Slow Cooker Lamb Ras el Hanout and the Slow Cooked Challenge for May/June

Apologies for posting a little late , I don't seem to have caught up with myself this month at all! Thanks to everyone who took part in the April Slow Cooked Challenge, you can see the recipes on the Linky at the bottom of the April post.

I'm keeping the Linky on this page open for two months this time and there is no theme, so anything you make in your slow cooker, or other slow cooked method, can be linked up.  After that there will be a break for July and August (I found last year that entries dried up when the better weather arrived!) and the challenge will be back with a bang in September.

Slow Cooked Lamb Ras el Hanout
Serves 4 

1kg lamb shoulder (or other braising cut)
2 tsp Ras El Hanout
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp honey
1 can chopped tomatoes
150ml lamb stock
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Cut the lamb into chunks and place into the slow cooker with all the other ingredients.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Serve with couscous

You can cook this succulent, tender lamb dish your oven on a low heat (140C) for 2-3 hours although you may need to add more stock as it will evaporate more quickly.






The Slow Cooked Challenge is a monthly blog challenge dedicated to making recipes using a Slow Cooker/Crockpot or by slow cooking in the oven, aga or other slow method of cooking. Each month there will be a theme e.g. soup, dessert, vegetarian etc

If you would like to take part, then please:

• Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker or other slow cooking method and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen
• Use the Slow Cooked Challenge logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook and #SlowCookedChallenge and I will re-tweet it to my followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board. 

Rules:

• Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

Labels: cous cous, lamb, Ras el Hanout, Slow Cooked Challenge, Spice Kitchen

posted by Janice @ 21:24 6 Comments

10 reasons to love Street Food with Scotch Lamb

Reason 1 - Getting invited to a Scotch Lamb Street Food Festival
We all enjoy a Sunday roast, but it was so much fun to try some more adventurous dishes made with lamb at the Scotch Lamb Street Food Festival.  The Street Food Festival was tucked away in a venue in the West End of  Glasgow, an area which I thought I knew quite well, but  this was a place I had never been to, it was all a little bit mysterious  The Studio Warehouse  is right at the end of a lane,  next to a fast main road, the Clydeside Expressway, and beside some old fashioned arches.  However it was an ideal space for an indoor Street Festival, and it was just as well it was indoors as it was pouring with rain when we arrived just after 11am.


The food for the Street Festival was provided by The Street Food Cartel who served up a specially created menu from four of their most popular street kitchen stalls.

Reason 2 (Top left): Antojito Cantina, Barbacoa lamb in soft tacos, with sour cream, guacamole and pico di gallo.  This wasn't easy to eat as the meat was in a fairly wet sauce, but it was really full of flavour, not too spicy, and the toppings really made it.
Reason 3 (Top right): So La Ti Dough, Lamb Shoulder slow roasted in the wood fire oven with vine tomatoes, rosemary and garlic.  Focaccia baked to order. The lamb was thickly cut and tasty although, I would have preferred a stronger rosemary and garlic flavour coming through coming and it wasn't the easiest to eat with a wooden fork and no knife!  The tomatoes were lovely.
Reason 4 (Bottom left): Pad BKK, Lamb Massaman curry with jasmine rice, Thai prawn crackers, crispy shallots, peanuts and herbs. The Pad Thai was super delicious, tender lamb with a sweet and spicy sauce, the prawn crackers, spring onions and chilli added a beautiful texture to the dish and the rice soaked up the sauce.  This was an outstanding dish.
Reason 5 (Bottom right): Scoop Silver Bullet, Braised neck fillet of lamb, ras el hanout, pomegranate and sultana cous cous.  We both loved the lamb cooked with Moroccan spices, it was perfectly balanced with tender spicy lamb and a delicious couscous, the slight acidity of the pomegranate was the perfect foil for the meat.


It was a close call for first place between the Morrocan flavoured dish and the Pad Thai, both tasted amazing, I think I liked the Pad Thai best and Brian preferred the Morrocan Lamb.  I have to point out that, although we had the opportunity to eat whole dish of each to ourselves (or more) we really couldn't have managed it, so apart from the initial tacos, we shared each of the dishes.


Reason 6 - There are many different cuts of lamb  and your butcher can advise you which to choose.  Some of the bloggers at the Street Food Festival took the opportunity for a lesson in butchery.  It was a pretty comprehensive lesson which took around an hour and those who took part learned to debone a leg of lamb, muscle by muscle.  I would have had a go, but when I saw how much time was involved, I decided just to observe!


Reason 7 - Chef Jacqueline O'Donnell's fabulous recipes and cookery demos for Scotch Lamb
The main attractions for me were the cookery demonstrations by Chef Jacqueline O'Donnell of the Sisters Restaurant.  Jacqueline shot to fame last year with her appearance in the Great British Menu when she won the Scottish round but, unfortunately, her dishes didn't make it through to the final dinner.  I met Jac at the Highland Show and loved her down to earth attitude and treasure trove of useful hints and tips. I think she should have her own TV series.

Reason 8 - You can cook Scotch Lamb quickly
The Scotch Lamb dishes that Jac cooked this time were lamb loin with caramelised sweet potato served with couscous.  We learned about resting the meat to let the temperature equalise right through the meat.  Jac also told us some gems about 'keeping the flavour in the pan', for example by cooking the sweet potatoes in a little stock before caramelising them in the pan, then using the stock for the couscous.

Reason 9 - You can cook Scotch Lamb slowly
Even more exciting for me was the rolled shoulder of Scotch Lamb which Jac had slow cooked until it was falling apart, then wrapped tightly in cling film while warm so it cooled in a cylinder shape.   Once cold it was then cut into thick slices, pan fried, and served with a Thai inspired sauce which included lime, ginger and fish sauce.  The lamb was incredibly tender and the sauce had a lovely balance of sweet, sour and salty.  I'll definitely be making this dish.

Reason 10 - The 'Scotch Lamb' name means quality is assured
The quality assurance scheme means that only animals from farms that meet the assurance standards are eligible to be classed as Scotch Lamb. Quality Meat Scotland inspect these farms annually and only then can the classification  ‘Scotch Lamb’ be awarded to those sheep that have been born and raised on assured Scottish farms.

I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to take away the recipes for the demos and the Street Food dishes, I have asked and will share any I make.  In the meantime there are plenty of great recipes on the Scotch Beef and Lamb site.

Many thanks to all at Scotch Lamb, Quality Meat Scotland and The Street Food Cartel, for a very tasty way to spend a Saturday, eating and learning about Scotch Lamb. It was also great to meet some bloggers I follow online but hadn't met before: Rachel from A Wee Pinch of Sugar, Michelle from Ananyah, Sarah from Glasgow Mummy and the glorious red head, Get Stuffed (sorry I didn't catch your proper name!).

I was invited to the Street Food Festival by Scotch Lamb, I was not paid to write this post and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: Glasgow, Jacqueline O'Donnell, lamb, QMS, Scotch Lamb, Street Food

posted by Janice @ 19:24 1 Comments

Kitchen Garden Experts - Lamb with Savoury Potatoes - a review

I should be presenting you with Charcoal-Cooked Lamb Rack with Savoury Potatoes, however what you are actually getting is Slow Roasted Lamb Leg with Herby Potatoes.  This dish sums up my difficulty in reviewing Kitchen Garden Experts, let me tell you more...



Kitchen Garden Experts features the chefs and gardeners at twenty of the UK's most exciting restaurants, hotels, pubs and cafes, focusing on how they produce the best fruit and vegetables to appear on their menus.

The TWenty Chefs include:
Raymond Blanc and Anne-Marie Owens at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Gill Meller at River Cottage, Sir Terence Conran at Barton Court, Simon Rogan at L'Enclume, Tom Lewis at Monachyle Mhor, Jack Stein at Padstow Kitchen Garden, Skye Gyngell at Heckfield Place,  Carina Continti at The Scottish Kitchen Garden and Ruthie Rogers at River Cafe.

The Author is Cinead McTernan, a horticulturally trained writer and gardening editor of The Simple Things magazine.  She was previously editors of The Edible Garden magazine and worked on  The English Garden and BBC Gardeners' World magazines.

Award-winning photographer Jason Ingram has worked on numerous garden and food magazines.  His published books include the Ethicurean Cookbook.

The Kitchen Garden Expert is a really good read, with lots of great gardening tips and a fascinating insight into the interaction between gardeners and chefs.  However,  I found it incredibly difficult to find many of the recipes that I either had access to ingredients for, or  for which I was prepared to do all the cheffy preparation.  If you have a fabulous kitchen garden full of unusual vegetables and herbs, or you live close to a superb market or greengrocer,  and you have a penchant to cook like a top class chef,  then I think you would really enjoy  cooking from The Kitchen Garden Expert.

Here are a few of the recipe titles:  'Paris Market' and 'Sugarsnax' Carrots with Ham Fat Cream and Nasturtium; Sorrel Frittatta, Whitby Lobster with Quail Eggs and Garden Beans; Winteringham Wood Pigeon with Home-Grown Cabbage and Spring Onion, Plum and Almond Tart.  

If like me you are more of a home cook on the run from work to table then you can still enjoy reading the book and maybe make adaptations to the recipes to suit your ingredients and cooking style, just as I have done, so here is the original recipe for Charcoal-Cooked Lamb Rack with Savoury Potatoes and my adaptation.

Charcoal-Cooked Lamb Rack with Savoury Potatoes
Justin Hammett (Jekka McVicar and the Company of Cooks)
Serves 4

2 racks of lamb (6 bones in each)
salt and pepper
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Edible flowers to garnish (optional)

Red Wine Jus
750ml chicken stock
375ml red wine
Sprig of mint
small sprig of rosemary

Savoury Potatoes
120ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for coating ovenproof dish
1.2kg potatoes, Desiree or King Edward, peeled and thinly sliced
250g onions, thinly sliced
4 sprigs of winter savoury
Salt and pepper
500g cherry tomatoes

Roasted Vine Tomatoes
6-7 cherry tomatoes, on the vine
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Sprig of winter savoury

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.  Heat 3 pieces of wood charcoal, each 4cm long, over a gas flame until they glow red.  Create a cup shape from a square of tinfoil and leave on one side.  Season the lamb racks with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a sturdy, cast-iron casserole and seal the lamb, fat-side down.  Drain off any excess oil.  Put the tinfoil cup into the casserole alongside the racks, and using tongs, carefully place the glowing charcoal pieces in it.  Put the lid on the casserole and place in the oven for 20 minutes.  The juices of the lamb should run pink when pierced with a skewer.  Leave to rest for about 20 minutes before carving into cutlets.  Discard the charcoal and skim any fat from the surface of any juices left in the pan.
2. For the Red Wine Jus, simmer the stock with the red wine and herbs until syrupy and thickened.  Add any charcoal infused juices from the lamb to the jus. Strain and discard the herbs.
3. For the Savoury Potatoes, preheat the oven to 180C. Brush the bottom and sides of a shallow ovenproof glass dish or small toasting tin with olive oil.  Arrange some potatoes in a singe overlapping layer in a concentric circle over the base of the dish or tin. Scatter with one third of the onions and a sprinkling of winter savoury leaves, season with salt and pepper, add one-third of the cherry tomatoes and generously drizzle with 40ml of olive oil  Repeat this process three times, finishing with the onions savoury and tomatoes on top. Season and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the tomato skins have darkened and the potatoes are tender.  Remove from the oven; leave to cool for a few minutes.
4. For the roasted vine tomatoes, turn the oven up to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Put eh tomato vine in a small roasting tin drizzle with oil and sprinkle with winter savoury leaves.  Roast for about 10 minutes, until the skins have blistered and the tomatoes softened.
5. To serve, place the roasted vine tomatoes over the savoury potatoes before serving with the lamb and red wine jus. Garnish with edible flowers.



Farmersgirl Kitchen Version
Lamb: Cook your leg of lamb as you prefer.  I seasoned the lamb and cooked  in a roasting tin, covered with tin foil  with rosemary and 1/2 pint of water at 160C for 3 1/2 hours until meltingly tender.
Red Wine Jus: I made the wine jus as per the recipe.
For the Savoury Potatoes: I used small new potatoes and left their skins on, substituted chives for the onions and mint for the winter savoury,  the tomatoes I used were not cherry tomatoes so I sliced them, otherwise as per the recipe.  I added chive flowers sprinkled over the bake before serving.
I didn't add the roasted vine tomatoes.


The lamb was delicious and I would certainly make the red wine jus again, it was a nice change from gravy.  The potato bake brings a summer flavour to a traditional roast meat dish and would be good to serve at a barbeque.  I would probably use less olive oil and add some stock, so that the potatoes soak up flavour rather than oil.

Kitchen Garden Experts
by Cinead McTernan
Photography by Jason Ingram
Foreward by Raymond Blanc
Hardback RRP £20
Published by Frances Lincoln

If you would like to win a copy of Kitchen Garden Experts complete the questions on the Rafflecopter Widget, there are only two, nothing too difficult.  The competition is only open to residents of the UK.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Labels: Bake, Cinead McTernan, Jus, Kitchen Garden Experts, lamb, potato, Raymond Blanc, red wine gravy, tomato

posted by Janice @ 12:00 65 Comments

Dish of the Month - September Round up

Lamb 'Osso Buco' with parsley papardelle was the recipe I started out to make, however the eagle-eyed among you will realise that that is not quite what ended up on the plate!  You will have to read my blog post to find out how this morphed into a pot roast.

Courgette Cake was a popular choice as Claire at Foodie Quine also chose to make this moist and tasty 'five a day' in a cake.   Apologies to Claire for leaving her cake off the original post, I must have been seeing double!


I hope you will join us for Dish of the Month in October, the Linky will be posted on 2nd October. 

Labels: Autumn Chutney, Baked Figs with Marsala and Honey, cod, Courgette and Apple Cake, Damson and Chocolate Cake, Dish of the Month, lamb, Nigel Slater, Round Up, September

posted by Janice @ 11:30 2 Comments

Lamb Pot Roast and Peach, Bramble and Almond Crumble - Dish of the Month September

In the Kitchen Diaries II, Nigel Slater tells us " I am not a chef and never have been. I am a home cook who writes about food."  He goes on to say "I'm neither slapdash or particularly pedantic in the kitchen (I haven't much time for uptight foodies; they seem to have so little fun).  Neither am I someone who tries to dictate how something should be done and I am never happier than when a reader simply uses my recipe as an inspiration for their own."

If you have taken part in 'Dish of the Month' or even read through one of the round ups, you will realise that most of the participants use the recipes as an inspiration.  I am trying to cook the Kitchen Diaries month by month, finding at least one recipe from the appropriate month to share in this blog challenge and I have found that the inspiration route certainly works for me.  Some of this may be because the seasons in Scotland are slightly out of kilter with the more southern parts of the UK, for example Elderberries feature in the August chapter and at the end of August they are still green here.  Or it may be that I am more of an ingredient led cook e.g. what is in the fridge/freezer/cupboard/garden

No matter, I've never failed to be inspired by Nigel's recipes and ideas, even if, sometimes, I veer so far off recipe for them to become unrecognisable!

And so to this month's offering which is Lamb 'osso buco' with parsley papardelle.  Guess what?  I didn't have lamb steaks on the bone, I had a nice piece of Herdwick rolled shoulder, so I made this into more of a pot roast, oh and no Marsala either, so I used a tablespoon of Brandy and some lamb stock.  And, because I haven't been feeling too well recently and couldn't face making roasties, I just threw the potatoes in to cook with it.  So no need for pappardelle, although I may make that to eat with the left over lamb.  I also made some fresh mint sauce which added to the deliciousness.



Dessert could have been Pear and Chocolate Oat Crumble from KDII, but I didn't have any pears, so I concocted a Peach, Bramble and Almond Crumble instead.  As this is my recipe rather than Nigel's, I have included it for you below:.



Peach Bramble and Almond Crumble

Serves 4-6

2 peaches
about a cup of blackberries (brambles) - or a couple of handfuls - sorry this is crumble not science!
1 tbsp caster sugar
100g plain flour
45g ground almonds
75g butter
50g demerara sugar
25g flaked almonds

1.  Skin the peaches, by putting them in a bowl, pouring over boiling water and leaving for a couple of minutes, then removing and the skin should come off easily.
2. Slice the peaches and place in an ovenproof dish.  Add the brambles,  and the sugar.
3. Put the flour, ground almonds and butter, cut into cubes, into a bowl.  Rub the butter through the flour and almond mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Add the demerara sugar and spoon over the fruit in the ovenproof dish.
5. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the crumble mixture.
6. Bake at 160C for about 40 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the crumble has turned golden brown.
7. Serve with cream, ice cream, yogurt or custard.





If you would like to take part in Dish of the Month, then please:

• Make a Dish of the Month from ANY recipe by Nigel Slater
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen or A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate
• Use the Dish of the Month logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @serialcrafter or @Heavenona_plate and #DishoftheMonth and we will re-tweet it to our followers.

Rules:

• If you own The kitchen diaries II please do not publish the recipes on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from the BBC Food website, please link to the recipe on BBC Food rather than publishing the recipe. Likewise recipes on the Guardian Lifestyle website.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

Labels: Almond, Bramble, crumble, Dish of the Month, lamb, mint, Nigel Slater, one pot, Peach, pot roast

posted by Janice @ 10:30 5 Comments

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

Another dinner at the Kailyard by Nick Nairn

I started with the Confit Scottish chicken terrine with baby leeks, crispy ham and pea vinaigrette.  The peashoot bit round the outside was lovely, but I found the terrine a little bit bland 7/10

Brian went for the shrimp cocktail, but they had run out of shrimps and offered crayfish instead, which he enjoyed very much 8/10


For my main I chose Slow braised neck of Dornoch Lamb, beetroot gratin, asparagus, carrot puree and basil gravy.  Oh my goodness, that was fantastic!  The lamb was meltingly delicious, the beetroot gratin was full of flavour, it was lots of very fine slices of stacked up, not sure with what, but whatever it was it was delicious.  This was a definite 9/10


Brian had Spiced confit duck leg, saute potatoes, cumin roasted carrots and celeriac, honey and sherry gravy.  This was also deemed to be a 9/10 dish.  We were both really pleased with our choices.


I finished my meal with this exquisite dessert, it looks pretty with it's spun sugar topping but the flavour was quite outstanding.  This is a Spiced Pineapple Carpaccio with lime, chilli and anise sorbet and the flavours just burst onto your tongue, fantastic and for me, 10/10

Brian went for the warm chocolate pudding with nougatine parfait and berry fruits.  He enjoyed it but agreed that my dessert had more wow factor and gave it 8/10.

I hope you have enjoyed dining with us on our weekend away.  There are still a few pictures of Stirling Castle to post, but otherwise, breakfast on Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday.  You don't have to vacate your room till 12.00 noon, so we also managed to have a lie by the pool reading the papers and then a final swim.  We are planning to go back in the autumn as we enjoyed it so much.

Labels: anise, chocolate, duck, Dunblane Hydro, Kailyard, lamb, Nick Nairn, nougatine, pineapple, sorbet, Stirling, terrine

posted by Janice @ 22:31 7 Comments

Lamb Steaks with Adobo Seasoning

The theme for May's Sweet Heat Challenge is 'Mexican'.  I love mexican food and have several Mexican cook books.  I decided to try something different that I had never made before and chose an Adobo Seasoning which I adapted as a marinade for lamb steaks.

The Sweet Heat Challenge is hosted this month by Souperior, it's usual home being Lyndsey Fleenor's Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops.

Adobo Seasoning

 Ingredients
3 cloves of garlic crushed
3 hot chillis, deseeded and chopped
1tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 cloves or 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
120ml white wine vinegar
3 lamb steaks
1tbsp sunflower oil

1. Put the chillies and garlic in a blender or mortar.  Add the oregano, cum seeds, cloves, coriander seeds cinnamon aand salt.  Process or grind with a pestle to a rough powder, add the vinegar and blend again.


Cover the lamb steaks with the marinade cover with cling film and leave to marinade for 3- 4 hours.

Heat the oil in a pan and sear the steaks, then turn down the heat, add the rest of the marinade and cook for about 10 minutes until the lamb is cooked through.

 Although hot, this wasn't overpowering and the flavours are totally delicious and a very different type of Mexican food from the standard chilli con carne, fajitas and other various tortilla based dishes.

Labels: chilli, garlic, lamb, mexican, Sweet Heat, Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops, white wine vinegar

posted by Janice @ 21:27 1 Comments

Lamb Naan Calzone

Regular readers of my blog will know that I like to use up my left overs. On Friday night we had Lamb Curry which had been made from the left overs of the lamb leg we had at Easter and had frozen. There was some of the curry still left from last night, so I decided to make it into a kind of pasty for lunch.  I was going to make pastry, but forgot to defrost the butter so, with a bit of lateral thinking,  I thought Naan - pizza - calzone!

Naan Calzone

1 tsp dried yeast
125ml milk
250g strong white flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp yogurt
15g butter

I made my dough in the bread maker on 'dough' setting, which involves throwing everything in there and switching on.  However, if you want to do it the hard way, it's just a basic white bread but with milk and yogurt as the liquid.

Once the dough is made, split it in two and roll out into a large round.

 





Serve with a tomato, cucumber and red onion salad.
If anything I think I probably made the Naan Calzone too big, there was too much bread and not enough filling, dividing the dough into three would probably be better and would provide a better balance of filling to bread.

Labels: Bread, calzone, curry, lamb, lunch, Naan, salad

posted by Janice @ 20:21 2 Comments

Galloway Irish Stew

So why Galloway Irish?  My farm kitchen is in the south west of Scotland although not in the Rhins of Galloway which is at the most southwestern corner.  Because Stranraer is the shortest sea route between Scotland and Ireland, many Irish people came to the Wigtownshire area during the Irish potato famine.



Over a period of time the dialect spoken in the area took on a distinct Irish influence and became known as  Galloway Irish. You can hear the accent on this BBC recording 

There is no such thing as Galloway Irish Stew, I just made that up!  This stew contains lamb, potoatoes and carrots, familiar ingredients for an Irish Stew, the difference is the cut of lamb.  I used a lovely leg of lamb rather than the cheaper, middle neck or scrag-end.

Labels: carrots, Galloway Irish, Irish, lamb, Parsnips, potatoes, Rhins of Galloway, St Patrick

posted by Janice @ 20:46 2 Comments