Category Archives: lamb

red hot lamb burgers

Posted by Gary in burger, chilli, lamb, mayonnaise, mint

red hot lamb burgers with mint mayonnaise

There’s no shortage of burger recipes on this blog, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for one more.

I was sent a bottle of Frank’s Red Hot sauce in the post. It’s not a condiment I usually use but after a little taste I found it really interesting – very hot of course, but with a very pleasant fruity taste. I thought it would work really well at cutting through the richness of lamb in these burgers, and if it all proved too much then the mint mayonnaise rushes in at the end to put out the fire. A great combo, and I’m definitely converted to hot sauce!

PS. I’ve been pointed to this bonkers competition of Frank’s, where you can win a “massive” TV. 

Red hot lamb burgers (makes 4):

400g lamb mince

1 tablespoon Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

1 tablespoon mint, finely chopped

200g mayonnaise

1 beef tomato, sliced

4 soft rolls

  1. Combine the mince with the sauce and a good pinch of salt. Form the lamb into 4 patties but try not to compress them too much – you want to keep a nice loose texture.
  2. Preheat a frying pan to pretty darn hot. Add a splash of oil and fry the burgers for 3-4 minutes each side.
  3. While the burgers are cooking mix the mint and mayonnaise together. Lightly toast the rolls.
  4. When the burgers are browned on both sides, slam into a bun, layer on a tomato slice, slather with minty mayo and gobble up.

curried lamb breast with onions

Posted by Gary in coriander, cumin, curry, lamb, onion, turmeric

curried lamb breast with onions

Flushed with the success of Simon Hopkinson’s stunning lamb breast dish, I felt the only way it could be improved is with the addition of curry spices. The Indian flavours I felt would surely go well with rich lamb. At the same time I stumbled upon other people doing the same dish, such as Girl Interrupted Eating. She’d chosen to do this in the slow cooker so I thought I’d do the same. I asked if she’d fried the onions off beforehand, as in my experience onions aren’t good at breaking down in a slow cooker. However in my haste I got on and cooked them off anyway, before Becky could reply that she didn’t!

Mine turned out very nice – warming and spiced and just breaking through the fatty lamb. It kinda tasted like it had been baked in mango chutney. Juicy and filling, not what you’d call a light dinner! Good fun though.

Curried lamb breast baked with onions (serves 4):

800g lamb breast

3 onions, sliced

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled

3 garlic cloves, peeled

1 large bunch of fresh coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon chilli powder

6 curry leaves

  1. Pre-heat your slow cooker to low.
  2. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and sear the lamb on each side. Put to one side while you fry the onions gently.
  3. Remove the leaves from the coriander bunch and reserve for later. Put the stalks on a chopping board with the garlic and ginger and chop together to a chunky paste. When the onions have softened add the coriander / garlic / ginger mix. Fry for a minute and then add all the spices, frying for another minute.
  4. Add half the onion mix to the slow cooker, pop the lamb on top then add the remaining onions. Add a splash of water and pop the lid on for about 6 hours, or until the lamb can be pushed apart with a spoon.
  5. Remove the lamb to the side for one minute so you can remove any bones or gummy bits of skin ‘n’ stuff that lamb breast can have. Pop a sieve on a saucepan and put the onions into the sieve. Put the lamb and drained onions with a sprinkle of salt back into the slow cooker while you work on the reserved liquid.
  6. Simmer the liquid until reduced by half, add a dash of white wine vinegar and the coriander leaves. Dish up the lamb and onions, spoon over the sauce and serve with crispy cauliflower.

lamb breast baked with onions

Posted by Gary in lamb, onion, parsley and tagged with

lamb breast baked with onions

As previously mentioned, I love Simon Hopkinson’s Good Cook series. And I love lamb breast recipes. So my only reservation is seeing Simon do this brilliant recipe is fretting that the price of lamb breast would go up. Lamb breast is dirt cheap, seriously cheap, so what we don’t need is a primetime BBC programme showing how amazing lamb breast can be.

And amazing it is. Rich, heady, falling-apart lamb with luscious, sharp onions is an absolute dream. Try it now.

Simon Hopkinson’s original recipe can be found here.

Lamb breast baked with onions (serves 4):

1.5kg lamb breast

1.5kg onions, sliced

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 anchovy, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

  1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
  2. Season the lamb in a hot, lidded casserole pan until browned all over. Remove from the pan and put to one side. Add half the onions to the pan, lay the lamb back on top then cover with the remaining onions and the bay leaf. Top with a circle of greaseproof paper and bake for three hours, until the lamb is tender.
  3. Turn off the oven heat and remove the casserole dish. Discard the bay leaf and put the lamb in a roasting tray. Cover with foil and leave in the oven while you finish the onions.
  4. Put the casserole dish over a low heat and add the anchovy and vinegar. Stir through and season to taste, so it’s sweet, salty and sharp at the same time. When it’s ready turn off the heat and add the parsley. Serve the lamb with a nice pile of juicy onions alongside.

spring lamb, vegetable platter, mint sauce and chianti gravy

Posted by Gary in carrots, lamb, mint, mustard, potatoes, tomato and tagged with

spring lamb, vegetable platter, mint sauce with chianti gravy

I thought I’d tried all the Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals that I wanted to, until the photo-ninja Nga commented about the spring lamb recipe… I couldn’t believe I’d missed it! So I tore off to try it.

It’s a relatively simple recipe, with seared & roasted lamb, and a big bowl of pots ‘n’ veg boiled up. But it’s a great way to multi-task without actually too much effort, and the result is dis-proportionately good. If you’re at all skitterish about whether you can manage the 30 minute thing or not, give this one a whirl as it’s not too busy (I should point out that Jamie did a fondue in with his full recipe but that was simply microwaved chocolate). Well worth a go.

Spring lamb, vegetable platter, mint sauce and chianti gravy (serves 4):

For the lamb:

1 8-bone rack of lamb

3 sprigs rosemary

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

White wine vinegar

300g cherry tomatoes on the vine

For the gravy:

4 rashers smoked bacon

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon flour

½ glass red wine

For the veg:

400g baby new potatoes

4 carrots

Stalks from a bunch of mint

1 chicken stock cube

300g fine beans

½ Savoy cabbage

½ a lemon

For the mint sauce:

Leaves from a bunch of mint

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon caster sugar

  1. Get the oven on 220C, a frying pan and saucepan over high heats and get that kettle a-boilin’.
  2. Add some olive oil to the pan. Halve the rack of lamb, season all over and pop it in.
  3. Wash the potatoes, chop the carrots into nice chunks and add to the saucepan. Cover with boiling water and toss in the mint stalks and stock cube.
  4. Turn the lamb well and make sure it’s browned all over. While it’s finishing bash the garlic and rosemary together in a mortar and pestle. Season, add the mustard and spread the lot over the  lamb. Transfer the lamb to a roasting dish with the tomatoes and slam in the oven for 14 minutes. Keep the frying pan on the heat and add the bacon, chopped.
  5. Re-using the mortar from before, add the mint leaves with vinegar, sugar, pinch of salt and a splash of water from the veg pot. Mix it together for the mint sauce.
  6. Add the flour and rosemary to the gravy pan, and stir for a minute to coat everything in flour. Add a few ladles of cooking water. Cut the Savoy into thin wedges and add to the boiling pot with the beans.
  7. The lamb should be done about now, so get it out of the oven to rest for a minute while you sort out the veg. Once the beans are tender, drain the lot and return to the pot. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, some salt and pepper and the juice from the lemon. Toss well and serve. Cut the lamb into chops, check the gravy for seasoning and get stuck in!

minted lamb naan burger

Posted by Gary in lamb, mint

bollywood burger

This is probably the chavviest thing I have ever cooked. But by God it made me smile. It’s a minted lamb patty and onion bhaji, wrapped in a naan and dolloped with curry sauce.

I can’t claim credit for inventing it – but after receiving a voucher for a local Hungry Horse and a spare afternoon, I decided to pop in. Described on the menu as the “Bollywood Burger” I couldn’t resist such an audacious setup. I was amazed how interesting it tasted, and well worth trying at home.

Minted lamb naan burger (makes 4 burgers):

300g lamb mince

Big bunch of mint, finely shredded

1 onion, sliced into half moons

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

4 shop-bought flat onion bhajis (or make ‘em, if you’re so inclined)

4 naan

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 150°C.
  2. Grab a quarter of the mint and combine in a bowl with the onion and a pinch each of salt and sugar. Tip over the vinegar and leave to sit while you do everything else.
  3. Mix the lamb mince with the remaining mint and season well. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar if you have it. Combine and form into patties.
  4. Pop the bhajis in the oven to crisp up and chuck the naan in too to warm through.
  5. Get a griddle pan on hot and fry the patties on each side until cooked to your liking. I prefer a little under, about 6 minutes each side.
  6. Scrunch the onion salad with your hands to remove the excess juice and pop on to your plates.
  7. Slip the bhajis and a patty inside a folded naan. Serve with curry sauce and mango chutney.

potatoes boulangere

Posted by Gary in lamb, onion, potatoes and tagged with

lamb boulangereNothing teaches you more than sitting there in person watching a pro do what they do best. There’s far communicated more in the tiny details of their actions while they’re in the zone than they could ever write down and explain to you. I’m a hopeless golfer but the few pro tournaments I’ve been to have been fascinating, for observing how a professional sizes himself up, mentally rehearses and pivots their body. And I felt like this when I was up close with Jean-Christophe Novelli while he prepared a simple, rustic dish.

I was invited to Jean-Christophe’s cookery academy by the British Potato Council. He is fronting a campaign promoting the thousands of varieties of potato out there that go ignored. The Many Faces of Potatoes is a great site packed with recipes, nutrition, and most intriguingly the Master Spud competition. Devise a quick, easy and brilliant potato dish and you could be in a TV advert with J-CN himself. An unusual prize!

jean-christophe novelliI was there with Ute, Uyen and Selina, who all seemed to possess amazing cameras. My cameraphone felt conspicuous.  I’m fairly convinced I came across as a massive potato geek, but then if you call your blog “Roast Potato” you have to play the game I guess. First Jean-Christophe explained how potatoes important to his life growing up, and how they so easily formed the basis of almost every meal. He then went on to say how wonderful and delicious the ingredient could be when treated with a light hand. He pointed out that recipes for mashed potato containing 1kg of potato to 200g butter are bound to taste nice, but then where has the potato flavour gone! He took great pains to ask not to peel them, as precious nutrients are contained there. I have to admit I was surprised just how nutritious potatoes are. But that’s the point of the campaign -to raise the potato’s status beyond that of just a carb or starch in the meal.

We were then treated to a platter of different potato varieties to really show them off. There was steamed Anyas, bright-red Rudolphs, rustic Desiree and many more. My favourite was the Marabel made into a golden and fluffy mash. The taste was amazing, nutty and buttery yet prepared with only a touch of seasoning. Most shockingly of all this variety is exclusive to Asda!

Then Chef Novelli prepared this wonderful potato dish below. It’s sticky, warming, hearty and dead easy to prepare. I really recommend it for this time of year when it’s still chilly in the evening and lamb is dirt cheap. It celebrates all the ingredients in it and tastes absolutely beautiful.

After the cooking demonstration I pressed Jean-Christophe for his perfect roast potato recipe, which he gladly shared with me. It’s a little unconventional, so I will definitely be trying it out – and of course blogging it – very soon. Watch this space!

Make sure you give the Many Faces of Potatoes site a browse and find a few more varieties for your cupboard.

Thanks to Food Urchin for recommending me to go in his absence!

Lamb boulangere (serves 3 – 4):

300g lamb neck fillet, sliced into medallions

½ head of celeriac

2 onions

2 Vivaldi potatoes (available from Sainsbury’s)

4 cloves of garlic

Sprig rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

Spring thyme, leaves picked

About a pint of chicken stock

About 50g block low-fat cheddar*

  1. Heat a little oil in a large lidded casserole dish. Season the lamb all over and quickly sear. Put the lid back on the casserole while it sears to retain heat and contain moisture.
  2. While the lamb sears finely slice the celeriac, onion and potato. Jean-Christophe used a mandoline, but in the spirit of Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals I used a food processor for speed and consistency. Add these to the pan along with the herbs and stir well to allow the flavours to mingle. Again, pop the lid back on.
  3. Squash and peel the garlic and add that to the pan as well. After a minute or two, add enough chicken stock to the pan to barely cover everything. You want enough to be soaked up a little, not to dilute what’s already there. Lid back on and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.
  4. The veg should be knife-tender by now. Use a fish slice to lift off a chunk of the stew, poke the whole cheddar block (don’t bother slicing or grating) in and let the stew drop back on top of it. Let the stew cook for another 5 minutes and check for seasoning. Serve a big scoop of it with some green veg on the side.

*A low fat cheddar is preferable as the oils should remain contained within the cheese and not split in the casserole.

leon meatballs

Posted by Gary in bread, harissa, lamb, oregano, parsley, tomato and tagged with

leon meatballs

I was overjoyed to discover there was a Leon on my “doorstep” – Bluewater to be precise. Well it’ s not in London, so that’s a start. The family and I went there and tried out a bunch of things. It was little unconventional but healthy, hearty and good fun. The hands-down dish of the day was the meatballs, who have been praised by all sorts, including some Gordon Ramsay chap.

I was ecstatic to discover the recipe on the Guardian website. Trying it myself, it was a recipes of ups and downs. The sauce was a disaster, calling for 1½ tablespoons of harissa. Even taking it down to a teaspoon was still volcanic. Maybe I possess the hottest harissa on the planet, I don’t know. The sauce was ruined though, burning hot. The meatballs themselves was lovely though – the clever bit is torn-up soggy pitta breads, giving a earthy, toasted flavour that’d be really hard to put your finger on if you didn’t know what was in them.

So meatballs = yes, sauce = no.

(Incidentally, the leftovers made for a mean moussaka the following week topped with grilled aubergine and bechamel!)

Leon meatballs (makes loads and loads, serves about 6 – 8):

For the meatballs:

6 pitta breads

120ml milk

1kg minced lamb

A small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

A small handful of mint, finely chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

For the sauce:

30ml olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 x 800g tins of chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon harissa

A handful of basil, chopped

A handful of parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper

  1. Rip the flatbread into pieces and soak in the milk for 10 minutes. Then put the bread into a mixing bowl, add the mince and stir in the parsley, mint, oregano, garlic and some seasoning.
  2. Mix well, then roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls.
  3. On a griddle pan, brown the balls quickly – it’s all about colouring them and not cooking them through … five minutes total cooking time with about three turns on the griddle.
  4. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and gently fry the crushed garlic. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and harissa and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the sauce has reduced. Put in the meatballs and continue to simmer for a further 20 minutes with a lid on until the sauce looks about right.
  5. Lastly, stir in the herbs and have a final seasoning check.

lamb saag balti

Posted by Gary in lamb, spinach

lamb sag balti

After the success of a recent curry, I had leftover onion base and balti paste. To ring the changes I had a lamb and spinach version, and it was delicious. I really recommend the Waitrose onion curry base, it’s a brilliant time-saver and packed with taste.

Lamb saag balti:

½ jar of onion curry base

2 tablespoons Patak’s balti paste

1 red pepper, diced

2 lamb leg steaks, diced

1 pint chicken stock

1 tablespoon double cream

1 bag of spinach leaves

  1. In a little oil, fry the onions and paste together for a minute until really sizzling. Add the lamb with a pinch of salt and stir well to coat.
  2. Once the lamb has coloured on all sides, add the pepper and stock, and simmer for 10 minutes to get the flavours mingling.
  3. Add the spinach and allow to wilt down for a couple of minutes, stir through the cream and serve with fresh coriander.

spicy lamb steaks with garlic butter bean mash and roast carrots

Posted by Gary in butter beans, carrots, garlic, harissa, lamb

spicy lamb steaks with garlic butter bean mash and roast carrots

I was fortunate enough to be sent some lovely bits and bobs by the Welsh lamb board, and asked to write up a recipe. It was an easy ‘yes’ from me, as I am a massive fan of Welsh lamb, with it’s rich meatiness and deep savoury grassy notes. And this lamb was truly delicious, some of the best tasting lamb I’ve ever had. I’ve served it here with some spice; the strong lamb flavour can stand up to some heat and bashing around.

For a change I matched it with some butter beans mashed with some garlic. The simmering takes the edge off the garlic’s harshness – do give it a try.

For more Welsh lamb recipes, go have a snoop around Eat Welsh Lamb.

Spiced lamb steaks with mashed butter beans and roast carrots (serves 2):

For the lamb:

2 Welsh lamb leg steaks

1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

½ a grated nutmeg

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the carrots:

5 carrots, halved

5 agen prunes, roughly torn

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the bean mash:

1 tin butter beans

4 cloves garlic

Large sprig of rosemary, leaves picked

Juice of half a lime

To serve:

1 tablespoon creme fraiche

¼ teaspoon harissa paste (or as much as you can take!)

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Get some water on to boil and chuck the carrots in. Par-boil for about 6 minutes, or until just tender.
  3. Meanwhile, get a frying pan over a very high heat (ideally, use a pan you can transfer to the oven). Season the lamb well on both sides and rub in the paprika, thyme and nutmeg. Smear in some oil and pop in the frying pan. Fry for about 2 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Flip it over and put the pan in the oven. Depending on the size and thickness of your lamb these need to go in for about 12 – 15 minutes. Make sure you allow the lamb to rest out of the oven for about 5 minutes before serving.
  4. When the carrots are tender, add them to a roasting dish with the prunes and cumin and toss in a little oil. Pop in the oven along with the lamb. These will take about 20 minutes, but do give them a stir half way through cooking to coat in the flavours.
  5. While the lamb and carrots are in the oven, get on with the butter beans. Pop the whole tin, juice and all, in a saucepan and bring to the boil along with the garlic cloves and rosemary. When the beans are tender (about 5 – 6 minutes), turn off the heat and add the lime juice. Check for seasoning and mash it up a  little. Ideally you’ll have some squished beans and some whole beans. Keep warm while you finish everything else.
  6. To serve, stir the harissa into the creme fraiche and put on the side as a dip.

rigas’s lamb

Posted by Gary in lamb, mint, onion, pasta, tomato and tagged with

rigas's lamb

Another slice of pure joy from Leon 2. This Greek-inspired family recipe is a delight, and I particularly enjoy the use of macaroni as a carb. The tiny pasta tubes bring out the kid in me. The original recipe called for dried mint but I tend not to use it and went for the mostly authentic dried oregano instead. And we haven’t even mentioned the lamb: rich, soft and sweet. Try instead of a roast one week, it’s almost zero maintenance. I served mine with some steamed Savoy cabbage and it was wonderful.

PS. I recommend not falling asleep halfway through cooking – it does need the occasional baste…

Rigas’s lamb:

1 onion, diced

1 shoulder of lamb

5 cloves garlic, peeled

A few mint leaves

2 tins of tomatoes

250g macaroni

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Get the oven on about 150°C.

  1. Put the onions in a baking tray and mix with the tomatoes. Fill one of the tomato tins with water and slosh that in too. Poke the lamb all over with the tip of a sharp knife. Break the garlic into bits and stuff into the holes, then cram some torn mint on top. Pop this on top of the tomato mix, season like billy-o and slam in the oven.
  2. Cook for about 3 – 4 hours, or until the lamb is tender. Baste frequently to make a lovely cakey crust on the lamb, and you may need to add water from time to time to stop the whole thing drying out.
  3. About 20 mins before the end of cooking, throw in the macaroni and oregano, stir about and put back in the oven. Continue to add water through this cooking time as necessary.
  4. Serve by hacking the lamb into chunks with a big scoop of tomatoey onion pasta.