Easy lamb vindaloo curry

I don't remember what inspired me to try making a lamb vindaloo curry since it's not a curry I automatically gravitate too. I've been burned too many times by a vindaloo that's too hot. This one is spicy but it's not terribly so and combined with a good dollop of yogurt it really cuts down on the heat. Turned out very tasty.

Braised lamb shank with sweet peppers and feta on a bed of sweet potato mash ... in the Thermomix

Since we've moved to wine country, we have some lovely neighbours. Not new neighbours, since we've known Gay and Warren for 10+ years from when my parents owned the house we're in now, till when we bought the house but never lived in it cos we had it rented out and now.

It has become a bit of a thing where we have Gay and Warren over to dinner (and you know how much I love cooking for company) perhaps once every 3 or 4 weeks. Since we've been up here for 5 months, I think they've been over to dinner as many times. I love the challenge of coming up with something new each time and hopefully not repeat myself too much.

This time when Gay and Warren came over for dinner, I decided on something slow cooked. Slow cooked because the meat was going to be very melt in your mouth tender and because I thought it would be better for Gay's 95 year old dad who was coming over to dinner too - you know, on account of he may not be able to chew something tough!

I picked out two recipes to try and decided to go with the lamb shanks as I had not cooked lamb in a while. The recipe came from The New Slow Cooker by Brigit Binns.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 - 6 lamb shanks, about 1lb (500g) each, trimmed of fat
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons continental parsley, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup crumbled feta

Instructions:

• Season the lamb shanks generously all over with salt and pepper. In a large pan over medium high heat, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When oil is hot, working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, add the shanks and sear, turning as needed, until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to plate.
• Pour off most of the fat from the pan and return it to medium high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, oregano and cumin, saute until vegetables are golden, 6 - 8 minutes. Pour in stock and wine and stir to dislodge any browned bits on the pan bottom. Transfer the contents of the pan to a slow cooker and stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Place the lamb shanks on top. Cover and cook on low setting for 7 hours, basting once or twice with the braising liquid if possible. The meat should be very tender.
• Carefully transfer the shanks to a platter. Cover to keep warm. Strain the braising liquid into a small saucepan, let stand for a few minutes, then skim away the fat with a large spoon. Bring to boil over high heat and boil until reduced by about half, about 5 minutes.
• In a frying pan, over medium high heat, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the bell peppers and saute until just beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat, stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.
• Divide the lamb shanks among warm individual plates and drizzle with the reduced braising liquid. Top each shank with a spoonful of the sauteed peppers. Sprinkle the feta over the top and serve immediately.

The recipe worked a complete treat.

One of the things that I have learned over the years of slow cooking is that the recipes never tell you to put in enough liquid. This one was no different. It asked for only a total of 3/4 cup of liquid. If something is going into the oven and cooking for 7 hours (the way I slow cook, with a dutch oven casserole pot in the oven at 120°C) the liquid is going to evaporate. I'd even hazard a guess and say that if you were using a crock pot, you'd still get a fair amount of evaporation after that long. I ended up adding 1 cup of white wine and 3 cups of beef stock into the pot. By the time we were done, the liquid had mostly evaporated but there was still enough left for sauce.

For the sweet potato mash, I used this recipe for mashed potatoes in the Thermomix, but substituted regular potatoes with sweet potatoes. It turned out beautifully.

If you want a non-Thermomix way to make mashed potatoes, here is a recipe that also makes absolutely delicious mash. Again, just substitute regular potatoes for sweet potatoes.

To serve, I spooned a serve of sweet potato mash onto the centre of my dinner plate, then placed the lamb shank on top of the mash. Then I placed some of the sweet peppers onto top of and around the lamb shank. After that, I scooped a spoon of the gravy along with the cooked down bits of carrot, celery and onion (I didn't strain it as the recipe said and it didn't need reducing since it had already reduced by about 75% over the 7 hour cooking process) on top of the lamb shank. To finish, I crumbled some feta cheese around the lamb shank.

As a side, I served some steamed broccolini with the dish so that we would have some greens to go with the meal.

This dish was full of flavor and the lamb shanks were incredibly tender. There was flavor bursting in our mouths with every bite.

If you do make this, be sure to post pictures for me to see either on Instagram - be sure to tag me with @langshipley or on my Daz In The Kitchen Facebook page.


© This work is copyrighted to Invest-Ex and Destiny's Fortunes Pty Ltd

Find me around SOCIAL MEDIA:
Cooking blog: http://dazinthekitchen.blogspot.com.au/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dazinthekitchen
Twitter: @langshipley https://twitter.com/langshipley
Instagram: @langshipley http://instagram.com/langshipley
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/langshipley/
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/langshipley
Makeup and beauty blog: http://langshipley-deannasworld.blogspot.com.au/

Shepherd's pie for dinner tonight

This is not a terribly exciting post but certainly a delicious one if you follow the recipe. It's one of the dishes that The Boy enjoys a great deal and something that I've decided to cook on a Sunday night so that we have some leftovers for the week ahead. Working full time has meant that I do not cook as often during the week and it leads to more simple meals and leftovers. That said, The Boy really likes leftover Shepherd's Pie. He says the flavors work in a lot better and it tastes much better a few days later.

Here's my recipe for Shepherd's Pie. I've done it before and I've already blogged about it.

I hope you guys have had a wonderful weekend and have a great week ahead.

ps. I'm trying to get into a regular routine of posting at least once a week, twice if I have anything interesting to share. I hope I am able to keep it up. Do forgive me if I don't.

pps. Sorry about the slightly fuzzy photo. My hand seemed to have been shaking while I was taking the picture and it's the only one I have of tonight's ingredients.


© This work is copyrighted to Invest-Ex and Destiny's Fortunes Pty Ltd

Shepherd's pie

I am going to attempt to get back into a regular posting schedule, so here goes ...

I love shepherd's pie. It's such a hearty, down home, comfort food, meal. Not terribly trendy these days but when I asked the boys what they wanted for dinner, shepherd's pie came up. I guess, boys being boys, just like boy food.

I started working on the shepherd's pie early today 'cos I wanted to have it done and ready to go in the oven along with the crustless quiche that's going to be the main for tonight.

(Just so you're aware, I don't always post what I write on the day that I write them. Some of these don't get posted till weeks later, 'cos I'm trying to stay ahead with all my material and writing while it's fresh. Plus I also don't want to inundate the blog with too many posts at a time.) ;-)

Anyhow, the first time I made the shepherd's pie it took what felt like forever, subsequent times do not feel any shorter because of the time it takes for all the liquid that is added to simmer down to a lovely, thick, gooey mess, that holds everything together. Just remember, wet and gooey = good. The recipe says 30 minutes, it took me closer to an hour, possibly a little more time to get the lamb mixture down to the gooey consistency I wanted.

Here's my RECIPE for the shepherd's pie that I make. I don't recall exactly where I got it from, but it's from one of the many cookbooks that I own.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 brown onion, halved, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
• 2 celery sticks, trimmed, finely chopped
• 500g lamb mince
• 2 tbs plain flour
• 500ml (2 cups) beef stock
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbs tomato paste
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (about 200g each) desiree potatoes, peeled, chopped
• 40g butter
• 125ml (1/2 cup) milk
• Melted butter, to brush

Instructions:

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add lamb mince and cook, stirring to break up any lumps, for 5 minutes or until lamb changes colour.
• Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until combined. Add stock, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until sauce thickens. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile: cook potato in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Return to the pan with the butter. Use a potato masher or fork to mash until smooth. Add milk and use a wooden spoon to stir until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 200°C. Spoon lamb mixture into a 2L (8-cup) capacity ovenproof baking dish. Top with mashed potato and use a fork to spread over lamb mixture. Brush with butter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until mashed potato is golden brown. Serve immediately

Note: you can use my RECIPE for restaurant mashed potatoes to make the mash instead of doing what the recipe above says, which is what I do, just 'cos the mash turns out a lot yummier.

I usually cook for more than 4 people, so I tend to double the recipe that I'm making. That still fills out an average sized baking dish, though this time, I made too much mash and I had about a spoonful leftover even after I heaped a whole load of mash on top and in the middle.

I also like to be generous with my herbs so I throw in 3 or 4 bay leaves instead of the 1 that the recipe calls for. I have no idea what bay leaves taste like or what flavor they add, but a lot of recipes call for them and I know that if I did not add them, I would notice their lack. :-)

With the salt and pepper, be a bit more generous. I say this because you're topping with mash, and the mash will mellow out the flavor. If you don't have a bit more seasoning in your pie filling, it might taste a bit flat. I also use freshly ground pepper here instead of just standard ground pepper because the flavor is stronger and it doesn't matter if there are black pepper bits in the lamb mixture since there's so much other stuff in it. I also use a blend of chili flakes and assorted peppers instead of just plain pepper because I like that extra kick.

For the mash, I add a little Parmesan cheese into it while I'm whisking and making it up (no herbs in the milk - if you're using the restaurant mashed potatoes recipe you'll know what I mean) just to give it some texture. The mash will turn out to be of a thicker consistency than the silky smooth mash in the recipe 'cos you want it to have structure as a topping for the pie. I also top the mash with grated Parmesan cheese instead of butter. There's enough butter in the mash itself, I don't need to add more.

Since this dish is such a tasty and rich dish on it's own, I don't suggest a fancy side. A simple lettuce, rocket or some sort of green leafy salad dressed with a vinaigrette would be lovely. For a RECIPE of a simple but lovely vinaigrette, go here.

What's the food that you automatically turn to for your comfort food? Was it something your mom or grandma used to make for you when you were a kid? Do you make it for yourself whenever you feel you need a little treat?


© This work is copyrighted to Invest-Ex and Destiny’s Fortunes Pty Ltd

Lamb cutlets and salad ... a very simple dinner

I can't believe that it's Wednesday again! I'm working on a schedule of posting Sunday / Monday, Wednesday, Friday - which gives me 3 posts and week and I have to admit, it feels very frequent. Not only have I just posted and I turn around, it's time to post again. :-) Where does all the time go?

I recently did one of those simple dinners that did not require much thought or effort at all.

I looked around in the freezer and found a lovely four-pack of some lamb cutlets that were already marinated in a rosemary sauce. I took it out of the freezer (but I had to dig to the bottom of the shelf for it - that's where the effort came from!! LOL) and defrosted it early on in the afternoon.

The meal for the night? Pan fried lamb cutlets and side salad.

When it came time to eat, I heated up a saucepan and tossed in some olive oil. Put the lamb into the pan and let it cook. I also sprinkled some salt and pepper onto the lamb for some added seasoning, because I just roll like that.

While the lamb was cooking (I did turn it over a few times so it didn't burn) I pulled out a four lettuce salad leaf mix that I got from the grocery store and tossed it with some light Caesar dressing. That's all I did with the green stuff. Added some flavor but kept it simple.

After the salad was done, I stuck a meat thermometer into the cooking lamb cutlets and watched it until it got to about 68 degrees C and took the lamb off the heat.

Then, it was on the plate with some of the salad and mint sauce on the side, and it was ready to eat.

As simple as this meal was, I learned a few things that might have made it a little better.

• I should have used a square grill pan so that the juices (and fat) did not collect at the bottom of the pan and the meat did not sit in it. Plus, you get those lovely charred lines across the meat that look wonderful. Cooking it this way though, I can only turn the meat once because I do not want to end up with funky criss-crossed lines across the meat.
• I should have taken the meat off the heat at about 62 degrees C and let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving it. Yes, even for such a small piece of meat as the lamb cutlet. It was a little stringy when I cut into it, from the meat still being too tight from cooking.

We accompanied the meal with a 1995 Yarra Yerring Dry Red Number 1, which was a superb wine. It went beautifully with the lamb.

What do you do when you want a simple meal that you cook up at home in a hurry? Do you cook or do you order take out? What's your favorite quick cook meal? Do share. 



© This work is copyrighted to Invest-Ex and Destiny’s Fortunes Pty Ltd