volume of grain and vegetables we eat.

But for those of us who love eating meat, this is easier said than done.

There are two ways to do this: the first is to use smaller portions of meat in each meal, such as a 50 grams of bacon used to give flavour and texture to a pasta dish or a fresh vegetable salad with a handful of leftover roast chicken or a stroganoff with lots of mushrooms and only a little steak; the second way is to balance a couple of meat-heavy meals a week with several vegetarian ones. I tend to waiver between these, and don’t eat as many vegetarian meals as I should, which is a shame as I adore tofu and enjoy cooking our home-grown vegetables.

If you opt for the second approach then, budget permitting, it makes a lot of sense to enjoy the best quality meat you can afford – a little of the good stuff rather than a lot of the mediocre.

In a recent article in the Guardian, Alex Renton says:

Lamb is a green dream: the most gentle, ecologically, of all the farmed meats we eat. There is no animal more naturally-raised – it’s all free range and the feed just grows at their feet. Sheep don’t need water in the vast quantities cattle require and farming them is in itself a form of recycling: they graze hills and marginal land, recovering nutrients from poor grass and weeds other livestock won’t eat.

The land that will support one cow and calf can take as many as seven ewes and their lambs. And the grassy downs of modern England look as they do largely because of grazing sheep.

The lamb we produce in Britain is spectacularly good. Our climate seems well suited, both in terms of landscape and weather and the resulting meat is a delight.

A couple of months ago, I was sent a selection box of organic Welsh lamb by Graig Farm. Based in Mochdre in Montgomeryshire, the farm has been run by the Rees family since the 1940’s and has been certified as organic since 1999. Jonathan Rees is committed to producing great food “without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, growth promoting drugs, routine use of antibiotics, and the large amount of additives often used in ‘non-organic’ methods”. Their sheep and cattle graze in grass, clover and herb pastures and their pigs are able to forage in the woods. Ten years ago, they built a processing plant on site, and do all the butchery and processing themselves at the farm.

Delivery was straightforward. The meat was neatly packed in a large polystyrene box and kept nicely cooled with ice packs, however I’d have preferred more ecologically-friendly packaging options such as the British sheep-wool insulation that Paganum use.

My box contained 2 half lamb legs, 2 lamb leg steaks, 4 lamb loin chops, 1 boned & rolled lamb shoulder, 2 lamb chump chops and 1 rack of lamb, all organic, of course. This box is priced at £89.

People often dismiss spending the extra on organic with complaints that organic produce tastes no difference to non-organic. In many cases, that’s true. But there are a host of other reasons to consider organic, including the environmental impact of pesticides and fertilisers, the fact that organic farms are far friendlier to wildlife and, on a more selfish note, the vastly reduced use of additives. And farmers who can’t resort to the easy option of pumping their animals full of drugs focus much more strongly on keeping them healthy by more natural means. That added care and attention often does make itself evident in the taste. Of course, there are regulated controls on feed too, which also have an impact on the final product.

Every cut of Graig Farm lamb we’ve eaten has been absolutely superb. The meat is tender but not mushy, the flavour is sweet and rich, and there’s enough fat running through to keep the meat moist as it cooks. I really could not be happier with the quality of the meat.

For the lamb loin chops, I made a very simple marinade and then cooked the chops in a hot oven for about 25 minutes.

Garam Masala Marinated Lamb Loin Chops

For the marinade, I first combined 4 bay leaves, a piece of cinnamon bark about an inch wide and long, 1 brown cardamom pod and a couple of small green ones, 6 peppercorns and 3 cloves. These were powdered using a spice grinder and then mixed into approximately two cups of full fat yoghurt. I marinated the chops for a couple of hours before cooking.

Discount Code

Try Graig Farm organic Welsh lamb (or any other meat such as beef and pork) for yourself with a special discount code for Kavey Eats readers:

KAV222

Kavey Eats received a sample box of organic lamb from Graig Farm.

Christmas Day Alternative: Tandoori Leg of Lamb

18 Dec 2012 23 Responses »

Dec 182012

A few weeks ago I was asked to film a video recipe for Vouchercodes.co.uk. They were looking for alternative ideas and twists for the Christmas day dinner. I made my mum Mamta’s Tandoori Leg of Lamb, which can be served with all the normal roast dinner trimmings, as we do in our house, or as the central dish to an Indian feast.

My video recipe is now live on their site, as are other delicious ideas from fellow bloggers. Check them out too!

Here’s the shorter edit that Vouchercodes.co.uk are sharing. I have a longer version that I’ll share with you soon.

Mamta’s Tandoori Leg of Lamb

Ingredients
Leg of lamb, approximately 2 kg
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and 2 halved
1.5 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons besan (gram) flour (leave out if not available)
1 tablespoon coriander powder
A few strands of saffron, soaked in a tablespoon of warm water
3-4 bay leaves
1 inch stick of cinnamon
3-4 cardamoms
6-7 black pepper corns
5-6 cloves
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1-2 teaspoons chilli powder
2 tablespoons good quality oil
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 small carton of creamy, natural yoghurt
Salt to taste

Note: You can replace the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms, black pepper corns and cloves with 1 tablespoon of good quality garam masala. Home made is best, as cheap ready made ones are bulked out with other, cheaper spices.

Method

Make slits in the leg of lamb, insert a few halved cloves of garlic into a few of the slits, and set lamb aside.
Optional: Grind the whole spices (see Hints & Tips).
Place all ingredients except yoghurt into a blender and blitz until smooth.
Transfer paste to a bowl, add yoghurt and mix well.
Taste and adjust spices. Remember that the spice paste has to give enough flavour to 2 kg of meat, so it has to taste a little over-salted and over-spiced at this stage.
Spread the spice paste over the lamb, ensuring that some is worked into the slits.
Leave to marinade at least overnight. For best results, 24 to 36 hours.
Place on a baking tray and cover with aluminium foil.
Cook at 375 F, 190C for 1 1/2 hours for pink meat (or 2 hours for well-done meat).
Baste from time to time and leave uncovered for last half hour, so that the spices and meat turn brown.

Hints & Tips

Ingredients

Make sure you use full fat yoghurt for this recipe as low fat yoghurt often splits when heat is applied. Thick Greek-style yoghurt works well.
If using frozen lamb, defrost thoroughly and drain resulting liquids before applying marinade.
Instead of buying tiny jars of spices from the supermarket, it’s more economical to buy in slightly larger quantities from Asian grocery shops. However, spices fade over time, so if you don’t use them up quickly, they’ll lose their intensity of flavour. I’d recommend storing a small amount of each one in easy-to-access spice jars, keeping the rest in your freezer and replenishing as and when you need to.
Fresh ingredients such as ginger, coriander and other key ingredients for Indian cooking are also often cheaper in Asian and other ethnic grocery shops. If you don’t have an Indian or Pakistani shop near you, look in stores specialising in Chinese or Caribbean food, as there are many cross-over ingredients.

Tips

If your food processor or blender is not very powerful, grind the whole spices in a spice or coffee grinder first, before combining them with the other ingredients. If you have a powerful food processor or blender, add the whole spices with the other ingredients and grind in one step.

Alternatives

You can use this marinade recipe on any meat or fish from larger joints or whole chickens, to smaller cuts such as lamb shanks or individual portions of chicken. It also works well on whole fish, though will need far less marinating time.

Serve with

We love this tandoori roast lamb with traditional British trimmings – roast potatoes and parsnips, carrot and swede mash, savoy cabbage and gravy. We serve it with either a mint raita or mint jelly. For Christmas, we add chipolatas and stuffing and brussel sprouts for my sister who adores them…
Of course, the lamb leg also works as the centrepiece for an extravagant Indian feast. I recommend my favourites such as chicken curry, stuffed aubergines, an additional vegetable dish such as cauliflower and potatoes, a daal or red kidney bean curry, some chapatis and rice on the side. To start, maybe pakoras or samosas and afterwards, a vermicelli kheer, similar to rice pudding but made with vermicelli pasta. Recipes for these dishes can be found on my mum’s site, Mamta’s Kitchen.

Leftovers

Use leftovers just as you would with those from a plain lamb roast – make shepherd’s pie, lamb hot pot, a simple lamb curry, lamb and potato cakes or enjoy it sliced cold in sandwiches or wraps, with some of the minted cucumber and onion raita.

The introductory segment was filmed right at the end and it was after 11 pm by then, so I’m blaming my odd bounciness in that bit on my tiredness, but the rest is not as cringe-worthy as I feared! In fact, although I’ve long felt I have a face for radio, I’m really happy with it! Really hoping I can work with Voucher Codes on more of these in the future.

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf with a Stout & Honey Glaze

18 Oct 2012 8 Responses »

Oct 182012

This post was originally published as a guest post on Pete Drinks.

We eat first with our eyes, so it’s no surprise that I’ve pinned more food images to my Pinterest boards than any others. One of the recipes that caught my eye was this Guinness & Cheddar Meatloaf from The Galley Gourmet blog. Admittedly, it was the sight of bacon-wrapped meat that drew my eye, but I also liked the sound of the beef, lamb and cheddar meat loaf and the beer and honey glaze.

We made a few small changes to ingredients, and halved the recipe to serve 4 (or two with generous leftovers). There was some leftover glaze, as indicated in the original recipe, which we poured over the leftovers before reheating.

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf with a Stout & Honey Glaze

Glaze ingredients:
150 ml stout beer of your choice
50 grams light brown sugar
50 grams (2-3 tablespoons) honey
Meatloaf Ingredients:
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
90 ml stout beer
1 slice white bread, roughly torn
60 ml whole milk
225 grams ground beef
225 grams pound ground lamb
1 large egg
100 grams strong cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 heaped teaspoon umami paste (or 10 grams dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted and finely chopped)
0.5 teaspoon salt
0.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
200 grams good quality streaky bacon, approximately 12 rashers

First make the glaze by bringing the stout, honey and sugar to a boil, in a small pan, then cooking on a medium heat until the the liquid thickens and reduces to half of the original volume. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180° C (fan).
Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until just softened and beginning to take on colour.
Add the garlic and fry for another minute.
Add the stout and simmer briskly until the excess liquid has been absorbed or evaporated.
Set onion mixture aside in a bowl to cool down.

If using porcini mushrooms, add boiling water to reconstitute, soak for 10 minutes, drain and finely chop.
In a bowl, soak the bread in the milk, tossing lightly until soggy but not falling apart.

In a large bowl, combine all meatloaf ingredients except for the bacon. Mix by hand until thoroughly combined. (You can use a food processor for this step if you prefer).

Line a rimmed baking tray with aluminium foil, transfer the meat mixture onto the foil and shape into a rounded loaf.
Drape the meatloaf with slightly overlapping strips of bacon, tucking the ends under the loaf. Carefully cover the ends of the loaf with additional rashers.

Brush the top of the meatloaf with a few coats of the glaze.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, basting with the juices, or extra marinade, 2 or 3 times during cooking.
Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

We both loved this recipe, and will definitely be making it again. Hope you enjoy it too!

Malouf: New Middle Eastern Food

30 Nov 2011 7 Responses »

Nov 302011

Given how much I adored Saraban, I was really excited about getting my hands on the latest title from Greg & Lucky Malouf: New Middle Eastern Food.

Whilst I was immediately taken by many of the recipes, one major problem with the book revealed itself very early on:

The typography and page layout may look modern and attractive but made the book very hard to read. With the exception of the recipe title and ingredients, the introduction and method are printed in pale grey on white paper. Combined with the small text size, this really had me struggling. I’ve not had this problem with any other recipe book, so it’s not a case of deteriorating eyesight.

Flicking through the book on the sofa, I tried to lift the book closer to my eyes, but it’s large size and weight made that impractical.

I can only suggest reading this one at the table, and making use of a sturdy book stand when in the kitchen. Or perhaps investing in a pair of magnifying reading glasses!

Reading problems aside, what about the book?

Whereas their previous books (Arabesque, Moorish, Saha, Turquoise and Saraban) are as much about sharing their journeys and creating, in words and pictures, a vivid mental image of the regions, peoples and traditions they experienced, this latest title is much more focused on food.

What you’ll find here is a compendium of over 300 Middle Eastern recipes, many of which have appeared in the Maloufs’ other books. There are also plenty of new recipes for fans who already have a Malouf library. I particularly like the larder section at the back which is a veritable encyclopaedia of recipes for spice blends and spice pastes, dressings, pickles, relishes, jams and preserves.

As is the Malouf style, the recipes in the book are not slavishly authentic but adapted to suit the modern global market which allows many of us to incorporate ingredients from all around the world into our cooking. So a recipe for a zucchini omelette includes provolone cheese, and a confit date ice cream uses Kahlua. As Greg explains in his introduction:

“My food would not be about reinventing classics – and nor, really, would it be about tradition. Instead, I was bursting with ideas for a new kind of Middle Eastern food: subjective and personal interpretations, yes, but dishes that would absolutely capture the essence of the Middle East, but express it in a fresher, more inventive – and even, perhaps, a more Western – manner.”

We chose to make two recipes: lamb kifta tagine with eggs and my favourite, kukiye sabzi (a soft herb omelette), which we’d made once before, as the recipe is also in Saraban, . By the way, the spectacular Persian Baked Yoghurt Rice with Chicken (Tahcheen-e morgh) that we so enjoyed previously is also included in this book.

Lamb Kifta Tagine With Eggs

This dish can best be described as lamb meatballs in a tomato-based sauce, with eggs baked on top.

Meatball ingredients
500 grams lamb, finely minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil for frying
Sauce ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 x 400 grams tinned tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Other ingredients
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
6 free-range eggs
(optional) baby radish leaves and sage flowers to garnish

Note: We halved all amounts, above.
Note: We used regular salt instead of sea salt (since it was being used in a cooked dish).
Note: We used vegetable cooking oil instead of olive oil (for the same reason).
Note: We used chopped tinned tomatoes and included all the juices.

Method

To make meatballs, thoroughly mix all the ingredients, except for the oil, and with wet hands, form into walnut-sized balls. Heat the oil and brown the meatballs all over. Drain well on paper towel.

For the sauce, heat the oil in a heavy-based casserole dish and lightly sauté the onions and garlic until they are translucent. Add the tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste and stir well. Then add the water, stir again and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer the sauce, uncovered, for about thirty minutes, or until it has reduced to a very thick gravy.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and continue cooking for a further 8 minutes. Stir in the parsley and coriander. Carefully break the eggs into the sauce, cover the pan with a lid and cook until the eggs are just set, which will take about 5 minutes.

Serve at once, straight from the pot.

Malouf suggests liberally garnishing with radish leaves and flowers, and serving with plenty of Arabic flatbread to mop up the runny egg yolks. Alternatively, he proposes accompanying the tagine with a dish of plain buttered couscous and a dollop of thick natural yoghurt.
He also adds a note that those who enjoy a more piquant dish may add one finely chopped bullet chilli whilst sautéing the onion and garlic.

We really enjoyed the dish, though found it a lot like a North Indian tomato-based curry in flavour. Reducing the volume of coriander leaves would probably alleviate this.

(Kuku-ye Sabzi) Soft Herb Omelette

Ingredients
2 tablespoons barberries, stems removed
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/2 cup chopped dill sprigs
1/2 cup snipped chives
50 ml olive oil
6-free range eggs
(optional) 2 tablespoons saffron liquid (a few strands of saffron soaked in a couple of tablespoons of boiling water)
1 tablespoon self-raising flour
(optional) 1/3 cup fenugreek leaves or 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, lightly crushed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Note: we omitted the barberries, saffron liquid and fenugreek.
Note: We halved all amounts, above.

Method

The first time we made this, we used a small frying pan, which was better suited to the halved amounts. The second time, we used a much larger pan, which resulted in a flatter finished omelette with raised sides, reminiscent of a Yorkshire pudding. Both tasted great and had a good texture, but the one made in the smaller pan was more in line with what the dish should look like.

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Soak the barberries in cold water for 2 minutes, then drain and dry. Toss the herbs together and use paper towel or a clean tea towel to pat out as much moisture as you can.
Pour the oil into a non-stick oven-proof frying pan and heat in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and saffron liquid, if using, until frothy. Whisk in the flour, fenugreek, salt and pepper, followed by the herbs and barberries.

Pour the egg mixture into the hot oil. Cover the pan with a lid or foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until nearly set. Remove the cover and cook for a further 15 minutes to brown the surface.

Cut into wedges and serve hot from the pan. Alternatively, drain on paper towel and cut into wedges when cold. Cold omelette is particularly good as a sandwich filling.

This dish became a favourite of mine at the now closed Aqua restaurant in North Finchley, so it’s great to have a simple, delicious recipe to make it at home.

With thanks to Hardie Grant for the review copy.

Published by Hardie Grant, New Middle Eastern Food by Greg & Lucy Malouf is currently available from Amazon for £19.84 (RRP £30).

Stew! Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Balsamic Vinegar (+ Competition)

19 Nov 2011 34 Responses »

Nov 192011

New cook books are great. New cookbooks I won by following the author on twitter are even better, especially as I hadn’t even realised there was a competition running!

I’m a real fan of a good stew. Hearty and comforting, full of warmth and good flavours and often made from inexpensive ingredients. What’s not to like?

Genevieve Taylor feels the same way and shares a wide range of recipes in her book Stew! released earlier this year.

Particularly appealing to those wanting inspiring yet frugal recipes, it didn’t take me long to decide which recipe to try first, though I have a feeling we’ll be trying quite a few through the cold winter months to come.

The recipe for lamb shanks with red wine and balsamic vinegar was very straightforward and the results were absolutely delicious. And it was just as frugal as promised, making use of a small pair of lamb shanks from Donald Russell, an inexpensive but perfectly drinkable red wine from Aldi, and an inexpensive bottle of balsamic vinegar from Waitrose.

This is definitely a recipe we’ll make again!

Enter my competition, below, to win your own copy of Stew!

Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients
2 tablespoons plain flour
4-6 lamb shanks (or 1 kilo ox cheeks, see note below recipe)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
4 red onions, cut into wedges through the root
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
375 ml red wine
150 ml balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Note: We had 2 lamb shanks, so halved all amounts in the recipe above.
Note: We used regular vegetable oil in place of olive oil.

Method

Season the flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper. On a large plate dust the lamb shanks with the seasoned flour and toss to coat all over.

Heat the cooking oil in a heavy-based pan, with a lid, and brown the lamb shanks on all sides. This will take a good few minutes so don’t rush it as the flavour will be greatly improved if the shanks are well browned. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, add the onions and allow to soften and colour a little at the edges. Then add the garlic and rosemary and cook for just a minute.

Return the lamb shanks to the pan and pour over the red wine and balsamic vinegar.

Bring up to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook very slowly for 2 – 2.5 hours. You want the lamb to be so soft it is coming away from the bone. Turn the shanks every now and then to baste them in the juices.

Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve with herby mash potatoes.

Delicious…

Edit: The following week, I made this recipe again substituting a ox cheeks for the lamb shanks and it worked beautifully. I used a kilo of ox cheeks and the full amounts of everything else. I also allowed an extra hour for cooking, covered and then an additional half an hour uncovered to reduce the sauce a little further at the end. It was absolutely fantastic, just like the lamb shanks.

Win!

If that lovely recipe whet your appetite, why not enter my competition to win a copy of this marvellous book for yourself?

How to enter

You can enter the competition in 4 ways.
Please leave a separate comment on this post for entries 1 – 3. A separate comment is not needed for entry 4.

Entry 1 – Answer the question
Leave a comment below, answering the following question:
Which vinegar gives its distinctive flavour to the lamb shank stew I cooked from Genevieve’s book?

Entry 2 – Become a Facebook fan of Kavey Eats
Go to the Kavey Eats Facebook page and click on the Like button. Leave a comment below once you’ve done so. If you’re already a Facebook fan, just say so in your comment. Please include your Facebook name.

Entry 3 – Follow Kavey on Twitter
Click through and follow @KaveyF on Twitter and leave a comment below once you’ve done so. If you already follow me, just say so in your comment. Please include your Twitter name.

Entry 4 – Tweet
Tweet the (exact) sentence below:
I’d love to win a copy of Stew! by Genevieve Taylor from www.kaveyeats.com #KaveyEatsStew

Rules & Details

The deadline for entries is midnight GMT Saturday 26 November 2011.
One entry per method per person.
The winner will be selected from all valid entries using a random number generator.
The prize includes delivery, and can be delivered to UK mainland addresses only.
The prize cannot be redeemed for cash.
The prize is offered and will be delivered directly by Absolute Press.
The winner will be notified by email or twitter asked to provide a delivery address. If no response is received by the end of November 2011, the prize will be forfeit and a new winner will be picked and contacted.

*If you don’t have a secondary email address already and are nervous about sharing your main email address on the internet, why not set up a new free email account on hotmail, gmail or yahoo, that you can use to enter competitions like this?

Boneless Leg of Lamb Braised in Red Wine With Garlic

04 Nov 2009 10 Responses »

Nov 042009

Anyone who’s visited Niamh (eatlikeagirl)’s stall at the Covent Garden Real Food Market over the last couple of months may well have salivated over her delicious slow-roasted pork or lamb served in home-made blaas (bread buns) with home-made condiments. Recently, she’s resolved her meat sourcing difficulties by turning to online farmer’s market, Paganum, purveyor of fine quality meat produced in Yorkshire. Having scarfed my way through some of Niamh’s fine fare, I have been very impressed with the quality of the meat.

Some of you might know that, because of a dearth of butchers in my local neighbourhood, I’ve been investigating online sources of good quality meat over the last few months. Thus far, The Well Hung Meat Company has delivered acceptable meat but at prices too high for me to place repeat orders. And Abel & Cole have impressed me with the quality of some of their meat, but less so with consistency not to mention issues with the ordering and delivery process. I’ve also got a list of other online meat suppliers to try, most of whom I encountered at the Organic Food Festival in Bristol some weeks ago.

So, recently I received a delivery from Paganum. I really like the environmentally friendly woolcool insulation – it kept the contents very well chilled and is made from British sheep’s wool. The meat looked great!

Sturdy packaging using environmentally friendly insulation

I consulted the twitter food community for ideas on how to cook my leg of lamb and opted to go with thelarderlout‘s advice to “slow cook at 170C w/ 1/2 btl redwine, rosemary, garlic, carrot, celery, onion, anchovy paste. baste every 1/2 hour. 3 hours’ll do it.”

I hate celery, so I dropped that straight away. I intended to go out for anchovy paste and fresh rosemary but, in the end, decided to make do with what I had in, so onion became spring onion, fresh rosemary made way for dried and I didn’t bother with the anchovy paste!

So, go ahead and use this “recipe” as a starting point. I’d love to hear about your own variations and successes.

Boneless Leg of Lamb Braised in Red Wine With Garlic

Ingredients
1.7 kilo boneless leg of lamb joint
Some home-grown carrots
Some spring onions
Some cloves of garlic, chopped
Half a bottle of Argentinian Malbec red wine
A scattering of dried rosemary

Method

I made a bed of carrots, spring onion and garlic in the bottom of a large glass casserole dish.

The lamb leg was place on top. I made holes with a sharp knife into which I pushed large chunks of garlic.

I glugged half a bottle of red wine over the lamb. It covered the vegetables and came a little way up the side of the lamb.

And then I popped the dish into our fan oven, set to 170°C, for 3.5 hours.

The finished lamb was beautifully tender. The red wine had produced a wonderful, deeply coloured stock – to my surprise it didn’t have a particularly red wine taste at all! The garlic and rosemary flavours came through, but didn’t overwhelm the rich lamb taste. And the lamb did taste great – nothing like the insipid, anonymous taste of cheap lamb but an almost hogget-like intensity that I liked very much.

Pete’s “Courgette ‘Saka”

26 Sep 2009 10 Responses »

Sep 262009

During my August trip to Dusseldorf (for work), Pete was keen to find new ways to use some of the beautiful courgettes we’ve been growing in the garden. When he told me of about the moussaka-like dish he made one night (using courgettes instead of aubergine) I insisted he make it again as soon as I got home! We both enjoyed it so much he’s made it a number of times since then.

The recipe has varied each time he’s made it. Apart from the first time, when he used beef, he uses lamb mince – more in keeping with a traditional moussaka. The ratios of ragu, courgette and bechamel have changed too. The first time he made it, he fried the courgettes briefly before layering them into the dish but he no longer does this. And the last time he made it, he skipped the bechamel, and it was still delicious! Don’t be scared to adapt this recipe!

You can, of course, substitute your preferred recipe and methods for the lamb ragu. Pete’s very simple one, below, is easy and delicious but any thick, rich ragu recipe would work.

Recipe: Pete’s “Courgette ‘Saka”

Ingredients
-Ragu
500 grams lamb mince
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 Oxo cube
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A little flour for thickening (optional)
Olive oil for frying
-Courgette layer
Approximately 500 grams courgette
-Bechamel
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
Approximately 200 ml milk
-Cheese
Small handful of grated cheese (optional)

Method
-Ragu

Brown the mince in a little olive oil. (You won’t need much as lamb mince releases it’s own fat).

Add the garlic and Oxo cube and stir in well.
Stir in the flour (if using).
Add the tomatoes.
Bring up to a simmer and leave to thicken for 20-30 minutes. (You can get away with 10 minutes if you’re in a rush, as long as the mince was browned off properly).

-Courgettes

Slice the courgette, lengthwise or crosswise, as preferred. (Seed first if particularly large).

-Bechamel

Once the mince is ready, start the bechamel.
Melt the butter.
Mix in the flour with a whisk until it becomes a coherent paste.
Heat the milk (a quick blast in the microwave works well).

Add the milk to the flour butter paste gradually, whisking continuously. Don’t worry if it seems to separate when the milk first goes in; if you keep whisking it comes together again.

-Assembly

In a oven dish, use half the mince to create the first layer. Cover with half the courgette slices, spread out over the mince and half the bechamel. Repeat.
Sprinkle grated cheese over top, if desired.
Pop dish into medium oven (160-180) for approximately half an hour. (Exact cooking time will depend on how thick your courgette slices were, as these need to cook through).

Sumac, Garlic & Coriander Lamb

22 Jul 2009 No Responses »

Jul 222009

(Skip to the end for the recipe)

Being invited to review Abel & Cole organic meat deliveries

When Abel & Cole’s PR contacted me about reviewing their products several weeks ago, I mentioned that I would be much more interested in reviewing their organic meat than the fruit and vegetables.

We’d trialled a Well Thrifty Box from the Well Hung Meat Company some weeks previously (which I really ought to summarise in a separate blog post at some point) and have been investigating other suppliers too. Ideally we’d like to try a few alternatives before a) working out which one we like best for quality, money and service and b) whether any of the options beat popping to Waitrose (2 minutes walk from our house) and buying what we need as we want it.

Their first delivery contained a mixed fruit and veg box, the contents of which were very inconsistent in quality, plus an organic chicken; a beautiful bird – plump, firm meat which, when cooked, retained both moisture and a firm texture and tasted wonderful.

So I was delighted when I was offered further meat products to assess and review.

Problems with the delivery

Friday’s delivery was duly arranged to include an boneless half leg of lamb and a bone in forerib joint of beef. I’d specifically mentioned that I’d like to try a bone in beef joint as this is something I find hard to source in local shops (Waitrose included) and would be interested in ordering online if it proves to be as good as I hear and read. So I was particularly pleased that Abel & Cole were generous enough to include it in my second delivery.

The meat arrived in the usual polystyrene box, wrapped in plastic and surrounded by ice-packs. Opening any deliveries that arrive by post is always a little like Christmas for me – even when I’m expecting the package and know just what’s inside.

Lamb? Tick! A fine looking piece of meat. Perfect for the family BBQ at my parents’ home on Sunday.

Beef? Oh no! Instead of the bone in joint, we find a boneless forerib instead. Scratch the plan to make stock from the bones!

Quickly, we check the paperwork. The receipt confirms that the order was placed correctly for boneless lamb and bone in beef. Looking at the beef itself, the label clearly reads Boned Forerib. I scramble onto the A & C website and notice an odd thing – firstly, although the text on the packet reads Boned Forerib, the product code, in slightly larger text, is the code for the bone in joint we expected. And what’s more A & C don’t even list a boned forerib joint!

I drop a note to the PR and marketing ladies and explain the mistake. “Exactly how would your customer services team respond to this mistake for a regular, paying customer”, I ask? “I’m reviewing not just the product but your full service”, after all.

The issue is passed across to Greg in Customer Services and the response I get is a good one: The letter starts with a sincere apology, a full refund for the beef joint and some information about how feedback on mistakes feeds back into the process and helps them to reduce repetition of such errors going forward. Chris goes on to make the following offer:

“I can’t apologise enough for the inconvenience this has caused you and in the light of the problems you’ve experienced previously I would be more than happy to offer you the Forerib Joint, Bone In (1.5kg avg) free of charge next week should this be convenient for you. I would also hope you might be able to use the boned and rolled joint you have received in error as we would be happy for you to keep the item without charge. If it is no longer convenient for you to receive the beef joint we could always arrange to send you a free bottle of wine or olive oil as an apology instead.”

The problem for me lies in the inconsistency – having made meal plans based on what one has ordered, it’s very frustrating to receive something different (or of unusable quality) and have to juggle those plans at the last minute. Of course, A & C’s generous attitude when putting mistakes right absolutely takes the edge off that frustration – after all, the upshot is that the customer receives two (very expensive, in this case) items for free – but it doesn’t change the fact that they’re not getting it right in the first place.

On one hand, their genuine warmth and desire to make amends when reacting to mistakes is commendable. On the other hand, it’s disheartening to see that the quality control issues that plagued them some years ago are still prevalent.

It’s all about the sumac!

I earmarked the lamb for a family BBQ at my parents’ house long before it arrived. As I’d already promised that I’d be bringing and preparing it, I was relieved it was the beef and not the lamb that had been mixed up.

But what preparation for the lamb would suit being cooked on a BBQ and also work well with the loosely Indian-themed dishes mum had planned? I was stumped and asked for advice on food chat boards and from the twitter food blogger community.

Sumac seems to be one of the flavours of the moment and was recommended by quite a few folks so I plumped for a sumac-based marinade suggested by fellow food blogger, Gillthepainter, though I decided against the almond yoghurt sauce she made as an accompaniment.

I’ve never cooked with sumac before and actually had no idea what flavour it would give. Luckily, I did know where to find some as a small Iranian and Mediterranean shop has very recently opened just around the corner from us!

I blitzed the sumac with garlic, ground coriander seeds, olive oil and seasoning and rubbed and squished the resulting paste over and into my lamb, which I left to marinate in the fridge overnight.

In the event, the skies opened with a monsoon-like deluge and we switched to an indoor feast.

Honestly, I can’t remember how long we roasted the lamb for – there was so much going on – but it was cooked just as I’d wanted – nicely brown on the outside with one end cooked medium and the other medium rare.

The lamb was absolutely lovely. Tender, moist, firm meat with a lovely flavour – a beautiful piece of meat. The marinade succeeded in the difficult task of allowing the lamb to shine whilst serving up something a little different.

The sumac gives what I would describe as quite a subtle citrusy flavour – not what I was expecting at all. It worked well with the garlic and coriander seeds and gave a pretty pinky-red colour to the dish.

I was gratified to see guests go back not just for seconds but for thirds too, with a number of comments about how good the lamb meat was.

Za’atar & Sumac Crusted Roast Leg of Lamb

Za’atar & Sumac Crusted Roast Leg of Lamb

Discount Code

Organic Welsh Lamb from Graig Farm: Garam Masala Marinated Lamb Loin Chops

Garam Masala Marinated Lamb Loin Chops

Discount Code

Christmas Day Alternative: Tandoori Leg of Lamb

Mamta’s Tandoori Leg of Lamb

Hints & Tips

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf with a Stout & Honey Glaze

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf with a Stout & Honey Glaze

Malouf: New Middle Eastern Food

Stew! Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Balsamic Vinegar (+ Competition)

Boneless Leg of Lamb Braised in Red Wine With Garlic

Pete’s “Courgette ‘Saka”

Sumac, Garlic & Coriander Lamb

Search

Follow Me

Kavey Nibbles

Chobani Yoghurts

In The Garden

Mitarashi Dango from Atari-ya

Affiliate Links

Translate this page

Kavey Eats Archives