Lamb Meatballs with Chickpea and Potato Mash and Tomato Sauce

Finally, finally, finally, a meal to get me out of the blogging doldrums!

You see it's not so much that I haven't been cooking, it's just that the meals that I have been cooking haven't really been up to blogging standard.

There was the home made ravioli that still needs a little tweaking.  We won't even mention the mozzarella that lived it's days under the aspersion that it was ricotta!  Then there was the sad, sad pork belly that just did not pass muster.  I was so pinning all my hopes on that one too!  It was a Maggie Beer recipe that I diligently copied to my phone as I sat at the chiropractor's office last week.  That one held so much promise, I mean when does pork belly ever go wrong?  When you are hoping to use it as a comeback recipe that's when!  I don't know what went wrong with that one, but to me it seemed like it needed at least another 3 hours of cooking (that would be 6 in total!).  It did redeem itself though as a comeback queen in the next night's pizza topping!  I did, however, make a pasta all'amatriciana that was good, but I forgot to take a photo of it!

So when last night's dinner had a resounding Yum! I thought I just better get straight onto it, and blog about it!

 Lamb Meatballs with Chickpea and Potato Mash and Tomato Sauce

Adapted from recipe found in MasterChef Magazine, June edition 

Serves 4-6

Meatballs 

1.2 kg lamb mince
6 shallots (green onions) finely chopped
1 cup loosely packed mint leaves, finely chopped
1 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
200g feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl, and with your hands mix well.  Roll into golf ball size meatballs, and place on a tray.  Cover and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

When ready to cook place on baking dish, and bake at 200 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, or until golden, and cooked through.  Make sure you turn at least once during cooking.

Now to start on the mash....

Chickpea Potato Mash 

 kg potatoes, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces
4 cloves garlic
400g can chickpeas
1-2 tbs sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Drain the chickpeas, leaving a small amount of liquid with them.  Place the potatoes, chickpeas and garlic into a large saucepan of salted water.  Bring to a simmer over medium high heat and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  Drain.

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher (or fork).  Add the sour cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Don't add too much sour cream, you don't want the mixture too sloppy!

While the potatoes are cooking, it's time to get onto the tomato sauce....

Tomato Sauce 

1 red onion, finely chopped
400g can of diced tomatoes
4 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the onion in a medium sized saucepan with a little olive oil.  Sauté gently for 5 minutes, or until softened, and starting to turn golden.  Add the chicken stock, and bring to the boil.  Simmer until reduced slightly.

Add the canned and fresh tomatoes, and bring to the boil.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until thickened slightly.

Add balsamic vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.

Place the mash on the bottom of a serving dish.  Top with the meatballs, then top with the tomato sauce.

As a friend of mine would say "Yumbo Scrumbo!"

And so now I am back in the game!  Let's see if I can continue!

OK, so I must apologise with the photos - I am using my iphone (yeah I know!!)  I will get back into the swing of things here I promise!!!

Just to keep me honest - tonights dinner is Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu - stay tuned if it's a success I will post (fingers crossed!)

Lamb Shanks with Tamarind and Prunes

It happened to me again!!!  I set off to do the grocery shopping with a list that included chicken to make chicken biryani - but somehow I ended up with lamb!

You see I went to the chicken shop, but then made the mistake of also checking out the butcher's window!!! I am not a great lamb lover, but these lovely little frenched lamb shanks seemed to be calling out to me!  I usually find lamb shanks a little too greasy for my liking, but these ones seemed very clean and relatively fat free!

I didn't really have a recipe in mind, but I bought them anyway.  I did seem to recall though that I had seen a recipe in the latest edition of the MasterChef Magazine, so into the supermarket to find the magazine and check out what I would need to cook these little beauties!  Of course I got caught reading the magazine by a friend, who asked me if I was too cheap to buy the magazine - "Of course not I replied!!!  I already have it at home - I just wasn't sure what I needed"  (I don't think she was convinced though!!)

The recipe I was thinking of was one of Marion Grasby's and it looked really good (of course taken in by the picture again!!!)   It was a nice combination of cinnamon, ginger, garlic and prunes, but with the interesting addition of tamarind.  

Oh if only you could have smelled my house that day - the aromas that were wafting from the kitchen were divine!!  

There really is nothing better on a cold winter's night than coming into a house that has lovely enticing aromas, and then sitting down to eat a gorgeous hot warming meal!

Lamb Shanks with Tamarind and Prunes

Adapted from recipe by Marion Grasby, printed in MasterChef Magazine - August Edition

Serves 3-4

5 x 300g frenched lamb shanks

1/4 cup plain flour

1/4 cup olive oil

50g butter

3 onions, halved, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2-3cm piece fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 cinnamon quill

4 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup tamarind puree *

255g pitted prunes

50g flaked almonds

1/4 cup coriander leaves

Garlic Paris Mash and steamed green beans to serve

* I used 1 tbs tamarind concentrate.  Use according to your taste.

Place the lamb shanks in a large ziploc bag.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with the flour and toss to coat.

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish over medium-high heat.  Shake the excess flour from the shanks.  Cook, turning for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned on all sides.  Transfer to a tray.  Drain all but 2 tbs oil from the pan.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Return the casserole to medium heat.  Add the butter and the onions.  Cook stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft.  Add the garlic and ginger and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until aromatic.  Add the cinnamon, stir for a minute or so, or until fragrant.

Add the stock, tamarind and prunes.

Return the lamb to the casserole dish, ensuring that they are all submerged in liquid.  Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven.  Bake for 2 1/2 hours or until the lamb is almost falling off the bone.

Serve garnished with flaked almonds and coriander leaves and Garlic Paris Mash and steamed green beans on the side.

As I said before I am not a big lamb fan, but this dish was delicious!  Lovely warm fragrant flavours, and oh so perfect on a cold night.  I will definitely be making this one again!!

So now I have to question myself - am I better off heading to the shops with a list in hand, or should I be more laid back in my approach, and just buy something that beckons me on the day?

What is your approach Dear Reader - are you organise, or do you just "wing it?"

Moroccan Lamb and Pumpkin Casserole with Couscous

By now Dear Readers you should know that when it comes to the Thermomix I am a raving fan!!!

Yes, I know that I am now a consultant, and I am supposed to promote it, but I just love "Thermie" so much that I can't stop talking about him.  So  many days, in so many ways, he helps me in the kitchen.  I may make a small component of the meal in him, or like tonight I might make the whole meal in him (should I say that - doesn't sound quite right does it??)  Anyway tonight's meal is utilising the varoma as well as the bowl - so it is a complete meal in one!!!

Moroccan Lamb and Pumpkin Casserole with Couscous
Adapted from Meat on the Menu - Thermomix Cookbook 
recipe contributed by Sandra Harris, WA

Serves 4

1 onion, peeled, and quartered
1 cloves garlic
1 tbs butter
400-600g cubed lamb
2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
400g can chick peas, drained
100g pitted dates
30g honey
50g tomato paste
juice 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled, cut into large chunks
1 cup couscous

Place the pumpkin cubes into the bottom of the varoma receptacle.  On the top layer place a piece of baking paper that has been crinkled and rinsed in water.  Rinse the couscous liberally with water and place on the wet paper.  Place the lid on the varoma.

Place the onion, garlic and butter into the TM bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 5.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and saute for 3 minutes at varoma temperature on speed 1.

Add the lamb and the spices and cook for 7 minutes at varoma temperature on reverse and speed soft.  Make sure to place the varoma on top while this is cooking.

Add the reminaing ingredients and cook for a further 10 minutes at 100 degrees on reverse and speed soft (again with the varoma in place!).

Place the meat and the pumpkin into the thermoserver and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

If the couscous is still not quite cooked, rinse out the TM bowl and fill it with boiling water.  Place the couscous and varoma receptacle back on top and cook at varoma temperature for 10 minutes on speed 4.

So there you have it a meal cooked in 30 minutes, all in the one place.  How easy is that?  The flavours in this dish were really lovely.  Adding the pumpkin added another lovely element to the dish, and perhaps a little more sweetness.

I'm not going to bang on here about Thermie - you know I'm having an affair with him!!!

Spiced Lamb Free Form Pie with Dukkah and Yoghurt

Last night was a bit of a rush - I came in late, and a million things hit me head on that needed to be done - not the least of them was get a meal on the table to feed the starving "Darlings".

I did procrastinate a little on getting this started, but once I did it all came together quite quickly with the help of my kitchen helper "Thermie".

The recipe is my take on a recipe that I saw in the latest edition of Super Food Ideas - I of course added more meat, and kind of made it my way.....

Spiced Lamb Free Form Pie
Adapted from Super Food Ideas Magazine July Edition

Serves 6

1 1/2 cups plain flour
125 butter, chilled, cut into cubes
1/2 cup approx chilled water
1 zucchini, cut into cubes
150g sweet potato, cut into cubes
1 small bunch coriander
1 brown onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp allspice
1kg lamb mince


Place the flour in the TM bowl.  Put on closed lid position and press Turbo once to "sift" the flour.  Add the butter and process on speed 4-5 until the ingredients look like breadcrumbs.  With the motor running, gradually add the water until the mixture comes together.

Knead on Interval setting for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth.

Roll the pastry out between two sheets of baking paper until it is forms a rectangle approximately 30cm x 40cm.  Place on a baking sheet, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place the zucchini in the TM bowl and process for 3 seconds on speed 7.  Place the zucchini in a strainer over the bowl, pushing out as much liquid as possible.

Place the sweet potato in the TM bowl, process for 3 seconds on speed 7.  Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place the onion, garlic and coriander in the TM bowl, process for 3 seconds on speed 7.  Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat if necessary.

Add the mince, the zucchini, sweet potato, allspice paprika and salt and pepper to taste to the onion mix in the TM bowl.

Mix the onion mixture with the spatula just enough to get a little of the meat mixture down the bottom of the bowl.

Set dial to closed lid position and and knead on interval setting for 2-3 minutes, or until all the ingredients are well combined.

Place the meat mixture in the middle of the pastry, and fold up the edges to make a rough free form pie shape.

Sprinkle the top of the pie with a small amount of dukkah.

Spray the pastry with olive oil spray.

Bake in an oven that has been preheat to 200 degrees C for approximately 1 hour, on until when a sharp knife inserted in the centre come out clean (ie no red juices flow out).

Dukkah
From EDC Thermomix Cookbook *

150gsesame seeds
100g hazelnuts & almonds (mixture)
25g cumin seeds
30g coriander seeds
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp dried mint

Place the sesame seeds, hazelnuts, almonds, cumin and coriander seeds into the TM bowl and dry roast for 8 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1.

Remove the lid and the bowl from the housing and allow to cool.

When all the ingredients are cool, add the salt and peppercorns and the mint.  Set dial to closed lid position and pulse 1-2 times on Turbo to form a coarse powder.

* I altered the amounts shown in the cookbook as I did have the full amounts in the cupboard.  This still made a lot of dukkah!!!

Yoghurt

200g greek style plain yoghurt
1/2 cup loosely packed mint leaves
1 tbs sweet chilli sauce
salt and pepper

Place the mint in the TM bowl, process for 3 seconds on speed 7.  Scrape down the side of the bowl.  Add the yoghurt, sweet chilli sauce and salt and pepper.  Mix on speed 3 for 3 seconds or until combined.

Serve the pie topped with additional dukkah and a dollop of yoghurt, and extra sweet chilli sauce to taste.

I know the photos are not that appealing - but they were ready to eat their arms off if I didn't get a meal to them - so it was plate and eat (or else!!!)

We all thought this meal was really good - and "The Darlings" even ate it all without complaining!!!  One of the them told me he knew there were vegetables in there - but it was OK because they were chopped up very small!!!

So all were happy - dinner was a little late getting to the table - but at least they all ate it!!!!

Baked Greek Lamb Meatballs & Surprise Soup!

Yesterday was full of (culinary) surprises for me.

The first one was the meal I cooked for dinner last night.  As usual, I got suckered in by the nice photos - there was this lovely shot of a tray of baked meatballs resplendent with cherry tomatoes and zucchini and crumbled feta cheese - well of course I knew mine would never look that way (especially when I forgot to add the feta!!!).  What hooked me in though, was that it was a one dish meal - the components all looked good (albiet I knew "The Darlings" wouldn't eat the vegetable part).  What didn't gel however, was how I was going to actually serve this - and did it need anything to go with it?  This all came together as the day progressed, and meal time became closer.

The first thing I thought it needed was some bread - after deliberation I decided some lebanese bread would be good.  Then I thought that perhaps the addition of a dip of some kind - perhaps herb and garlic!

OK the basis was taking shape.

This is how the afternoon in my kitchen progressed

First thing I made was the dip.

Herb and Garlic Dip
Adapted From EDC Thermomix Cookbook

small bunch of flat leaf parsley
1 small glove of garlic
1 shallot (green onion)
1/2 bunch chives
250g light cream cheese
small amount of reduced fat cream

Place the parsley, chives, shallot and garlic into the TM bowl.  Chop for 5 seconds on speed 7.  Scrape down bowl and repeat if necessary.

Add the cream cheese.  Mix for 20 seconds on speed 4 - add small amount of cream until desired consistency is achieved.

There you have it - dip in around 25 seconds!!!

Now onto the surprise soup!

I am not going to give you the recipe because I am not sure I could replicate it again - but I ust wanted to let you know what a wonderful flavour I achieved - accidentally!!

I had a pretty busy day yesterday so I took the incredibly easy way out of making some soup for "The boy who will never be filled" for his school lunches.  Rather than peel a pumpkin (you know how hard that can be at times) I decided to place the whole piece of pumpkin in the oven and bake it.  So onto a baking sheet went 1/2 a pumpkin (minus the seeds).  I sprayed it with garlic infused olive oil spray and baked it at 200 degrees for around an hour.  It came out all lovely and golden.  I let it rest on the kitchen bench all afternoon until I was ready for it.

Then came the next part - what was I going to add???  I was sure I had some red lentils in the cupboard - but no, I seemed to have used them all - have some black - that will have to do.

Fry up a little onion and garlic in the TM - then added around 2 cups of chicken stock, brought it to the boil and added the black lentils.  Cooked them (but not probably enough - but was running out of time - that will have to do!).   Added the cooked pumpkin to the pot, then added a can of coconut evaporated milk

Then a little curry powder, ground coriander and some cumin.  Blended it all together.  I had a little mashed potato left over from the previous night's dinner - so decided why not add that to the pot too!!  A little too thick - so added a bit of milk.  Soup finished now!!!

The result - well the lentils were not entirely cooked through so they added a nice textural component to the creamy soup - but the biggest surprise was the flavour!!!!  I swear if you were blindfolded you would have thought you were eating peanut butter soup!!!!

I must say I was pretty impressed with the flavour - wonder if I can do it again though???  The combination of the coconut evaporated milk and the roasted pumpkin lifted boring old pumpkin soup to a new level!!!!

OK so the soup is now done - on to dinner....

Baked Greek Lamb Meatballs
Adapted From Good Food Magazine June edition

Serves 6

1kg lamb mince *
3 slices of bread, made into breadcrumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 onion
1/3 cup chopped mint (around 1/2 a bunch)
4 large potatoes, cut into wedges
4 zucchini, cut into batons
300-400g cherry tomatoes
60g feta cheese, crumbled **

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Lightly grease a large baking tray.

Place the mince, breadcrumbs, onion and egg, and mint in a large bowl.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Mix well (or you can place it in the TM and using the knead function knead the mixture for 2 minutes until combined!!) Using your hands shape into meatballs.  Place in the prepared pan.

Place the potato, zucchini and cherry tomatoes around the meatballs.  Spray with garlic infused olive oil.

Bake for 40-60 minutes.  Turning the potatoes, so that they brown evenly.

Season the potatoes with sea salt.  Scatter with feta cheese.

* the recipe says 250g lamb mince for 4 people (making 8 meatballs - there was no way that was going to cut it with my crowd - so I increased it to 1kg)

** oops I forgot - the feta is still resting nicely in the fridge!!!

The reason that there is no "plating up" photo is that even as I got this dish out of the oven I had no idea how I was going to serve it.  I simply ended up throwing it all onto a large platter so that everyone could help themselves!!!  And help themselves they did!!!

The nice surprise about this dish was the wonderful flavours - Mr. CCC remarked how lovely and fresh it all seemed.  "The Darlings" made theirs into "kebab" type rolls!!  All were happy (and fed!)

And so ends another night in our kitchen!

So Dear Readers what surprises (good and bad) have you had in the kitchen lately?  Is your kitchen a hive of activity like mine come late afternoon???  Do tell!!

Baked Lamb Chops

One of the best things about "The Darlings" being back at school is that I can now walk leisurely around the local shopping centre, poking my nose into anything that interests me, without being told to hurry up.

Yesterday as I strolled around, I noticed that our local Borders was closing down.  Being the book lover that I am I couldn't help myself - I am always on the lookout for new books.  I have a bookshelf that groans under the weight of many books - 2/3 read - but many just waiting patiently for my attention.

I entered the store - pass the latest releases - see the piles of Gary and George's Your Place or Mine - no not interested.  Pass through the "True Crime" section - I do love a true crime book - but still nothing there that takes my fancy - onto the triller section - still nothing - but you know where I am heading don't you???  I make my way to the back of the store where I hear a little more noise coming from - yes, the cookbook section!!!!

While the shelves may be almost decimated, the aisles are full of women buzzing "oooh look - this looks great - hey I will get this book, you get that one, and you get that one, and then we can share".  There is serious business going on in this aisle.  I push my way through so I too can peruse the titles.  I don't go for the obvious ones - I look at some of the more obscure titles -  I found some gems - one all about Macarons, another called Fish Food (a whole book on seafood!!) and another one entitled Grill.

After making my purchases I feel a tad guilty - I really don't need any more cookbooks, yet here I have just bought 3 more!!!  Then the lightbulb goes off in my head - I know - I will give them to "The Darlings" to give to me for Mother's Day!!!! Stroke of genius there!  Only problem is that I have to wait until Sunday to read them!

Luckily for me in the mail that afternoon was the latest edition of the MasterChef Magazine - I will just have to contend myself with that until Sunday - not hard as there are some lovely recipes in there that I can't wait to try - like Crab Bouillabaisse, Lamb Shanks Braised in Yoghurt and Honey and a Lobster Bisque Linguine!!!

On to more serious issues - what to have for dinner tonight?  I asked Mr. CCC that morning what he wanted - the answer "something plain, something bland, something light!"  Well his and my definitions are pretty much totally opposite, so I asked for clarification - he said he wanted crumbed chops - now which category does that fit into? (certainly not the light) - I told him I would have to take out a second mortgage on the house to feed 5 people with lamb cutlets - so put the thinking cap on.  I guess it should be some form of lamb then.  Here is what eventuated.

Baked Lamb Chops
Adapted from Taste.com.au

Serves 4-6


7 Lamb Chops (I bought Leg chops - but probably those little T bone like loin chops would be best)
1 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cloves crushed garlic
3cm piece of ginger, finely chopped

I used the Thermomix - only because it makes life easy - but you just need to combine the ingredients.

Place the garlic and ginger in the TM bowl - process for 5 seconds on speed 7.

Add the orange juice and the marmalade, process for 3 seconds on speed 5.

Place the lamb chops in a baking dish - cover in the marinade.  You can bake straight away, or let sit in the marinade for a while.

Accompaniments:

Baked Pumpkin
Roasted Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Peel and cut the pumpkin into large chunks.  Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters.  Toss in a liberal amount of olive oil and crushed garlic.

Place the vegetables onto a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper.

Bake for 25 minutes, turning at least once.

Add the lamb chops.  Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are golden and the meat is cooked.

Look, this wasn't my favourite meal - I  am not a huge lamb fan - but the men of the house were happy - so was the dog with all those bones!

I get told that I shouldn't write my blog only about the food that I like - so this one is for all the lamb lovers out there - this one is for the lovers of simple food - this one is for the people that just want an easy meal.  I hope you enjoy it!

I can't wait until I get my hands on my new cookbooks - lets see what I dish up then!!!!!

Roast Lamb with Thai-Style Mint Sauce

In the February edition of Delicious Magazine Valli Little had a section called Aussie Top 10.  In this section she transformed some iconic Australian dishes.  There was a revamping of the sausage sanger, an Aussie version of Steak Diane (with a secret ingredient - can you guess what it is??), and a delicious twist on the humble lamington!  What caught my eye, however, was the twist on the old Leg of Lamb!  My Partner in Crime had told me all about this dish on one of our "trots" around the neighbourhood.  (We always tend to end up talking about food as we try and burn off the past week's digressions!!)  She told me how good it was, and how her family had just loved it!  Better give it a try then!

Now everyone has their own take on the humble roast.  Since I can remember my Mum has always included an onion and tomato bake with our roast (along with all the usual suspects of roast potato, sweet potato and pumpkin), and of course a green veggie on the side.  Although this recipe seemed a little "wrong" as I was making it, it was oh so right, in oh so many ways!!  There was a clean uncomplicated mix of flavours that worked so well very together - and the bonus was that you didn't walk away from the meal feeling too full, as you usually do when trying to serve so many different roasted vegetables!!

Roast Lamb with Thai Style Mint Sauce and Roasted Potatoes
Adapted from Delicious Magazine - February Edition

Serves 6


2kg leg of lamb
2tbs fish sauce
1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
1/4 cup chopped mint
1 tbs sunflower oil

1.5kg floury potatoes, peeled, cut into 3cm pieces

Thai Style Mint Sauce

2 tbs grated palm sugar
2 tbs rice bran oil (you can use peanut)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
zest and juice of 1 lime
1tbs fish sauce
1-2 long red chillies, seeds removed, chopped (to taste)
2 shallots (green spring onions), sliced on an angle
2 cups mint leaves, roughly torn

Preheat oven to 180C.  Combine the fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce, mint and sunflower oil in a bowl.  Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan and brush with the marinade.  Fill the pan with 2cm of hot water, then loosely cover lamb with foil.

* Now I thought I came up with a wonderful "washing up saver" here.  I used a deep baking dish, covered it with foil, then placed a disposable foil baking tray inside that - then I put the rack inside the disposable tray (the only washing up then was the rack!!!  "The Darling" on Wash Up Duty last night had virtually nothing to wash up!!!

Roast for 1 hour, then remove the foil and roast for a further 45 minutes (for pink) or until cooked to your liking.  Rest, loosely covered with foil, for 15 minutes.

While the lamb is roasting it's time to make the sauce.  I thought it benefitted from making it early and letting it sit, as the flavours were more well developed.  Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, stirring well to dissolve the sugar.

How beautiful and fresh does this sauce look?

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan.  Cover with cold water, and add some salt.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-high, and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.  Drain well, then return the potatoes to the pan.  Add a good slug of olive oil, and mix well - you can be a little rough with a spoon - if you "rough up" the edges of the potato, they will go nice and crispy!

I decided not to add them to the lamb's baking tray - I simply spread them out on a baking sheet that was lined with baking paper.  Roast the potatoes alongside that lamb for it's final 45 minutes of cooking.  When the lamb is done, remove it from the oven to rest, and turn the oven up to 220C, and cook the potatoes for an additional 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden.  Season well with sea salt.

Slice the lamb, serve with the roasted potatoes, and a green veggie of choice (I decided on minted peas!) and of course the mint sauce!!

I loved this meal - "The Darlings" loved this meal ....... but Mr. CCC - well he wouldn't have the mint sauce (his loss) - he wanted gravy!!!  As I have learned in this house - You can't please all of the people all of the time!!!  I will definitely put this on my make again list - but next time I will also make some gravy - just to try and keep the customers satisfied!!!

So Dear Readers how do you like your lamb roast?

Cashew Crusted Lamb Racks with Nashi Pear Salad

Now before you all comment that this is not diet food, let me say this in my defence.  Taking into consideration what I had eaten (or should I say not eaten) yesterday I felt an little indulgence was in order - besides this rack of lamb had been sitting in my freezer for several weeks, calling out to me each time I  opened the freezer.  It constantly beckoned me with it's sweet dulcet tones.... "You know I am going to be sweet and succulent and beautiful - please eat me, eat me!!"  Who could resist it any longer??

Cashew Crusted Lamb Racks


Serves 2

2 x 3 chop each racks of lamb *
150g savoury honey cashews **
2 tbs Buderim ginger marmalade (150g) **
2 x green shallots

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place the cashews, marmalade and shallots in the food processor/TM bowl.  (Process speed 7 for 10 seconds, scrape down bowl, then another 10 seconds), or in a food processor simply process until it forms a thick paste.

Spread over the lamb.  Bake on a baking tray for 25-30 minutes for medium/rare, or until the crust is golden and the lamb is cooked to your liking. * Keeping the rack whole will result in a "pinker" piece of meat - if you like it cooked a little more I suggest you cut into serving sizes and cover each piece in the crust and cook individually.  I like my meat with a lot of pink - so this amount of cooking was perfect for me.

Nashi Pear Salad

baby spinach leaves
2 x nashi pears, sliced
fresh mint leaves, roughly torn
shaved parmesan cheese

Nashi Pears

With the left over cashew paste in the food processor bowl - add a small amount of white balsamic vinegar, and a splash of olive oil to make your salad dressing.  Process for a few seconds until combined.  Reserve.

Mix together the spinach with the mint leaves, then add the sliced nashi pear.  Top with parmesan shavings, and a small amount of dressing.



** Often I am asked for particular brands of ingredients that I use - these are the "crust" ingredients".  If you are unable to find these particular brands, substitute regular cashews, and whatever type of marmalade suits your fancy.

Serve the lamb racks with nashi pear salad and some smashed potatoes (click here for recipe).

Was it worth the sacrifice of only carrot sticks and hummos for lunch?  OMG yes!!! It was beautiful - sweet, juicy, and oh so tasty!

Now you know that after a lovely meal like that you are going to want some dessert don't you?

The beauty of owning a Thermomix is that you can whip up lovely little sweet treats in seconds - whether it be a custard, or a sorbet.  Now there is not much in a fruit sorbet so I decided a little "Blueberry Fruity Dream" was in order (I only had a small amount - just enough to satisfy that craving for sweetness).

I think it will actually take me longer to tell you about the Fruity Dream than it took to make it!!

Fruity Dream
From Everyday Cooking for Every Family Cookbook

45g raw sugar
300g frozen fruit of choice (blueberries)
1 egg white

Place sugar into TM bowl

Pulverise for 20 seconds on speed 9.

Add fruit and chop for 10 seconds on speed 8.  Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula.

Insert Butterfly and add egg white and mix for 45 seconds on speed 4, or until you have a soft consistency.

This is a lovely soft serve dessert.  Great to whip up for the kids on a hot afternoon as a treat too!  (I should know, I made a batch up for mine and a few of the neighbourhoods kids - it got the thumbs up!!!)

So Dear Readers, even though I look like I truly indulged, I still managed to loose weight this day!!!

Marinated Lamb Chops with Watermelon, Haloumi and Mint Salad

There have been lots of recipes going around for watermelon salads - lots of different combinations - some with feta, some with prawns, I was a little sceptical about having watermelon served alongside meat, but after trying it last night I am a convert!!  It was lovely, so light and refreshing - and it looked so festive too!!

So to the sound of Christmas carols in the air (we live by a big hospital that has Christmas carols and fireworks every year - which we can see and hear without even leaving home!!!) we had this lovely red and green salad.

Marinated Lamb Chops with Watermelon, Haloumi and Mint Salad
Adapted form a recipe found in Woolworth's Fresh magazine dated August 2009


Serves 4


Marinade

1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves crushed garlic
4 tbs red wine vinegar
3 tbs finely chopped fresh rosemary
freshly ground black pepper

8 lamb steak/chops

Place all the marinade ingredients into a large ziploc bag.  Marinade for at least 30 minutes, longer if possible.

Watermelon Salad

1 tbs chopped capers
juice of 1 lemon (approx 2 1/2 tbs)
1/2 cup of mint leaves, shredded/torn into large pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbs olive oil
250g haloumi cheese
1kg seedles watermelon, cut into large cubes
1/4 red onion, finely sliced

Combine the capers, lemon juice, mint, salt and pepper and olive oil in a large screw top jar.  Shake to combine.

Place the cut watermelon pieces and red onion in a large bowl.

In a frypan over medium high heat cook the haloumi until golden on both sides (approx 2 minutes each side).  Add the haloumi to the watermelon, then pour over the dressing, toss to combine.

BBQ the lamb chops over medium high heat for 3 minutes each side (or until cooked to your liking).

Serve lamb chops with watermelon salad.

How festive does that look?  It is an absolutely beautiful meal to have on a hot summer's night!!

Dinner over, kids out playing in the backyard, and then the fireworks lit up the night sky!  Can you ask for anything better?

Pastitsio

I guess by now you have figured out that I am a food magazine junkie!!  Yes, I tend to buy most of them.  I justify it to myself that if I make at least one recipe from the magazine then it was worth buying it!!  I seem to be on a bit of a roll with this months Good Taste Magazine - this is the 3rd recipe I have made from it (well worth the investment I'd say!!)

The recipe I made last night was for Pastitsio.  Kind of the Greek relative of lasagne!!  Only not as time consuming to make!  This recipe was even better because they had replaced the bechamel sauce with greek yoghurt - so that makes it a little healthier!

Pastitsio


Serves 6 -8

1 tbs olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp allspice
1 kg lamb mince
1/2 cup red wine
670ml bottle tomato passata (tomato pasta sauce)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
2 dried bay leaves
300g dried macaroni pasta
1/4 cup chopped continental parsley
500g Greek style natural yoghurt
200g feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs, lightly whisked
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Cook the onion, stirring for 4 minutes or until golden.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until aromatic.  Add the allspice and stir to coat.  Increase the heat to high.  Add the mince and cook, stirring for 6-8 minutes, or until the mince has all changed colour.   Making sure to break up any lumps.  Add the wine and cook until the liquid reduced by half.  Add the passata, stock, cinnamon, oregano and bay leaves.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 50 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened.

Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the directions on the packet.  Drain well.

Add the cooked pasta and parsely  to the mince mixture.

Combine the yoghurt, feta, egg and nutmeg in a bowl.  Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Lightly grease a 3L (12 cup) capacity ovenproof dish.

Pour the mince mixture into the prepared pan.  Top with the yoghurt mixture.  Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.

Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly before serving - this makes it easier to serve!

So tell me Dear Readers do you have a regular purchase that you have to justify in some way to yourself?