Category: garlic

Categories
coriander cumin garlic red onion tomato

red onion & tomato salsa

red onion and coriander salsa

Mrs. Roast Potato was upset – I’d forgotten to go to the shops for her favourite Old El Paso salsa on chicken taco night. So it’s time to rummage the cupboards and come up with a decent enough substitute.

And it came out nice. Fresh-tasting, fruity and spicy, the way tomato salsa should be. The red onion was really harsh at first but after letting it sit for an hour it had mellowed to a really nice spiky flavour. Another ingredient that really made it was Tiptree tomato ketchup, not as sweet as the omnipresent Heinz but richer and fruitier, closer to tomato puree. It gives lovely rich depth to the salsa, and does a lot of the leg work.

Goes great with a taco, and I’ve enough left for a rump steak and salad tomorrow.

Red onion & tomato salsa  (makes about a pint):

1 red onion, quartered

1 clove garlic, peeled

Small bunch of coriander, leaves and stalks

3 bog-standard but ripe tomatoes

¼ teaspoon chilli powder

Sprinkle of Maldon salt

Big splash of red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Tiptree tomato ketchup

  1. Whack everything in a food processor in the order above. Add a splash of water to loosen it and check for seasoning. You can eat it straight away but if you have time leave it to sit for a couple of hours the flavours develop further.
Categories
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.
Categories
food garlic lamb thyme

rolled lamb breast

I’ve tried this before. I lovingly poached the lamb breast for a few hours, bubbling away in my treasured Le Creuset. I took the lid off, and FOOM. I was hit by a blast of pure mould. It was so utterly disgusting I left it in the conservatory overnight and scrubbed it a dozen times to get the smell out.

I consigned the recipe to the dustbin until I read this post by FoodUrchin. It spurred me on to try again. It was a Tristan Welch recipe after all, so how could it not be a winner?

And a winner it is. Lovely succulent lamb meat packed with bold flavours and a crisp outside. Also costs next to nothing, so try it now!

Rolled lamb breast:

500g lamb breast

1 large sprig of rosemary, leaves picked

1 large sprig of thyme, leaves picked

1 bulb of garlic, bashed up

1 litre chicken stock

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
  2. Bash the daylights out of the herbs and garlic and add salt and pepper. Add enough oil to make a spreadable slush.
  3. Lay out the lamb breast and spread the mush all over it. Roll up the lamb breast like a swiss roll and tie firmly with string.
  4. Bring the chicken stock to the boil and drop in the lamb. Leave to poach for around 3 hours, until a knife goes in easily. Allow the lamb to cool down in the stock.
  5. Bring the lamb out of the stock and wrap tightly in cling film. Refrigerate overnight to firm up.
  6. When you’re ready to serve, heat a little butter in a pan. Carve the lamb into thick slices and fry on either side for a couple of minutes until golden. Serve with minted new potatoes and wilted spinach.
Categories
beef food garlic ginger steak sugar

kalbi

After revealing to me that her favourite meal in Atlanta was Korean BBQ, I sheepishly admitted to @SlowFoodKitchen that I’d never tried the cuisine. So I asked around for ideas to knock up tonight. I settled on this recipe from renowned chef Judy Joo. Thanks also go to @gourmetraveller for the tips.

I didn’t quite have everything to hand for the Ssam Jang sauce – I approximated flavours and texture from the ingredient list. What I ended up with was an angry peanut butter, and dead more-ish to boot. The beef itself was great, all sticky and sweet with that savoury tang of those best buddies garlic and ginger.

Consider me a Korean BBQ convert!

Kalbi:

500g beef rib steak, sliced into thin pieces

100g sugar

4 cloves garlic, minced

15g fresh ginger, minced

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon fresh black pepper

For my not- Ssam Jang sauce:

2 tablespoons chilli sauce

1 teaspoon tomato puree

1 tablespoon tahini

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

  1. Cover the beef in the sugar and leave to cure for 30 minutes. Shake off the excess sugar and discard what’s left in the bowl.
  2. Combine the garlic, ginger, soy, oils, pepper and sesame seeds and leave the sugared beef to marinate in this for 2 hours.
  3. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients together in a bowl.
  4. Get a pan or griddle really darn hot and fry the beef quickly for a minute on each side until nicely caramelized. Serve with rice and crisp lettuce leaves.
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