Slow Cooked Lamb

I often think that I'm very lucky to have grown up on a sheep farm, as I have a reliable supply of delicious organic lamb to create tasty delights with on a regular basis. I received a delivery of half a lamb a few weeks ago to replenish my supply. All of a sudden the drawers of the freezer were happily jammed and stuffed with shoulder, leg, neck, a heart and countless chops. I wasn't likely to go hungry any time soon! If I was forced to choose I would probably have to pick lamb as my favourite meat, which may seem surprising given that throughout my childhood I was nurtured and brought up on it! Far from being sick of it though, I think I have a greater appreciation of good quality meat from well raised animals.    

The county of Northumberland (that's my home!) produces more lamb than any in Britain, and some of the most delicious lamb and mutton in the world is from there. I hate to see lamb from New Zealand on the supermarket shelves when we have much better tasting stuff right here on our doorstep! The tastiest I've ever had was from the farm back home, and I reckon this meat is the best to be found anywhere.

This is from Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets, another reliable recipe which his mother, the legendary "Maman Blanc" would have made. Rustic home cooking. It's lamb shoulder from my farm, slow-roasted to achieve a gorgeous melting texture, and with some bones and neck chops in the bottom of the pan along with wine and herbs creating an extremely flavoursome liquid to make the sauce with. For this I reduced the liquid slightly, thickened with some buerre manie and stirred in some finely chopped mint and a splash of white wine vinegar. Lamb and mint, another classic flavour combination. I served the lamb with some leek and carrot, finely sliced to mirror the flakiness of the meat, and some roasted new potatoes.

Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb Recipe (Serves 4-6)

      Heat the oven to 230C. Take 1.5kg of lamb shoulder out of the fridge at least 1 hour before cooking to bring it up to room temperature. Score the lamb shoulder and rub some sea salt, black pepper and finely chopped herbs (thyme and rosemary work well) mixed with some olive oil into the flesh. Leave to marinate. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a roasting tray and fry 3-4 lamb neck chops (or about 700g of lamb bones and trimmings) until light golden on each side, add one bulb of garlic cut in half, brown for a few minutes then remove from heat. Place the shoulder on top of the bones and roast in the oven for 20mins. Meanwhile bring 100ml of dry white wine to the boil in a small pan along with 1 bay leaf and 3 sprigs of thyme. Add 400ml of water. Take the lamb out of the oven and add the wine mixture, scraping off any tasty sediment from the bottom of the tray. Baste the meat for a minute. Now turn the oven down to 150C, cover the meat loosely with foil and return to the oven. Roast for about 4 hours, basting every 30 minutes. The meat should be extremely tender and falling off the bone. 
      Use the cooking liquid to make the sauce; reduce by one third, thicken slightly with beurre manie, add a splash of white wine vinegar and some finely chopped mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Apples

I have an obsession with apples; I will on a daily basis fill my pockets with them so that I have a handy snack to enjoy when I am out and about. I love that amazing balance of sweet and sour that an apple provides. Of course it differs from apple to apple, and there are so many types! It would be a dream to eat all of the different varieties in the world, which is quite a task as there are over 7000! Braeburn was my favourite for a long time, I adored the tart crunchiness that made my mouth zing. I am also appreciative of the worthy Granny Smith although I use them more often for cooking than eating; a good choice to make pie with (although inferior in this respect to the glorious Bramley). At home we have a Discovery  apple tree; pinkish red with streaks in the flesh, they are tart and fantastic. Recently I am more inclined towards sweeter apples such as Royal Gala, or sometimes Jazz which I discovered a few weeks ago. I looked up Jazz and it turns out it was cultivated for the first time in 2007 by crossing a Braeburn with a Royal Gala. Magic! Indeed most of the varieties of apples that exist are simply cross-breeds of two different existing ones.

I am planning an apple party, there will be a fantastic spectrum of tasty  apple treats. Apple pie (of course), toffee apples and baked apples, apple jelly....and it will all be accompanied by plenty of cider (a drink which I am particularly fond of). I will have a think and maybe invent some apple cocktails. Apple sorbet is my next adventure; I got given Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets for Christmas and he has a recipe for raspberry sorbet. It looks delicious, and he suggests trying the recipe with other fruits... i.e. apples! So I thought I'd give it a try. It is possible to make sorbet without an ice-cream churner, and although the resulting texture won't be quite as smooth it is still pretty good.

Apple Sorbet (makes about 600ml)
      Core and roughly chop 6 granny smith apples, placing each one into a bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice in the bottom, giving a good stir to ensure the apple doesn't go brown. Add to the bowl 200g caster sugar and mix well. Blitz in a blender until smooth and a light green colour is achieved. Don't blend for too long as the apple will start to oxidise and turn brown. Quickly pass the mixture through a fine sieve and place in the freezer. Beat the mixture with a whisk every 2 hours to stop large ice crystals forming. When fully frozen, take out of the freezer to soften, then put back in the blender to blitz smooth again. Place back in the freezer to harden slightly, then serve! Excellent with apple pie.

Pork Belly

      Pork belly is a favourite of mine; if I had to choose a favourite cut of meat from any animal then this would be a strong contender! I bought a whole belly the other day, used half of it to make some dry-cured bacon and planned to cook the rest of it, slowly braised to create that unctuous melting texture that only pork belly can give. Indeed as pork belly is a tough part of the animal, it must be slowly cooked like this in order to tenderise it. Unlike many other braising meats (beef shin, for example), pork belly tends not to dry out when being cooked as it contains a lot of fat. And as far as I'm concerned, lots of fat means lots of flavour!

      I have done pork with ale before, in my pig's cheeks recipe, and this dish is quite similar, but worth trying as pork belly has quite a different flavour from cheek. I cooked the belly in ale and water, with the ribs included so that the cooking liquid turns into a pork stock, ready to reduce down and thicken to make the gravy. The crunchy crackling skin is a highlight here, something unobtainable from a cheek! To contrast the texture of the crackling I garnished it with humble yet excellent mashed potato. Seasonal vegetable choice today was brussel sprouts, which I adore, and they add a nice contrast in colour on the plate.

Slow Cooked Pork Belly with Ale Gravy Recipe (Serves about 8)

      Firstly take 500ml of strong dark ale and boil for 5 minutes to remove the alcohol. Cut off the ribs from a 2kg piece of pork belly and separate into individual ribs. Now to cook the pork belly; line a suitably sized roasting tray with greaseproof paper and put the pork belly in skin side down. Place the ribs around the edge of the belly. Pour the ale, plus 200ml of chicken stock around the pork and top up with  water until all of the meat is just covered. Wrap the roasting tray tightly with 2 layers of tin foil and place in the oven at 140C for about 5 hours, or until the pork is soft and tender (the handle of a spoon should pass through the meat without resistance). Once the pork is ready, put another layer of greaseproof paper on top, followed by a flat tray and press with a heavy weight (about 3kg). Leave to cool slightly, then refrigerate overnight.

      Carefully remove the belly from the tray and portion into squares. Score the skin in a criss cross pattern, being careful not to cut the whole thickness of skin. Store in the fridge whilst making the sauce. Take all of the braising liquid (which has probably turned to jelly) and place in a pot. Gently heat, and remove the bones. Dice 1/2 a carrot, 1 small onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 3 very ripe tomatoes 1/2 stick of celery and 1/2 bulb of fennel and add to the sauce along with another 150ml of strong dark ale. Simmer gently for 1 hour, then strain through a fine sieve. Reduce by half, then thicken with a little beurre manie. Season to taste with sea salt.

      To crisp the skin of the pork belly you will need a non-stick oven-proof pan. Pre-heat the oven to 230C. Put 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the pan and place the portioned pork belly in skin side down (you may have to do this in batches) then simply put in the oven until the skin is golden and crisp. Sprinkle the skin lightly with sea salt.

Wild Teal

As you may know from my kitchen adventures with rabbit, I am lucky enough to be provided occasionally with some game from the farm at home, and when my parents came to visit last week they brought three wild teal that had been shot from over the game pond. A teal is a small duck, barely larger than a pigeon - I had never tasted this meat before but I expected it to be similar in flavour to normal duck yet richer due to its natural wild diet and lifestyle.

But what was I to do with these tasty birds? Rich meat flavours are known to be well complimented by sweet fruit, often with an acidity which cuts through the savouriness. Take pork and apple sauce, or beef and redcurrant jelly; two classic examples. A traditional partner to duck is orange, as in the classic French dish duck a l'orange. Traditional dishes like this are considered classic for a reason; because they taste great! Although they may be seen by some as old fashioned when served in restaurants today, I think there is merit in exploring tried-and-tested flavour combinations.

At work we do a "toffee apple" sauce by making a dry caramel then adding apple juice and some reduced veal jus to get an amazing savory-and-sweet toffee apple flavour. I wanted to try the same thing but with orange juice, and make a stock from the teal to add to the sauce instead of veal jus. For this dish I used almost all of the bird; the breasts were removed and set aside while I used the carcass, legs, heart and neck to make a delicious stock. It is a satisfying feeling to know that you're using all of the animal and that nothing is being wasted. This is as it should be (I did a similar thing with my lapin a la moutard recipe, another classic dish). I served the teal with finely shredded savoy cabbage and fondant potato. The fondant is easy; simply cut a flat cylinder out of a large potato (Maris Piper is ideal) using a round cutter. Brown the top and bottom in a hot pan with oil. Now poach the fondant in clarified butter in the oven at about 150C until just cooked through. Remove and drain on kitchen towel. You may refrigerate these until needed and reheat in the oven to serve.

Breast of Teal with Caramel Orange Sauce and Fondant Potato Recipe (Serves 3)

Take 3 wild teal and remove their feathers and intestines if not already done. Reserve the neck and heart. Remove the legs and wings from the body then carefully cut off the breasts, being careful not to leave any meat on the carcass. Store the breasts in the fridge until later. To make the stock; place the carcass, legs, wings, hearts, and necks in a roasting tray, lightly coat with oil and place in an oven about 200C until lightly browned. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium sized saucepan and add 1/2 an onion, 1 carrot, 1/2 stick of celery, 1/2 small leek and 1 clove of garlic. Fry until slightly browned, then add the bones. Add one glassful of red wine and top up with cold water until just covered, then slowly bring to a simmer. Cook very gently for about 10 hours, topping up with more water when necessary. Strain the stock and discard the vegetables and bones. Now boil vigorously to reduce the stock down to 150ml.

To make the caramel orange sauce; place 150g of caster sugar in a pan over a medium heat until just caramelized. Immediately add 150ml of freshly squeezed orange juice, which will make the caramel seize up and solidify. Leave on the heat until the caramel has melted and the mixture has combined, then add the reduced stock. Boil to reduce until the desired consistency is achieved, then season to taste with salt.


To serve; cook the teal breasts by placing them skin side down in a cold pan with a small amount of oil, place on a medium heat and cook for a few minutes on one side, then briefly on the other side until the meat is hot but still rare in the centre. Take off the heat and remove skin from breast, slice each in half lengthways and arrange on top of the cabbage and fondant potato (as pictured!) drizzle the orange sauce around and enjoy.

Rabbit Parfait

      Until recently I hated eating liver. One of our regular meals at home was a bacon and tomato pasta sauce which was finished with sautéed chicken livers. I would always baulk at the livers and have just the pasta sauce instead. The flavour has grown on me recently though and I actually love it now. Strange though I have always loved paté. Mum always made it at Christmas time, which we'd have on toast with chutney and salad for lunch; delicious! She made it by frying the liver with bacon, adding some herbs, a splash of sherry and some cream then puréeing and leaving to set in a bowl. It was a favourite and always got finished quickly. When I was working at Blackmore's I got introduced to chicken liver parfait. It's a luxurious version of pate that is enriched with eggs and butter. All the ingredients are blitzed together raw, poured into a mould and cooked very gently so that the finished article is still beautifully pink. It's really fantastic, and easily the best way to treat livers in my opinion.

      You may have heard me talk before of a farmer's dislike of rabbits. With the help of a rifle my brother acquired 18 wild rabbits from the farm at home, brought them up to Edinburgh and put them into his freezer. I went over to his house today and got a couple to make something tasty with. I also picked up all of the livers from the rabbits which he had set aside. Rabbit liver parfait! Rabbit liver has a similar consistency to chicken liver but tastes miles better. It would be perfect to make parfait with. I couldn't find any recipes for rabbit parfait so I have used Raymond Blanc's recipe for chicken liver parfait and adapted it slightly. I cooked it in a water bath in a cool oven to ensure that the heat transfer is gentle and we end up with a lovely pink colour. To execute this recipe properly, you will need a temperature probe, otherwise determining when the parfait is done is pretty much guess work.
      Because liver parfait is so rich, it needs to be garnished appropriately. Pickle or chutney is great as it has an acidic kick of vinegar which cuts through the meaty savouriness. Add some salad leaves for freshness and you have an excellent dish. Served on toast, or with delicate melba toast as I did, and you have a luxurious and delicious platter for your lunch.

Rabbit Parfait Recipe
      Take 400g of rabbit livers and trim them of all sinew. Rinse several times with water, then soak in milk for 1 hour. This draws out the blood which would cause the parfait to be bitter. Meanwhile, place in a pan 100ml port, 100ml madeira, 70g shallots, 2 sprigs of thyme, 1 clove of garlic and 60ml of brandy. Bring to the boil then reduce to a syrup. Set aside and leave to cool to room temperature. Carefully heat 400g of butter so that it is melted but at room temperature. Blend the livers until smooth with 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks. With the blender still running, gradually add the butter. Once everything is combined, season to taste with salt and black pepper, then pass the mixture through a fine sieve. Pour into a terrine mould or loaf tin lined with cling film, with enough cling film spare to wrap over the top. Alternatively you could pour it into small ramekins
      Pre-heat the oven to 120C. Get a roasting tin and place a folded tea towel in the bottom, this will help stop the terrine mould from sliding when placing into the oven. Put the terrine mould in and pour boiling water around to reach two-thirds of the way up, then place into the oven until the centre reaches 55-60C. It should take around 30 minutes but keep checking and measuring the temperature often with the probe.
      Remove from the oven and place straight into the fridge to cool. Leave for several hours, preferably a whole day. To serve, cut thick slices and trim of any discoloured bits from around the edge. The parfait should be uniformly pink.

Lapin à la Moutard

      The only way I've cooked rabbit until now was to cut it up into pieces and make a rustic stew with cider and bacon, with the meat still on the bone. It's an excellent way to treat the meat and, as a rabbit dish, is hard to beat. I wanted to try something different this time though, and I read about lapin à la moutard, or rabbit with mustard. It's a classic French dish which would usually be prepared in a similar way to my rabbit stew, in quite an unfussy rustic fashion. To make things more interesting I thought I'd try something different, a little more complicated and fun to prepare. 

      The problem with cooking rabbit in large jointed chunks is that the tender loins which lie either side of the spine require brief cooking to ensure that the meat is still moist. Like chicken breast, if the loins are overcooked they will be very dry and quite unpleasant to eat. The legs on the other hand, consist of more well-used muscle which is more flavoursome and considerably tougher (especially if the rabbit is wild). These requires longer, slow cooking to obtain the best flavour and texture. So, I will remove the legs and the loins from the rabbit and cook them separately.

      This recipe makes good use of the rabbit, so nothing is wasted, although the liver, heart and kidneys are set aside for use elsewhere. The loins I separated from the main body and gave a mustard crust before sautéing, the carcass was used to make a delicious stock which was then used to slowly braise the legs and then to make some mustard sauce. 

      You may know already of my love of brining. I decided to make a mustard flavoured brine to enhance the flavour of my rabbit legs and to make them extra juicy and tender when cooked. I took Brian Polcyn's all purpose brine recipe from Charcuterie and added some extra flavourings. I then made a ballotine out of the leg meat. Traditionally a ballotine is a whole piece of meat that has been boned, stuffed with extra flavourings added to the meat and rolled into a uniform cylinder. My ballotine was a variation on the traditional version, using the already cooked leg meat, mixing it with some parsley, garlic and dijon mustard and then rolling it in cling film. Since the rabbit meat is quite lean, I added some duck fat to the mixture to help it stay moist.

Lapin à la Moutarde (Serves 4)

      Preheat the oven to 250C. Take 2 rabbits (skin and guts removed), each weighing about 1.25kg; remove the legs and set aside. Carefully cut out the loins from either side of the spine, cut off the membrane and trim of any sinew. 

      

      To make the stock: place the rabbit carcasses in a roasting tray, coat them with oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until lightly browned. Meanwhile, heat a splash of oil in a saucepan and lightly brown 1/2 a leek, 1 carrot and a clove of garlic. When the rabbit carcasses are done, add to the pot and crush them to make a snug fit. Place the roasting tray over the cooker and de-glaze with a splash of white wine. Add this to the pot along with enough cold water to completely cover. Slowly bring to the boil, then reduce to a barely trembling simmer and cook like this for 4 hours, frequently skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. When it is done, strain the stock through a fine sieve and set aside.

      

      To make the brine: place the rabbit legs into a container and pour over enough water to just cover them. Measure this water, then discard and pour the same amount of fresh water into a saucepan with 6% of the water's weight in salt (40g of salt per 1 litre of water), half that amount of sugar (20g sugar per litre of water), 3 bay leaves, 1 clove of garlic, 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard and a few black peppercorns. Dissolve over a low heat then refrigerate until completely chilled. 

      Once the brine is cold, add the rabbit legs, and leave in the fridge for 2 hours, ensuring that the meat is completely covered. After 2 hours, remove the front legs, rinse, dry them and refrigerate. Leave the hind legs in the brine for another 2 hours as they are larger and require longer for the salt to penetrate through the meat.

      Place the brined legs in a casserole dish or roasting tray and cover with the stock. Cover with foil and place in the oven heated to 150C for 2 hours, until the meat is just tender and flakes off the bone easily. Take out 120ml of  the stock and reduce by half in a separate pan. While the meat is still warm, take the meat off, flaking it into medium sized pieces and place in a mixing bowl. Add a small handful of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, a finely chopped clove of garlic, 60g of melted duck fat and the reduced stock. Mix well, and season lightly with salt and cracked black pepper. Now clear the work surface, moisten with a wet cloth and lay down several sheets of cling film, ensuring there are no air pockets trapped. Place the rabbit meat along the length and fold the cling film over it, creating a cylinder. Roll it up so that the meat is tightly packed with no air pockets and tie securely at the ends. Place in the fridge to set for several hours. 

      Make the mustard sauce by reducing the stock by 1/3, and thicken by whisking in some beurre manié until the desired consistency is achieved. Add a few tablespoons of double cream, a large handful of chopped flat leaf parsley and 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard. When you are ready to eat, slice the ballotine into portions with the cling film still on (you should get 4 decent sized portions). Fry in oil over a medium heat, to nicely brown both ends. Place in the oven for 5 minutes at about 200C to heat through. Meanwhile, prepare the  loins; brush them with Dijon mustard and roll in breadcrumbs. Fry in the same pan until golden, then place in the oven until they are just firm to the touch. Serve with baby boiled potatoes, wilted spinach and plenty of the mustard sauce.

Tomato Concasse and Prawn Spaghetti

      I got the idea for this recipe when I was in India with Jack and Claire. We were in Goa and, growing tired of curry, were craving some western food for our dinner. We came upon an Italian restaurant on the edge of the beach, with plastic tables and chairs arranged under palm trees. Reputedly the pizzas and pasta were particularly good so we thought we'd give it a go. I went for 'tomato and prawn spaghetti' and it was absolutely delicious. It was a simple dish, using fresh tomatoes and little baby prawns. It had a really nice light sauce and was the perfect thing to eat on a hot evening, accompanied by a chilled bottle of beer!

      So this is my attempt at replicating that dish. It's basically a sauce made from tomato juice, white wine and garlic, then thickened and enriched with butter. The diced tomato flesh and prawns are then simply added to heat through, just before serving. I used frozen cooked baby prawns, but if you can find fresh ones then all the better. It's seasonal too; tomatoes are just about still good at this time of year, so make the most of it!

Tomato Concasse and Prawn Spaghetti Recipe (Serves 2)
      Get a pan of salted boiling water on the go; this will be for blanching the tomatoes and cooking the spaghetti. To peel the tomatoes: take 3 large ripe tomatoes, carefully cut out the stalk with the tip of a small knife and score a cross in the bottom. Get a large bowl of very cold water ready, drop the tomatoes in the boiling water for 15 seconds, then remove and place straight into the cold water. Once the water has come back to the boil, add a glug of olive oil, put in 200g of spaghetti and cook according to the packet instructions.
      Peel the tomatoes, discard the skin then quarter, de-seed (reserving the pulp and seeds) and cut the flesh into small dice. Set aside the dice (this is called tomato concasse). Take the pulp and seeds, blitz in a blender and pass through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Over a medium heat, add 1 crushed clove of garlic and a glassful of dry white wine to the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk in 30g of unsalted butter cut into small dice piece by piece, being sure to emulsify properly. Add the tomato concasse, 180g of small cooked prawns and a handful of chopped fresh basil leaves. Add the spaghetti and mix everything together, making sure the pasta is nicely coated with the sauce. Taste and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve and eat immediately!