Alchemy - Springtime, smoke and fire

A favorite tree died a year or so ago in the garden. It gave great shade during the Summer and stunning colour in the Autumn since we moved in. We finally decided to give up on any possible resurrection and so it was brought down and turned to logs and kindling. Today, being the first day we could spend in the garden this year, I decided to clean out the fire pit and use a few of the logs and burn off the twigs etc. to keep warm and to clear the rubbish. With a great bed of white ash and hot charcoal in the pit it seemed like a good time to begin the out-door cooking for 2015. I dug out my lodge pot and fixed it in the hot ash. In went some home made pancetta trimmings (the pancetta is drying in the conservatory and should be perfect by the end of March.)

Next, a half shoulder of lamb was seared on this very hot pan.

Next, I de-glazed the pan with 500ml of merlot, Added small onions, coarsely cut leeks, carrots and squash. sliced garlic, fresh herbs and seasoning.

500ml of stock and on with the lid for an hour or so. 

I had to top up the liquid a few times as the fire was hot. When the meat looked cooked (shrunk back on the bone) I steamed some sugar snap peas and purple sprouting broccoli ready for serving. The broccoli was placed in a vey hot oven for a few minutes with some grated cheddar and Parmesan long enough for it to melt. Meanwhile I added a tablespoon or two of maple syrup to the lodge pot to finish the sauce. The result was a wonderful, smokey meal and a great way to use the garden fire to create a memorable and tasty Sunday supper.

Sunday roast with a difference.

I managed to pick up a bargain in the supermarket again. I do so love it when they reduce their meat in perfect time for Sunday. A nice rack of lambs ribs with a garlic and lemon baste for slow cooking. Perfect if you have plenty to do and visitors too. Having prepared a nice caraway seed cake at breakfast so it was fresh for our visitors when they came round for afternoon tea and got our breakfast ready it was time to get things clean and tidy.

Once the decks were clear then I filleted the farmed turbot I also managed to get yesterday. I love it when the fish is fresh enough to still have the slime that indicates it is newly caught. These turbot did not disappoint. Thanks to a fish course down at Rick Steins some years ago I am more than capable of cleaning and filleting fish quickly and  efficiently. I soon had 8 good fillets that were soon vac packed with chunks of the watercress sauce I made up and froze yesterday. In short order there were two tasty meals in the freezer ready for a quick cook in the sous vide after a busy day at work.

With supper in a few hours the lamb went into the oven at 160C for some 3.5 hours. This will make it nice an succulent. Finally I had a little time to relax. A nice walk during one of the rare dry spells in the UK at the moment. An excellent pint of Hogs Back T.E.A (a local real ale) and it was time to head back to put the accompaniment to the lamb in the oven. Neither of us fancied a standard roast and a large butternut squash had arrived in the veg box on Friday so I decided to roast off half of the squash for an hour and fifteen minutes (45 minutes if it had been at 180C ) minutes. Meantime I quartered and sliced a good size leek and softened that off in a little olive oil. Once the squash was soft I scooped out the flesh. Mashed it with a little butter and pepper. Mixed in the leek, some walnuts (50g) and some Stilton cheese (80g) . The lamb was taken out of the oven and given some time to rest. Meanwhile I re-filled the butternut squash skin with the mixture and returned it to the oven at 180C for a further 15 minutes. A quick gravy to coat the meat and it was time to serve up. I poured a teaspoon of maple syrup over each of the butternut squash portions and we were ready to eat.

I've always liked the term unctuous when directed at food. It conjures up a creamy or luxuriantly oily dish. This was exactly that. The creamy butternut squash and the Stilton made for a soft and very creamy accompaniment for a delicious cut of lamb.

Torch it.

I know I bang on about sous vides but they are to cooking in the 21st century what microwaves were to the 20th. Time and money saving devices that, when used correctly, can be a boon to both budget and taste. How many of us have used our microwave to soften butter ready for a sponge rather than killing ourselves trying to soften fridge bricks of butter and creaming it into sugar?

Sure, the sous vide is not cheap. You can pick up a basic model from Robert Dyas for £99 but, if you want a comfortable new machine for the kitchen then you need to invest around £250 on something like a sous vide supreme home machine. Trust me, used properly, it will pay for itself.

This weekend I happened to spot a rolled and boned half lamb shoulder at the supermarket at a greatly reduced price of £2.84. Purchased and brought home it went into a vac pac bag (these machines are around £50 but, again, save a fortune as you vac pack cooked meats etc.). Along with the lamb I put a sprig of rosemary, thyme, some basil and the peel of a clementine. I added two star anise pods and a touch of olive oil (just a teaspoon). The sous vide was set at 54C and in went the bag for 24 hours or so. Tonight, I took out this raw looking package.

Once cut open, the kitchen was flooded with a rich aroma of orange and herbs. I removed the herbs and peel and was left with this unappetising lump.

Now, the secret of sous vide, browning. You can either brown the meat by searing in a very hot pan before cooking or, as I am getting to prefer, searing the meat post sous vide with either a very hot skillet or, as in this case, by using a good blowtorch. After just a minute or two under a flame that can melt silver the slightly more appetising result:

Perfectly cooked lamb that was tasty, tender and pink. After the addition of a vegetables cooked off in the 20th century cooking revolution you have a hot and tasty meal in minutes (I don't count the long and hot bath in the sous vide as cooking time) .

Long awaited lamb

Saturday night, having spent the day in the summer house sorting out lighting and putting some skirting up, I had put the lamb on to cook. We were all set to sit down with a nice red and the meal when my wife remembered we had arranged to go out to a skittle evening. With that in mind we somewhat bolted what was a very nice meal. The good news is that there is another couple of portions in the fridge ready to repeat the exercise and enjoy at our leisure later in the week.

Returning home on Friday I spent a relaxing half an hour with a nice beer and a set of nutcrackers. Time to deal with the cob nuts.

Soon, the cob nuts were shelled and ready to chop.

Once chopped, I toasted them in a hot oven until they were nice and brown. I then let them cool while I prepared the lamb

First, I butterflied the loin out and gave it a little encouragement to lay flat with my tenderizer.

.Having blitzed a good handful of blackberries with some thyme and rosemary I spread the mixture across the meat.

I then rolled the meat back up. Placed it on a wide sheet of clingfilm. I rolled this up over the meat

Picking up the tails either side of the meat, I spun the meat in the clingfilm so that the tails wound up and compressed the meat into a tight roll.

Once the ends were tied off I placed the parcel into the fridge for 24 hours.

The next day I removed the loin from the clingfilm and placed it on a baking sheet. A teaspoon of Dijon mustard was spread across the skin and then the roasted cob nut chips were pressed into the mustard

I placed the loin in the oven at 180 C for about 25 minutes. In the meantime I steamed some broccoli and peas and boiled some small new potatoes.

After it had been in the oven for 25 minutes, I removed the meat and set it aside to rest for 10 minutes while I finished cooking the vegetables. Plated up the meat looked good. The tart blackberries and the herbs had added a richness to the lamb. The mustard an cob nuts adding a nice nutty counterpoint to the sharp fruit.