Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Root Veg and Red Wine Gravy

This is a little bit of a hangover from The Wartime Kitchen - Ration Book Cooking, which is why the piece of meat is so small and there are so many vegetables surrounding it!  However, it gave me a chance to try out the Mermaid Deep Side Handled Roaster.   Made from hard anodised aluminium, Mermaid claim their collection of bakeware will never peel or blister, withstanding the highest cooking temperatures – perfect if you need high temperatures to seal off your meat. Mermaid’s roaster is ideal for hob to oven cooking, guaranteed not to warp or buckle, plus, it’s extremely easy to clean and scratch resistant making it safe to use with metal utensils such as a whisk. So let's see if that is true!

Pot Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Root Vegetables and Red Wine Gravy

Piece of Lamb shoulder (I won't insult you by telling you how little I used!)
2 shallots, peeled and quartered
4 parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks or fingers
6 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks or fingers
4 tbsp sunflower oil


1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the roaster on the hob, sear the lamb on all sides.  Remove the meat and add the remaining oil.
2. Add the vegetables, season and place the lamb on top of the vegetables.
3. Cover with foil and cook at 160C for 1 1/2 hours.
4. Remove foil and turn up the oven to 200C, cook for 15 minutes until the vegetables start to colour.
5. Remove the meat and vegetables to a warmed serving plate and rest covered with foil.




Make the Gravy
Spoon off the excess fat. Next deglaze your dish on the hob with a medium heat to release the delicious flavours within the darker juices. After adding flour, wine, balsamic vinegar and stock and you have a delicious gravy.


Not feeling confident about making your own gravy?  Mermaid have a step by step video which will 'hold your hand' until you have mastered the art of making Old Fashioned Gravy.


I followed the instructions on the video to make my gravy and they were very easy to follow.  I used a metal whisk in the pan as instructed, although that was the hardest part of the whole process for me, it just seems wrong to use metal utensils on non-stick!  However, I have to say that the non-stick is incredibly tough and didn't have a mark on it after cleaning.


It didn't warp or buckle, it didn't blister or peel, quite impressive given the bashing I gave it with the whisk.  I also liked the handles, which made it really easy to lift the roasting tin out of the oven  and to work with it on the hob.


I've used the Mermaid Deep Side Handled Roaster since to make roast potatoes, sorry no photos, and it worked well for that too.  I am also eyeing it up for a giant lasagne which would feed visitors over the Christmas holidays, it's the perfect size and, with those lovely shiny stainless steel handles, I would even take it to the table.


Thanks to Sarah and Ria for providing me with the Mermaid Deep Side Handled Roaster for review, I was not required to provide a positive review and I was not paid for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Labels: carrots, gravy, lamb, Mermaid Cookware, Mermaid Deep Side Handled Roaster, Parsnips, Ration Book Cooking, red wine gravy, Roast, shallots, The Wartime Kitchen

posted by Janice @ 19:16 4 Comments

Ration Book Cooking with Great British Bakeware by George Wilkinson- Saturday 10th November

Only a couple more days to go on my rations and I must say I won't be sorry when it is over,  it's a bit of fun to try to cook with rations for a week but British Families had 14 years of these strictures, I can only imagine how much people must have craved something different.

I was lucky that last night I attended a Gala Dinner and was able to feast on three courses of delicious food which I didn't have to cook and which featured strawberries, blueberries, ratatouille and a lovely boef bourguignon.  Back to 'old clothes and porridge' as we say here!

Menu for Saturday 10th November

Breakfast - Porridge

Lunch - Lentil Soup, slice of Wartime Loaf

Supper  - Beef Stew with Dumplings, Blackberry and Apple Pie with Custard

No dumplings yet!

 I didn't use a war time recipe as it's just a basic beef stew/casserole with lots of root veg added to bulk it out, I had some celery in the fridge so threw that in too in the interests if thrift.

Beef Stew with Dumplings (serves 4)

0.6 kg Stewing steak
5 Parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 small swede, peeled and cut into chunks
2 oxo cubes
salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings
50g suet
100g self-raising flour
5 tbsp cold water

 1. Heat a little oil (lard) in an ovenproof casserole, cut the stewing steak into chunks and brown in the fat.
2. Add the sliced onion and cook for a minute, then add all the other vegetables and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Cover the meat and vegetable mixture with hot water from the kettle and add the two stock cubes and the seasoning.
4. Bring to the boil, put the lid on and then cook at 150C for 11/2 to 2 hours, checking every now and then to make sure it doesn't dry out.  You need to be sure you have enough liquid in the stew to steam cook the dumplings.

5. About 15 minutes before serving, mix the flour, suet and water together and form into 8 balls.
6.  Bring the stew to a simmer on the hob and add the dumplings, put the lid on and cook for 10-15 minutes until they have fluffed up.
7.  Serve with mashed potato and a green vegetable.

Blackberry and Apple Pie with custard

Blackberry and Apple pie

Made with Bramley cooking apples, delicious blackberries and cinnamon, this pie is truly irresistible. Cooking times will vary depending on how fresh your apples are. For best results, cook them until they soften first.

Great British Bakeware by George Wilkinson

To help make my pie a success, I was lucky enough to receive this Deep Pie Plate from the latest collection from British bakeware manufacturer George Wilkinson, Great British Bakeware features a superior new coating, GlideX, guaranteed not to flake or scratch.

The ultimate performing non-stick, pies will simply glide out of the plate and best of all will need a simple rinse to clean, eliminating the need for heavy duty scrubbing, especially molten fruits and jams leftover from your wonderful winter pies.

The GlideX coating is virtually indestructible and has been bonded directly onto the bakeware to ensure it performs like new with each use – perfect when nothing else will do but a piping hot bowl of comforting pie.  Prices from £7.00

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry my usual recipe but 25g butter/25g margarine/25g lard
50g butter, plus extra for greasing
100g golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 large Bramley apples, cored, peeled and each cut into 16 wedges
4 Cox apples, cored, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges
150g blackberries
1 large egg, beaten
 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Roll out pastry, wrap in cling film and rest it in the fridge for at least half an hour.

• Put the butter and sugar into a saucepan and when the butter has melted, add the apples. Slowly cook for 15 minutes with a lid on, then add the blackberries, stir and cook for 5 more minutes with the lid off. 

• Remove the pastry from the fridge. Dust the work surface with flour, cut the pastry in half and, using a floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces out until it’s just under 1cm thick. Butter your pie dish and line with the pastry, trimming off any excess round the edges carefully with a knife.

• Tip the cooled apples and blackberries into a sieve, reserving all the juices, then add to the pie dish. Spoon over half the reserved juices and brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg.

• Roll out the second piece of pastry and lay it over the top of the pie. Trim the edges and crimp them together with your fingers. Brush the top of the pie with the rest of the beaten egg, sprinkle generously with sugar and the cinnamon, and make a couple of slashes in the top of the pastry.

• Place the pie on a baking tray and then put it directly on the bottom of the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

  To serve, slice the pie into portions and serve with a generous dollop of custard.

I love how making the filling in this way creates a really well filled pie.  The bakeware performed really well, as you can see there is nothing left stuck to the tin. On the other hand my 'wartime' pastry was not particularly well behaved, it was very short, so broke and crumbled.  The decorations were to cover up the gaping holes that the cracked pastry created!

What's left?


I received the Deep Pie Plate from Great British Bakeware by George Wilkinson to review, I was not obliged to give a good review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Labels: Apple and Blackberry Tart, Beef Stew, custard, dumplings, Lentil Soup, Porridge, Ration Book Cooking, The Wartime Kitchen

posted by Janice @ 17:08 4 Comments

Wartime Kitchen - Ration Book Cooking Friday 9th November

First let me show you tthe Parsnips with Cheese dish that I made for Thursday's supper

Parsnips with Cheese

Mash some boiled parsnips with a little margarine, and add grated cheese to your taste.  Grease a pie-dish, put in the parsnip puree, sprinkle with plenty of breadcrumbs mixed with grated cheese, and bwon quickly in the oven.  Little bits of cold meat, chopped, can be added to the parsnips for substance, if desired.

I didn't add any cold meat  to mine as I didn't have any in my ration.  This was a simple but tasty dish, I would recommend serving it with peas or beans.  In non-ration times this would be a really nice change from mashed potatoes.



I found some fantastic clips on the BBC History website where Giles Coren and Sue Perkins investigate what life was like for a housewife in World War Two, with the help of food writer and cook Allegra McEvedy.  I can really recommend  these short clips, they are funny and full of information.


Now on to Friday's menu, I've kind of run out of steam on my menu planning and am realising that I needed to be a lot more prepared.  One of the difficulties about these dishes is that they do take a bit longer to prepare, fine if you are working from home (as I would have been on the farm) but not when you have to go out to work.

However during WW2 most work places had canteens and the food was 'off ration', so I would probably have eaten there most lunch times and then had a light supper when I got home.  However, on Friday night I am going out to a Gala Dinner to represent the place where I work.  I wondered how I might include this in my ration challenge but like the canteens, restaurants were also 'off ration' so I can enjoy my dinner...as long as they do not charge me more than 5/- for my meal ;-)  You can find out more about British Restaurants from Karen at Lavender and Lovage.   Although I'm going out for this dinner,  my husband and mother-in-law will be home and they are going to have fish and chips.  Again this was not on ration, but fish was very difficult to get as most of the fishermen had been called up and the seas were an even more dangerous place to be than usual.

Friday's Ration Book Menu

Breakfast:  Porridge
Lunch: Jacket Potato filled with Vegetable Yeast Extract, parsely and salt and pepper
Gala Dinner!!!




What I've got left:

Labels: Allegra McEvedy, BBC History, Giles Coren, Parsnips, Ration book challenge, Ration Book Cooking, Sue Perkins, The Wartime Kitchen

posted by Janice @ 20:59 6 Comments

Ration Book Cooking - Wednesday 7th November

Menu for Wednesday

Labels: bacon, Boston Baked Beans, Egg and Sausage Tart, haricot beans, Ration Book Cooking, Rations, The Wartime Kitchen, treacle

posted by Janice @ 13:13 2 Comments