ТОП просматриваемых книг сайта:
The Vicar’s Wife’s Cook Book. Elisa Beynon
Читать онлайн.Название The Vicar’s Wife’s Cook Book
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9780007494989
Автор произведения Elisa Beynon
Жанр Кулинария
Издательство HarperCollins
To serve, you could invert the pudding onto a plate if you want to look fancy, or serve it straight from the bowl or dish, cut into slices. Serve with cream (the pouring stuff, if John Beynon is a guest) and a little dusting of caster sugar, if you wish.
A spring lamb for friends
Some locals over today. It’s the end of May – my favourite month of the year – and time for some lovely lamb and a Sunday lunch without the merest whiff of roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy. Much as I adore all that, come a dash of sun, a roast lamb dinner for friends needs to have a relaxed, Mediterranean or Middle Eastern twist. That means lots of herbs, lots of bright colours, and bags of flavour.
In this recipe the lamb is marinated overnight so that it is infused with a herby, lemony freshness that’s set off by the warmth of cumin. The quinoa salad is a riot of colour, texture and taste, while the vegetables provide crunch and a salad, with its balsamic dressing, adds a touch of sweetness.
LEG OF LAMB WITH CUMIN, LEMON AND MINT
Leg of Lamb with Cumin, Lemon and Mint
The meat needs to be at room temperature before it goes in the oven. For a churchgoer like me, this means taking the beast out of the fridge before I leave. I either put it somewhere safe, away from the cat, and do all the cooking bit when I get home; or I set the timer on my oven to come on when I’m out. With this lamb, I put it in after church time.
To be honest, I find the timing a bit tricky. In my oven, meat only takes the time cookery books tell you it will take if you sear it before it goes in, otherwise I have to add extra time. (Incidentally, I am a great believer in the whole searing thing. I know it seems nonsensical to stick the roast on the hob and brown it just before it’s going to have a jolly old time in the oven, but it really does help it to get a fabulous crust and seal in the flavours.) However, what with the marinade and bits of mint sticking out everywhere, I chose not to do it on this occasion. It was all smelling pretty great and I was feeling quietly confident, smug even, as I took the lamb out of the oven at the end of its cooking time. I felt sure it would be perfection on legs – or on one, at least. However, as we cut it up, the middle of it was, quite frankly, raw. To avoid pure vampire-like blood consumption, those bits had to go back in the oven as seconds beckoned.
1 leg of lamb (mine was 1.15kg)
4 teaspoons cumin seeds, crushed
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3 tablespoons lemon oil
juice of ½ lemon
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
salt and pepper
On Saturday (or the day before, if you’re not serving this on a Sunday), stab your lamb all over with the point of a small sharp knife. Mix the cumin seeds, garlic, lemon oil, lemon juice and mint together and rub it into the lamb. Season well with salt and pepper and pop the lovely leg into a carrier bag or something similar, then seal it and put it in the fridge.
The next day, take the lamb out of its carrier bag and put it in a roasting tin. For classic timings for roasting lamb (remember that ovens do vary), put it in an oven set to 230°C/Gas Mark 8. After 20 minutes, turn the heat down to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. After the initial 20 minute heat blast, the meat should take 15 minutes per 500g. For rare meat cook for 12 minutes per 500g; 25 minutes per 500g for well done. When it comes out of the oven at the end of the cooking time, the meat needs to rest somewhere warm, covered with foil, for 10–20 minutes.
Serve the lamb cut into slices and with the houmous dressing, the quinoa, roasted fennel and leeks on the side. Tell your guests to smear the houmous dressing over their meat at will. Add a sunny day, some lovely people and, in our case, a roof terrace, and you can’t really beat it.
5 big tablespoons houmous, preferably homemade (see here)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
black pepper
2 small handfuls of pine nuts
For the houmous dressing, mix the houmous with the oil, more lemon if you want a bit more zing, and a bit more black pepper. Pour into a flattish bowl. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan and don’t take your eyes off them – you know it’s true: look away for one second and they’ll burn. Scatter them over the dressing and let people help themselves.
I know, I know, it’s fennel and leeks together again; it’s just that I don’t think either of them get used enough and I am on a campaign to get them noticed!
4 leeks, thoroughly cleaned
1 bulb of fennel
3 tablespoons olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
salt and pepper
The leeks need to