I was quite priveledged recently to have been sent a lovely food package recently from the Welsh Assembly Government, containing some beautiful Welsh Lamb Steaks and a selection of other fine ingredients, along with the invitation to create a Welsh Lamb recipe for The English Kitchen.



Welsh Lamb is currently in season at the moment, on into December, making this the perfect time to prepare and enjoy it. Living in Chester as we do, we are right on the border to Wales, and we are lucky enough to know first hand just how very flavourful and delicious their lamb really is.



It just makes sense to buy locally produced meat when it is in season. It may cost a bit more, but the flavours just can't be beaten . . . let's face it, there is just no comparison between lamb which has been grown and farmed right on our doorstep, and lamb that has been flown halfway around the world. Right on the doorstep wins with me, every time!



I decided to create a mildly spiced marinade for the steaks and a warm couscous salad to serve alongside. Welsh lamb has a lovely robust flavour, without it being too intense. After marinating them for about 30 minutes, the steaks turned out very tender when cooked and succulent.




The flavours of the salad went very well with the lamb steaks . . . with fruity bits of dried apricot and dates, crunchy cashew nuts, spring onion, salty green olives, a little bit of heat from some Harissa Paste and a mild minty tang from my secret ingredient . . . Mint Sauce. This was so good, I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day and enjoyed it all over again.



You can find out a host more of information about Welsh Lamb HERE. Do pop on over and take a good gander at the site. There's lots of interesting things to peruse and a host of lovely recipes to try out.

Welsh Lamb, it's more than just about meat. It's the backbone of small rural communities which keep traditions and the Welsh language alive. It's a good thing, a very, very good thing.



*Spiced Lamb Steaks with a Warm Moroccan Couscous Salad*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

Mildly spiced Lamb Steaks grilled and served on top of a warm couscous salad with subtle Moroccan flavours! Delicious!!

For the lamb:
2 leg lamb steaks
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
a splash of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the Coucous Salad:
150g of couscous
a handful of dried apricots, chopped
a dessertspoon of chopped dried dates
a knob of butter
1 to 2 tsp harissa paste (depending on how much heat you want)
250ml of hot chicken or vegetable stock
a handful of pitted green olives, chopped
a small handful of salted cashew nuts
small handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp of good quality mint sauce
1/2 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1/2 of a small preserved lemon, flesh discarded and skin finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
the juice of half a lemon
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Season the lamb steaks all over with salt and black pepper. Mix the cumin, coriander, and cinnamon together with a splash of olive oil. Rub this mixture into the lamb steaks and then set aside to marinate while you make the couscous.

Place the dried coucous into a bowl along with the dried fruits. Stir the knob of butter into the hot chicken stock along with the harissa paste. Pour this over the couscous and fruits, stir well, Cover and set aside for five minutes until it has absorbed all of the liquid.

While the coucous is soaking, heat a grill pan over moderate heat. Once the pan is heated add the lamb steaks. Cook the steaks until tender and nicely browned, about 5 to 6 minutes, turning them once. Remove from the heat and set aside to rest.

Fluff up the soaked couscous with a fork and stir in the olives, nuts, parsley, mint sauce, spring onions, and preserved lemon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pile into a serving bowl. Pile into a serving bowl and top with the warm lamb steaks. Serve immediately.

  

Lamb was not something I really ate a lot of before I moved over here. I guess it was just not something that was readily available where I lived over in Canada, or maybe it was because it was not something that my mother ever really cooked when I was growing up.

She did try to cook some lamb chops one time, but they smelled like she was burning a pair of wool mittens when they were cooking, and none of us would touch them. That was my sum whole total experience of lamb.



After Todd and I got married our church Ward took us out for a meal about a week later to celebrate. One of the things on the menu at the restaurant was Roasted Lamb Loin with a Cumberland sauce. It sounded really good and I thought . . . . why not be brave and go for it.
I fell in love. Totally in love. The meat was sweet and tender and incredibly tasty.

Since then I have taken every opportunity to cook lamb when I can. I once did a slow roasted shoulder in the oven, using lemon and oregano and it was succulently delicious with some boiled potatoes. That reminds me . . . I need to do that again soon!



We had a delicious lamb curry one night for our tea last week and it was gorgeously tasty. Not too spicy . . . I don't like it when the spice in a dish masks the true flavours of what you are eating. The rich flavour of the lamb shone through in this, with just a hint of curry.

It was incredibly moreish served up with a Coriander Rice. I had thought there would be leftovers the next day for lunch . . . but it was gone right away. Totally gone. In fact . . . we licked the platter clean.




*A Mild Lamb Curry*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

A delicious gentle curry, creamy and mild. Serve with some tasty lime coriander rice.

2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
The seeds from 8 cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
3 TBS mild flavoured oil
4 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 KG of lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into ½ inch squares
2 tsp ground turmeric
4 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 TBS minced fresh ginger root
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
450ml of coconut milk
150ml of chicken stock
The juice of one lime

For the rice:
500g basmati rice
1 ounce butter
A large handful of fresh coriander, chopped
The grated zest of one lime
The juice of one lime
Salt and black pepper to taste

To make the curry, toast the seeds and whole cloves in a dry skillet until fragrant. Tip into a pestle and mortar and grind until fairly fine. Pour two TBS of the oil into a heavy based saucepan over high heat. Once hot, add the onions and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes. Scoop out to a bowl and set aside. Add the remaining oil and add the lamb, in batched, browning one batch on all sides before removing to the bowl with the onions and browning the rest. Don’t overcrowd the pan or your meat will not brown properly and will stew instead of sear.

Tip the onions and meat back into the pan along with the ground spices, the turmeric, garlic and ginger root. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Toss all together and then add the stock, coconut milk and lime juice, stirring and scraping any juicy bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about an hour, until very tender. Remove the lid and simmer for about 15 minutes longer. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

While the curry is cooking cook the rice. Place the rice in a sauce pan with double the volume of salted water. Bring to the boil. Cover with a lid. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes until the rice is completely cooked and all of the moisture has been absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for about 10 minutes with the lid on. Stir in the butter, lime zest, lime juice and chopped coriander with a fork. Serve immediately with the curry.

There are certain foods that I just have to make each Easter for us to eat here in my English Kitchen. Things like hot cross buns . . .



Baked Ham and scalloped potatoes . . . if I'm in a North American mood, or Roast Leg of Lamb, if I'm feeling decidedly British . . .



Deviled Eggs . . .



Simnel Cakes . . .

There are some foods that are just traditional for Easter Celebrations. My Aunt Thelma always used to make lovely fruit breads for Easter. All yeasty and sweet and stogged full of raisins and candied peel . . . the tops covered with a lucious icing glaze and decorated with candied cherries. We so used to look forward to their arrival every Easter Holiday . . .



These past few years I have adopted the habit of making these delicious chocolatey Easter Crispie Cakes. They're so easy to make, and scummily moreish to eat.



Kids just love them. Adults likewise . . . somewhat reminiscent of the Nestle's Crunch Bar . . . there is nothing to them but good melted chocolate (two kinds) and crisp rice cereal.

Oh, and those tasty candy covered little chocolate eggs of course!!



Bet you can't eat just one . . . and I bet you'll have to make them more than once during the Easter Holiday season. Aren't you glad they're so easy to make?




*Easter Chocolate Crispie Nests*
Makes about 15
Printable Recipe

These are so easy to do and look so pretty when they are finished. I had long heard of Marshmallow Crispy Squares, but never these chocolate delights! What a sheltered life I have lived! I wish I had known about these when my children were growing up. They would have loved them!

50 grams of milk chocolate (I used Green and Blacks organic) (1/3 cup)
50 grams of dark chocolate (again I used Green and Blacks)(1/3 cup)
3 cups of crisp rice cereal
1 bag of Easter mini eggs (you will not need them all, but I am sure you will find a use for the extras, I did!)

Put a pot with some water in the bottom of it on the stove and bring it to a simmer. Break the chocolate up into bits and place it into a glass bowl, large enough to sit over the simmering water. Cook and stir until melted. Take care not to let the water boil. Once the chocolate is all melted and smooth, carefully remove it from the heat and stir in the rice cereal.

Line a bun tin with paper liners and spoon the chocolate cereal mixture in, dividing it equally amongst each cup. Place a few easter eggs on the top of each and set them aside to cool and set up. You can put them into the fridge to do this if you are in a hurry, but it may cause your chocolate to bloom. If you are a patient sort it really doesn't take that long for them to set up out of the fridge, perhaps not much more than an hour or so.

Occasionally I like to spice things up here a bit in my kitchen. I am trying to empty my freezer right now, in preparation for moving in just TWO weeks, (Yikes!) and I ended up today with a couple packages of ground lamb that I wanted to use up.



I didn't really feel like making a Shepherd's Pie . . . I wanted something to tantalize our tastebuds.



I initially thought of Koftas, but then I settled on Kibbee. We love Kibbee. They are a delicious middle Eastern appetizer composed of ground lamb and spices. Cut into small diamonds, or shaped into little football shapes, they are delicious served warm with sour cream for dipping.



We had them as an entree, along with some garlic rice and steamed carrots.



mmmm . . . they may not be much to look at, but they be mighty tasty!



Try to imagine yourself sitting in a Bedoin tent in the middle of the desert as you are eating these . . . a gentle breeze stirring the leaves of the date palms on your little oasis, and camels softly snorting and shuffling in the sand nearby . . .

No, this is not typical English Food, but it's my kitchen and I can cook what I like in it. They do say that variety is the spice of life!!



*Baked Spiced Kibbee*
serves 8
Printable Recipe

A delicious middle eastern spiced meat dish, typically served as an appetizer. You can shape it into small shapes, or just bake it iin a square pan like I have. Scored before baking it very easily separates into small diamonds. We have it as a main course.

200g bulgar wheat
1 1/2 pounds lean ground lamb
1 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp all spice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 TBS olive oil
90g pine nuts
4 medium onions, peeled and minced
3 TBS butter, melted
Sour cream to serve (optional)

Cover the wheat with boiling water and let sit for about an hour soaking. Squeeze as much water out of it as you can and then put it into a clean bowl. Add the meat and seasonings. Knead and mix together for about 10 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and pine nuts. Cook and stir over medium low heat until golden brown. Remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F.

Divide the meat mixture in half. Press half of it into a buttered 8 inch square baking dish. Top with the onion/pinenut mixture, spreading it evenly over top. Spread the remaining meat over top, pressing it down evenly and smoothing it out. Run a spatula around the edges to form a bit of a gap between the meat and the edges. Dip the spatula in cold water and start making cuts lengthwise in the meat, evenly spaced about an inch apart. Go back over it crosswise, cutting it into diamond shaped pieces. Brush the melted butter evenly over top.

Bake the kibbee in the heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove from the oven, and separate into diamonds. Serve with sour cream if desired.

 

For the last fortnight over here in the UK , we've been celebrating all that is good about British Food in an annual event called British Food Fortnight! It is a time when we, as a nation, have been encouraged to buy and cook British produce and meat, poultry, fish, etc. Supermarkets all over the country have been promoting British Goods. Food Festivals have been held all over the nation. Schools have been celebrating and promoting it and there have even been contests where you can win big PRIZES, like £1000 in cold hard cash.



I like to think that I promote British Food and Cookery most of the time. After all, this is The English Kitchen. Each month I talk about which foods are in season here in the UK and I try to cook with those foods as much as possible. I try to use only free range British produced meats and poultry, and organic wherever possible, and I also use local produce whenever I can.



It only makes sense to source, support and use products that have been produced locally. Not only is it better for the environment, by lessening our carbon footprint, but I am a firm believer that strawberries only really taste good during Strawberry Season, and none are better than Kent Strawberries, eaten whilst the summer sun is still warm on them with straw still clinging to their leaves. A hard cold strawberry imported from another country at another time of the year just doesn't come close. And so it goes with most things.

Can anything taste any better than real British Asparagus picked in the spring right here in our own Country? How can any lamb but British lamb taste any better? Lamb that has gone right from the local farm, into the butchers and onto our plates. Does it make sense to bring it halfway around the world?



I know I am a bit late in getting the news out there. I mean . . . the event actually ends tomorrow, but then again . . . I like to think that it is British Food Fortnight here at Oak Cottage and in my English kitchen, every night of the year.

And so it goes . . .



If you're looking for a traditionally tasty, easy and economically typically British supper dish look no further. Welsh Rarebit it is. There is only one question that begs to be answered . . .

is it RAREbit . . . or is it RABbit???

I vote for the rabbit. (I used a rich and creamy Davidstow Cheddar for this, along with some tasty Poachers Ale . . . yum, yum good!!)



*Welsh Rarebit*
Serves 2 as a main course, or 4 as a starter
Printable Recipe

Moreishly cheesey and very, very tasty!

4 large thick slices of white sandwich bread
1 heaped tablespoon of finely chopped sage leaves
2 spring onions, finely chopped
6 ounces Mature cheddar cheese, grated
1 rounded teaspoon of mustard powder
4 TBS brown ale
1 large egg, beaten
few drops Tabasco sauce
pinch cayenne pepper



Pre-heat your grill to high. Place the bread onto a grill pan and toast under the heated grill on both sides, until crisp and golden brown.

Mix the cheese, sage, onion, mustard powder, ale, beaten egg and tabasco sauce together in a bowl, until very well mixed. Divide equally amongst the 4 slices of toast, spreading the mixture completely to the edges of each silce. Sprinkle each with a light dusting of cayenne pepper. Place under the heated grill again, grilling until the cheese is melted, and golden brown and bubbling. Serve immediately along with some salad on the side.

I have to confess . . . I didn't eat a lot of lamb before I moved over here to the UK. My sole experience of eating lamb had been when I was a teen. My mother purchased some lamb chops at the local IGA and cooked them for us. Sadly, they smelled like she was burning a woolen mitten when they were cooking, and none of us would eat them.

Since my arrival over here though, I have come to realize that good lamb doesn't smell like burning mittens, and that it tastes luxiously rich and delicious when cooked properly. I love it so much so that Todd and I had lamb for our wedding celebration dinner, and I cook it fairly often.



Most often I cook my lamb cutlets only slightly, so that they are still meltingly pink and succulent on the insides . . . a brief searing heat on both sides of no more than 2 minutes, simply seasoned with some sea salt and cracked black pepper. Not everyone's choice I know, but I do so love it that way myself . . . with a bit of mint sauce on the side . . . and some lightly steamed baby new potatoes and fresh veg. My idea of heaven . . .



Once in a while though, it's nice to break free from the norm and try something completely new and different. When I received these lovely lamb cutlets last week from the nice folks at Abel & Cole I knew just the recipe I wanted to use for them . . . my adaption of one from Sophie Grigson's cookery book, "Country Kitchen." Abel & Cole organic lamb is very special, raised from slow growing traditional breeds, and grazed on lush green grass and wild herbs. Special lamb deserves top treatment, and I knew any recipe of Sophie's would be pretty wonderful.



If you like roasted root vegetables, roasted so that they are sweetly caramelized on the outsides and meltingly tender on the insides . . . combined with eastern spice . . . and topped off with lucious lamb cutlets, then this recipe is for you.

It's fabulous. So fabulous that, although it was supposed to serve four . . . in this house, it only served two . . . *smack*



*Spiced Lamb Chops with Roasted Roots*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is a very tasty, and mildly spiced dish of lamb and vegetables, all cooked together in one roasting pan. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but they go together very simply and with everything being banged together into one roasting tin, there's not a lot to clean up afterwards!

2 heaped TBS of tamarind paste
7 fluid ounces of boiling water
4 TBS sunflower oil
12 small new potatoes
6 carrots
3 large parsnips
3 red onions, peeled and quartered
6 cloves of garlic, whole and unpeeled
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black onion seeds (called kalonji or nigella seeds as well)
4 meaty lamb cutlets or chops
coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper



Pre-heat the oven to 220*C/425*F. Place the tamarind paste in a bowl along with the hot water and sunflower oil, whisking it together well. Whisk in the tumeric, cumin seeds and Kalongi. Mix together well. Peel the carrots in cut them half lengthwise. Peel the parsnips and quarter them. Remove the tough inner core. Peel the new potatoes if desired. Place all the vegetables in a large roasting tin along with the onion quarters and garlic cloves. Pour the tamarind mixture over top and disperse amongst the vegetables using your hands. Cover tightly with tinfoil and then bang the pan into the oven and roast them, covered, for half an hour. Remove from the oven and discard the foil. Give the vegetables a good stir and then bury the lamb cutlets down into them, making sure they are coated in the juices. Return to the oven and roast, uncovered, for an additional 40 to 50 minutes, until the chops are cooked and the vegetables are all very tender and gorgeously caramelized on the edges. (Check once in a while and add a bit more water if need be.) When done, serve immediately with some crusty bread.