The Sugar Bar » lamb

Spicy Lamb Burgers and an Onion Marmalade with a Kick

diva — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:18:15 +0000

This past week’s been great – I’m very food-involved and there’s much talk about cupcakes which couldn’t make me any happier. There’s even been a cupcakery feature in the latest British VOGUE. Surely there are too many signs?

And then the bestie was in London all week on an audit job so she popped in on Friday night for my homecooked meal before we went out to catch up and unwind over a couple of drinks (we managed to fit in some awesome boogying as well).

After graduating from uni, our crew of friends were like a a bunch of seeds that went dispersing in the air. Some went back to the their hometowns, some went further out to look for jobs, some wandered south-wards (like moi) to continue with their studies, or not. Some stayed put and welcomed the next stage in life with somewhat hesitant and nervously open arms. It may seem like we’ve split ways and gone forward, hopefully a positive step towards our goals in life. The latter I reckon is true but the former, I hope will never happen. Partings can be sad and goodbyes are such bittersweet moments. But again, they are also a chance to say ‘hello’ again. So it’s good. Think positive.

We’re doing the best we can to stay in touch and sometimes, being such a laidback/chilled out bunch can mean there are long periods of time when the only contact we’ve had is the odd text or 2 minute phonecall. But even those moments are great. And whatever chance we get to see each other, we make sure that we have a great time in such a way that we might be said to re-define the phrase ‘quality time’. In the past few weeks, it’s been superb as most of us have done our best, booked our train tickets early, etc. to get down to wherever for a birthday bash, a dinner, a wicked nightout, a quick weekend meet-up. It’ll definitely get harder as everyone’s getting busier with work and it’s very tricky to try and sort something out between everyone’s schedules. Because of that, I’m over the moon when someone comes to visit even for a short while. These moments become all the more precious since they’re so hard to come by.

Since bestie and moi had gone for that ridiculously divine meal at Murano the last time she was down in London (and flippin’ gave myself indigestion because of it, not that I’m complaining – I’d do it all over again even if you added something more injurious to my body to the mix!), it was time for a homecooked meal, with a slight touch of sophistication I say. I’m fortunate to know girls who have hearty appetites and enjoy sitting in front of the telly with a plate of good food, scoff it down unabashedly whilst sipping daintily on a glass of whine. A bit of an oxymoron appearing in that sentence but that’s sorta like what we are. Chilled out, reaal chilled out the two of us, sophisticated (I hope!) with brains to boot, do I dare say with a touch of class and yet always eager to eat food like it should be eaten in real time. Here I am proud to announce two real women in real time! The others I’m sure you’ve either heard of on this blog or I shall, in good time, schedule in their grand entrance.

Yes, real women eat real burgers. Unless pardon me, you’ve special dietary requirements, no offense anyone!

I love sandwiches. I love good bread – especially when baked fresh so it’s crusty warm outside and almost melting buttery soft on the inside. Some good extra virgin olive oil that almost tastes grassy as a dip and some butter on the side, it’s a heavenly combination. And because good bread’s such a luxury, I like homemade burgers in anything but the cheap burger buns you can get in the shops. It jazzes things up a little, makes it look and taste better and surely makes the whole eating experience a lot more exciting?

I chose a seeded bun for this as I’m like a bird, or a squirrel, whichever. I eat loads of seeds and nuts a day. I’m addicted to them things. They make me happy. And looking at the generous sprinkling of seeds on the bun tops, I was well chuffed. I was hoping to get sourdough bread, which is what the Handmade Burger Co. we often visit serves their burgers in and I do love the texture of good sourdough. Unfortunately, my (eeks) last minute trip to the shop came back with nothing and I had to settle with the leftover stuff in the bakery section.

These burgers have a special ingredient. What’s that? Chutney! What kind of chutney? A totally spanking Mr. Vikki’s Tomato & Nigella Chutney I got from the BBC Good Food Show. It flavoured, along with the added spices and fresh coriander, the lamb very nicely and I was a little shocked how good it tasted with just a couple of simple things like that. The lamb burger also retained all it’s moistness so when I squished my bun together with the burger fillings, it oozed out all that juice and caramelized liquer which the bottom bun bread was very eager to absorb. Yum yum. Will definitely make this again and again.

For 2 servings
Spicy Lamb Burgers
Ingredients

Put all the ingredients, except the cheese and lettuce, together in a large bowl. Mix well and then split the mince mixture into two. Form into balls, gently pat down and form the round sides in a burger pattie.

Add some oil to a hot frying pan and cook each side about 4 minutes on medium heat. Serve in a bap, burger bun, ciabatta roll, seeded bun, etc. Top with fillings, onion marmalade and eat!

Onion Marmalade with a Kick
Ingredients

Add oil to a hot pan. Sauté the onions until they are soft and slightly translucent. Add white wine, thyme, chopped chili, salt and pepper. Lower heat and let it cook gently and caramelize for about 45 minutes. You may want to let it caramelize to a stage where it’s a lot wetter and gooey but I like to have the onion pieces still fairly whole and visible.

When cooked to your preference, stir in the balsamic vinegar and honey to taste. Serve on top of your burger.

Cranberry & Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb, with Baked Potato & Vegetables

diva — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 03:01:25 +0000

My mum has ears like a bat. And I, whenever I’m shopping for clothes, cosmetics, or simply groceries, am always found making verbal wishes: Really want some mussels; Fancy some really good warm bread now with just a little bit of butter; I could do with some king prawns for a paella this weekend; Oh wow, the lamb rack is going pretty cheap now!…I think it’s an annoying habit since I sorta do it unconsciously. But sometimes, it’s a good thing since I’ll in some weird spur of the moment remember the things I lusted after, jot them down in a list and stick it up on a 3M sticky note as my new List of Definite ‘To Buys’. Shit. I’m a materialistic, greedy fatty betty. Cursed for life with this horrible disposition.

It so happened that mum remembered my wish for lamb rack and since I coveted it so much, she bought an Australian rack and another from New Zealand. Both were fresh, looked gorgeously red and juicy. The only difference between the two was the colour of the meat. When cooked, both were to die for. Equally succulent and tender. When mum came home with the beautiful cuts of lamb in her grocery bags, I was overcome with a mix of anticipation and absolute fear. I’m just not good with cooking red meat. It simply isn’t my forte. I don’t eat a lot of red meat but when I do, I love it medium to medium-rare if possible. And to others, it may seem like I’m not cooking it for long enough and that may be likely since I am rather clueless as well with red meats. But they always turn out fairly edible and delicious. Thus far, I’ve never given myself food-poisoning either. So I suppose that’s a good thing, huh. Nevertheless, this time’s different. The pressure is on. Cooking for the family is a stressful affair as my parents are quite picky eaters and mum will not be afraid to point out the areas found totally lacking and unsatisfying. Yep, tough love runs in the family.

I was pretty nervous all day, worrying about how the rack would turn out. I just didn’t want to mess it up and throw about 70 bucks worth of rack into the bin. That would just be awful. I was glad that I had some support from friends on Twitter. Sitting on the stairs (I don’t get no internet connection in the kitchen), nervously documenting the cooking process to friends was simply one of my darker kitchen moments. But thankfully, it all worked out fine. I was little upset that we didn’t have proper carving knives (or at least, the one we had was nowhere to be found) and so most of the crust ended up falling off the lamb as we literally manhandled the rack to split it into individual ribs. Shame. But still delicious. Surprisingly, the honey mustard I used as a marinade and glue to hold the crust gave the lamb a lot of flavour, even if I chose not to marinade it for an hour or so. The meat was extremely tender and succulent. I didn’t think it needed some kind of sauce as I wanted to taste the lamb as it was, thus keeping the dish simple and true to itself.

The crust was seriously, and I really mean like seriously, good. Garlic and cranberry is honestly one of the best combinations of flavours ever. Totally loved the crust. I could eat that shit all day. Munch on it 24/7, giving myself water breaks to wash it down probably. And then carry on. Somehow I’m thinking the crust and sour cream in a jacket potato could be a new heaven for me.

Dinner wasn’t impressive or restaurant quality, but it felt a little bit like Sunday Roast. Just homely and chilled out. And hey, it’s just me cooking, what do you expect? But I was very happy with my success and I think I got the thumbs-up from almost everyone. Definitely a keeper of a recipe. I have a feeling the dogs felt the same. Every time I opened the oven, the dogs went wild. Dashing about in the garden, barking like the apocalypse was near. Absolute pandemonium. My dogs love lamb, which is supposed to be really good for their bones and fur coat, or something like that. We used to feed them mutton bones (for some strange reason) but it got a little bit of a costly expense so obviously, scrapped that habit pretty quickly. Anyhow, the dogs got all the lamb rib bones and some leftover potato skins. They couldn’t have been happier. I think the rest of the family was pretty happy too.

Cranberry & Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb
Ingredients

Preheat oven to 220d Celsius.

Combine cranberries, fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic, and shallot in a food processor; Pulse. Remove from processor then add breadcrumbs and season well to taste.

To prepare the rack, wrap the rib bones with aluminium foil to prevent charring. Spread honey mustard over lamb and massage in. When it comes to red meat, be prepared to get down and dirty so make sure hands are clean and nails trimmed. Next, pat breadcrumb mixture into mustard marinade on the lamb. Press on any bits that fall off and it should stay on. Drizzle on some olive oil before placing lamb on a broiler pan, meat side up, in the oven to cook.

This should roast for 35-40 minutes for medium-rare to medium. After removing from the oven, leave lamb covered for 10 minutes. Slice rack into chops to serve.

Baked Potatoes or Student-style Jackets
Ingredients

Wash and scrub potatoes, then pat dry with a kitchen towel. WIth a fork, pierce the potatoes all over.

Preheat the oven to 200d Celsius, or you can simply use the already heated oven you’ve got for the lamb rack.

Place in microwave, and on high power, microwave for 4 minutes. Turn the potatoes over and repeat the process for another 4 minutes. You should be able to pierce through the potatoes with a fork with relative ease. If there is a little resistance, microwave for another 2 minutes. Now whack it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, or till the skin has gone nice and crisp and the insides are soft and fluffy when cut through.

Split open down the middle, throw in some butter, sour cream and whatever garnishes you like. Or if you’re going for a student-style jacket, cheese and beans it is!

Unsuccessful Fishing at Cookham & Harissa Lamb

diva — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:25:28 +0000

mixed-coloured maggots for bait

3 days ago, we went fishing in Maidenhead, Cookham. A fishing rod, 2 reels of fishing line, hooks, a box of wriggling mixed-coloured maggots, a variety of snacks and a lovely packed (choice of) smoked salmon or chorizo sandwich lunch (provided by Alex’s mum); Thus was 4 fresh-faced youths all set to trek through tall grass down a meandering stream Ray Mears-style in search of the perfect fishing spot. What spurred us on, always in the back of our minds, was the tantalizing thought of fish and chips, of really good fish.

Personally, I was thinking of beer batter too.

Despite the preparations and that anticipation of a grand epic moment, we caught ZILCH.

NADA.

We stopped off first at a fishing gear and materials shop near Odney to pick up some bait. Both Alexes were really into it. Anna was on the phone and I merely hung around, feeling slightly inadequate and touristy with my camera since I was obviously intent on documenting this whole day. Thereafter, we jumped back into the car towards our main destination.

We had a little trouble finding the perfect spot. Alex found it odd that there weren’t any fishes to be seen either (when there usually were loads which you could easily spot in the past). We could hardly coax a shadow of a fish from the waters with our can of Green Giant Sweet Corn. Finally, we settled midway between a group of noisy sunbathing kids and a fellow bloke who was — surprise surprise — also out for a little fishing action.

In summary, we had a great time getting hooks caught on hoodies (that was Mrs Alex) and my new white linen shirt (that was yours truly), catching weed, slurping up a quick-melting 99flake, shouting obscenities at fishes, watching a professional (I say professional because he had all the right gear, a burger, a lit cigarette and a fold-up chair which he was comfortably sat on the whole while) reel in fish after fish — including a large, gorgeous pike. After bringing in that pike, he got awfully chatty with us lot and offered us advice on how to gently remove the hook from the fish and also how to treat the fish with respect before letting it back into the water. He was a good chap and let me take pictures of it all too.

What a beauty don’t you think? It was quite an experience to watch him pull this fierce beauty out of the water and lay it out on the black cushion. Scales glistening, the gills rising up and down with so much force, the eyes glowing under the scorching sun. What a sight! I was blown away by this pike. As it struggled and bucked against the restraining human hands, this pike had so much energy and life, I almost was inspired by it to go do something with myself.

I think I was quite child-like in my excitement but hey, it was my first time going fishing really since I never bothered to go with my dad in the past. One day, I will go proper fishing — on a boat hopefully. Maybe even with real fishermen. Attempt at crabs??? I suppose my closest I ever got to fishing was staying on a oyster farm and watching the man-in-charge bring in the freshly caught oysters. Also, did visit a lobster fishing place in Aus. And hmmm…also did use a net to fish out my goldfish,etc. out of the tank when I cleaned it.

We moved off to a different spot onto a bridge later in the afternoon after spotting quite a lot of fishes in the river below. But no matter what we did, (I resorted to marinating maggots in some sort of fish bait pellets) we pulled back only empty hooks. Good try though. And yea, great smelling hands too. I even got maggot juice squirted onto my face whilst baiting Alex.

Back at Alex’s, Alex’s mum had prepared a dinner of roast vine tomatoes, garlic, red onions, baked potato wedges and harissa lamb. The lamb was so tender and tasty. Alex’s mum — what a woman! She sure knows her food and she fed us well. Despite coming back empty handed, it couldn’t have been any more wonderful and rewarding a day! Fishing. Lamb. Häagen Dazs to end the meal, followed by Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word on telly and a cup of tea.

Sorted.

Talk about getting a Surf ‘n’ Turf, a looking after by a mother figure, a slight tan (and a burn for Mrs Alex) and some extra loving by the ever hankered-after Mr Ramsay.

Roasted Lamb Fillet in Blackberry and Red Wine Sauce

diva — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:04:16 +0000

It hailed today! And it’s supposedly going to again on a perfectly good Sunday tomorrow. To salvage my sacred weekend, I literally fell out of bed in a panic – pulled on my jeans, hoodie, jacket, slipped my shoes on and barely fiddled with my bed-hair – before dashing out the door in the direction of G.A Lockhart. That would be my local butcher. Friendly, fairly good-looking in a buff, burly type of way, he offers a great selection of meats and home-prepared sausages, meat pies, parcel pastries and special sauces (I noticed a jar of goose fat atop the counter as well). If you’re looking for affordable and quality meat, G.A Lockhart is a good place to go – not only does he offer you personal advice on how best to cook the meat, he gives you tips on what meat is good for what, is lovely to talk to and makes a lot of effort to give you the best. Did I mention he doesn’t mind customers, specifically ones that make a breathless entrance with no make-up, a hairdo that magpies would mistake as a sad, abandoned, weather-beaten nest too?

I was really hoping for Best End which would be those fancy, posh-looking lamb racks often found in French restaurants. They are so tender and have a lovely flavour. Unfortunately, there weren’t any today so I was stuck between the lamb shoulder, lamb shank and leg fillet (at least that’s what I think it was). I’m the kind of eater who, other than fish, likes seeing bone on her plate. Not only do I think it makes my meal more heartwarming and real, knowing that this really came from an animal (I never trust what I get at supermarkets anymore), the bone is really what adds to the overall flavour and presentation. My parents have said the bone is where all the flavour lies and I’m sure my dogs would agree plenty. Having watched my mum slow-boil herbal soups, I understand pork rib bones produce one of the best flavours in oriental cuisine.

So of course, I totally chose the leg fillet with all the bone-age over the beautiful shoulder cut Lockhart had lifted out to give me a closer look. This bit of meat comes from the shin of the lamb and is perfect for slow-roasts. A good-sized chunk of leg cost me about 6quid. After getting the bones loosened up a little for easy cooking and carving, I popped into the off license to get a bottle of red wine. I would’ve gone for a good bottle of French, but the wallet has taken a bad turn and I’ve lucked out on moolah. Knowing this would definitely affect the sauce, I still went for a cheap bottle of Kumala: a mixed-grape (and this was seriously quite a bad mix) red hailing from West Cape.

Anyone hoping to keep a lookout for this butcher’s will find the address below. Great meat, great service, good range, free delivery:

G.A Lockhart
Raddlebarn Road
Selly Oak
Birmingham
B29 6HQ
0121 472 2545

The sun came back out for a tiny bit whilst I was preparing the meat in the kitchen. So I took that as a sign that lamb for Saturday lunch was the way to go. I’d had my doubts about having such a large lunch when it wasn’t even Sunday but seeing as I was finally in a good mood, I thought ‘screw it’ and was determined to have a good time this weekend. Of course, that would be balanced with revision. I can’t afford to let myself go completely.

This recipe has been inspired by Gordon Ramsay, kitchen genius, and from some lamb recipes from Delia Smith. There isn’t exactly one recipe that I followed. What I did was kind of got a general idea of the sauces they made and went forward with my own. I’d been playing with the idea of fruit and lamb for some time now. I love pork with sweet sauces, apple sauces and marmalade sauces. But I might have been a little conservative with my lamb. On a day the weather went slightly freakish, I really wasn’t all that bothered about taking the radical train to experiment with some flavours. Just a note: as I’ve cooked this by taste, all measurements stated are written as close to what I can remember. Should you wish to replicate this recipe for your own cooking, I’d advice some watchfulness over the sauce as these measurements are not as accurate as I’d like them to be. I’d served the lamb with garlic mash. Was intending to do a parsnip-potato mash which I’d done once for a Cottage Pie but I was wary of overstepping the line by just doing way too much on a plate. So I left it as it was. Here is a recipe good for 2 with some leftover for a salad or sandwich tomorrow.

Roasted Lamb Fillet in Blackberry and Red Wine Sauce

Ingredients

For the sauce:

For the garlic mash:

The lamb will take 1 3/4 – 2 hrs in the oven so get to work early. Preheat the oven to 200d Celsius. Season the lamb and rub the crushed leaves of rosemary onto it. Place it in a casserole dish with crush garlic and olive oil, rubbing it all around. Pour the wine into the dish and give the lamb a turn to coat it. Cover with aluminium foil and roast. After an hour, remove and give the lamb a turn. Baste it in its juices. Cover with foil again and return to oven to continue the cooking process.
About 10min to end of cooking time, get to work on the sauce. Prepare the onions and stock. Crush about half of the blackberries, be careful not to waste any of the juices that spill from its insides. Using a tiny bit of oil, fry the onions in a large shallow pan. Remove the lamb from the oven and pour the juices and some of the leek into the pan. Cover the lamb with foil again, lower oven temperature to about 100d Celsius and return to oven to keep warm.
Add the stock, vinegar and honey into the pan and stir gently. Let simmer as you want this to reduce a little. Add the crushed berries and stir.
Whilst the sauce is slowly cooking, peel and chop the potatoes. Then peel off the skin of the garlic. Boil altogether. When it is soft, strain the water and mash with butter and milk till it reaches a creamy consistency.
Get back to the sauce. Add the last of the berries that were not crushed. Taste it. It should be slightly tart but having a full, savoury, lamb flavour. The honey and berries work strangely well with the wine.

Plates up. 1.Mash, 2.lamb then 3.ladle the sauce over it making sure to spoon some berries on it. Serve with some cracked black pepper and chopped herbs.

I was honestly thinking this might go very wrong what with fresh blackberries in the sauce. On the contrary, the full blackberries gave the lamb an awesome flavour and when eaten together, was refreshing and almost like a time-out from the bang of the sauce. Indeed, the red wine had taken its toll on the sauce but overall this worked out as an ‘Exceeding Expectations’ meal.

Diva gives her stamp of approval and a pat on the back. Not bad for a sleepy-head and/or lazy fart.

Easter Lunch: Oven-baked Lamb Chops, Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary Onion Sauce

diva — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:56:09 +0000

Easter Weekend officially started on 21 March and ends today Easter Monday 24 March. As everyone knows, I broke Lent and had chocolate way before Easter Sunday so really, I couldn’t very much celebrate by tucking into chocolate as I felt too guilty and naughty already. However, it didn’t actually faze me from getting into the festive mood with Easter Lunch! It’s really all about the feasting. Easter calls for easter eggs, hot cross buns, the Easter Bunny and simnel cake. It too, with the advent of spring, presents us with lamb – a lovely, fragrant, sweet-smelling meat which is a high source of high-quality protein, vitamins and minerals. Lamb, a feature of Easter, was sacrificed at Jewish Passover. For Christians, it came to symbolize Christ’s death on the cross and hence, is very apt for having it on the day we celebrate Christ’s resurrection.

You’d be glad to know that lamb, as compared to other red meats, has very little marbling of internal fat. With most of its fat on the outside edges of the meat (kinda like really good lean back bacon), it’s so easy to trim off excess fat. Apart from its low-calorie potential, lamb meat is high in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which possesses antioxidant activity. This acid is produced naturally in the stomachs of herbivores. And unfortunately, cannot be found in our own bodies since we do not produce it. Conclusion? Lamb is great!

Ben & I went to the butcher’s 3 days ago and purchased a couple of lovely double lamb chops. They were really tender and this dish really came together in terms of flavour and fragrance. Have to say I might have piled it up with garlic and rosemary too, which I believe are one of the best ingredients that go with lamb.

Oven-baked Lamb Chops, Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary Onion Sauce

Ingredients

Start work about an hour before. This is so simple to do and once you get started, it really is just a chuck it aside then whack it in the oven type of meal.
To marinade the vegetables, crush the garlic cloves and put it in some olive oil in a bowl. This will flavour the oil which will be used to coat the vegetables. Add some honey and mix it in. Chop the root vegetables into nice chunks then coat them in your honey-oil mixture. Add the herbs, a bit more olive oil and leave aside to marinade.
On to the lamb. Finely chop the clove of garlic. Using either fresh rosemary or dried rosemary leaves, crush these leaves in a bowl. Add some olive oil to your baking dish and throw in your garlic and rosemary. Put your lamb chops in and coat well. Season with salt and pepper. Leave aside for the flavours to set in for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 200d Celsius.
Root vegetables go into the oven about 15min before the lamb chops. Put it in the bottom layer. After 15min, shift it to the top layer in the oven and slide the lamb chops beneath that. Leave to bake for 30-40min. Do a quick check about half way through. Once the vegetables start to go crisp and brown about the edges, shift it to the bottom layer and move the lamb chops to the top layer. About 10min before taking the meat and vegetables out of the oven, get to work on the sauce.
Melt some butter in a saucepan. Once melted, let the chopped onions sweat in this lovely hot butter. Remember this should be done on low heat. Add the stock bit by bit, followed by flour, all the while stirring constantly. You should be aiming to liquefy the sauce with stock and then thickening it with flour. You have to judge this carefully to reach the consistency you’re aiming for. Once the sauce is thickening up well, add the milk and stir carefully. The sauce should have become a lovely white thick sauce by now – the heat should have started to weld the flavours together and if you smell it, be careful not to swoon! Finally, add some grated pepper in and 2 generous tablespoons of good double cream. MMMM.

Dish up and spoon out the sauce over the lamb chops. Serve lamb chops slightly pink and tender or well-cooked. Either way, this is delicious.