Anyway, before that happens thought I'd share my lamb dinner recipe from the weekend with you as I'm travelleing - it was so yummy and so perfect for when it was grey that it really cheered me up!
I tend to try not to eat out of season or from too far away but I have to confess I had a huge yen for a leg of lamb for Sunday lunch and, as it's NZ lamb and I don't find it the tastiest in comparison to British (oh god, what have I said?!), I really like to slow-cook this joint for a bit of difference every so often.
Now, I do confess to owning a ridiculously expensive & very large tagine which is perfect for this job, but a deep roasting dish and a lot foil will do the trick just as nicely I'm sure - and do make your dauphinoise from scratch, they are waaaay better than the shop bought variety and it really isn't difficult. just buy a cheap mandoline or even use the wide cutter on a four-sided cheese grater for the potatoes and you're 75% of the way there!
I chose the Satan Gold because it's got a really strong spicy note to it that didn't dissapate with the cooking, which I was really, really impressed with.
Devilishly Delicious Lamb & dauphinoise - serve with piles of steamed Swiss Chard good old-fashioned greens!
For lamb:
Leg of lamb
1 pint of stock or water
Onion
Bunch of rosemary
Bunch of thyme
2 bay leaves
Four large garlic cloves
Good whack of seasoning
Bottle of Satan Gold or other strong golden ale (Duvel would do it as well I guess)
- Season and brown off your lamb on the hob but in the tray you're going to put it in the oven in
- Deglaze pan with water/stock
- Roughly chop and throw in onion, lightly crush garlic cloves, throw in skin & all and join it with the herbs
- Pour the beer over the lamb, seal up tightly and put in a 220 oven for one hour and then turn down to 160 for three-four hours, depending on size of leg - it's done when the meat just pulls away at the slightest touch
- Leave to rest sealed up for at least an hour
450ml double cream
200ml milk
4 garlic cloves
1.5 kilo floury potatoes like Maris Piper/King Edward
Seasoning
- Finely chop your garlic cloves
- Put the milk & cream in a pan, season well and add the garlic
- Bring to boil and immediately turn off heat and leave to stand for 20 minutes
- Mandoline or very finely slice potatoes and put in a dish wide enough that they are only two-three layers deep
- Once creamy mix has steeped, pour all over, turning the potatoes over so the garlic gets everywhere and then put in the oven once your lamb has been taken out to rest
- Will take between 45-1 hour to cook, keep an eye on it, when it's brown on top & crispy around the edges (not burnt though) it's going to be luscious!