Sunday, October 15, 2006

Eastern Lamb, Mexican Chicken and Pot Roast Beef

Life crazy as always! Following 3 not exactly ground-breaking but so, so tasty! (The beef in particular is good for the budget concious) In dishes like the chicken I tend to go easy with the chillis, but make sure there is a bottle of chilli sauce on the table for those adventurous souls!

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Eastern Lamb
0.5 kg diced lamb
pieces of lamb bone (the ones end of legs are good)
1 onion, stick celery, small carrot
4 mushrooms
2 mild chillis (I am a wimp so seeds and ribs removed!)
2 cloves garlic
teaspoon sumac
2 bay leaves
3 pieces dried tangerine peel
Slosh orange juice
Lamb stock cube dissolved in boiling water

Brown bones in heavy lidded caserole dish. Take out and brown meat. Take out and brown finely diced veg and garlic. Put meat back, add sumac and 2 teaspoons flour. Add bones, orange juice then stock to cover with bay leaves and peel. Cook in low oven for 2-3 hours (much better if cooked day before and then reheated) take marrow from bones and add back before reheating. Serve with cous-cous or rice.

Mexican Chicken
2 shredded chicken legs and thighs
1 onion, stick celery, small carrot
2 cloves garlic
2 chopped chillis (seeds and ribs removed to taste)
2 tins chopped tomatoes

Sweat veg, add tomatoes and cook down on a low light for about an hour. Add chicken and serve wrapped in tortillas.
Tip: Wrap the filling in tortillas, put them in overnproof dish and spinkle well with cheese. Brown in oven.

Pot-Roast brisket
Get a joint of brisket. This is a pretty cheap joint - one to do 8 is just under £4!!! Weight does not really matter - just make sure it is over a kilo.You need a heavy ovenproof pan/dish preferably with a lid (you can always make one out of foil if need be) I have a cast iron casserole dish that I have had for years. A really worthwhile investment as it deals with the cheapest cuts of meat.Melt some good beef dripping in the bottom. Add 2 roughly chopped large onions, 2 chopped sticks of celery, 2 chopped garlic cloves and 2 chopped carrots (optional). Coat in the oil then place the beef on top of veg, add a wineglass glass of red wine and a wineglass glass of water (wine not essential - you can use all water) Put lid on and cook slowly in oven at mark 3 for 3-4 hours. Check after 2 hours and if the liquid is going down too fast drop temp. to Mark 2. Take from oven and let the meat rest on a carving board for at least 30 mins (cover with foil) Just thicken the juices by reducing and you have a totally stunning sauce!! Cooked like this the meat is juicy and really, really tasty. What you will not be able to do is cut nice neat slices as it will fall apart.
Tip: To make it a bit more special, make a paste with some soy sauce, crushed garlic, ground ginger and maybe a bit of turmeric. Paint the beef with it and brown in the oil before adding the onions.


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