Mint and Parmesan Crusted Rack of Lamb

Mint and Parmesan Crusted Rack of Lamb

• Two large French trimmed racks of lamb- I personally like to trim some of the fat off but it's just a preference
  
• 4 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Large handful of white course breadcrumbs
• Small handful of grated Parmesan cheese
  
• Small bunch of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons of dried mint
• Small spring of rosemary
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
  
• 2 anchovy fillets in oil

Put the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, fresh and dried mint, rosemary, garlic and the anchovy fillet (including the oil) in a food processor and pulse. Stop once the mint, rosemary, garlic and anchovies are finely chopped and well incorporated into the rest of the mix. Set aside.

Heat an oven proof griddle pan until hot (smoking if you dare), sear the racks of lamb starting with the fat side down (don't oil your pan or you'll very likely set your smoke detector alarm off). You don't necessarily have to sear your meat but it does give it a nice colour and I like the fact it gets rid a bit of the fat. Once lightly seared, take the lamb off the heat.

Spread the Dijon mustard over the fat side of the rack of lamb. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over and pat down gently when all the mixture is used up. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top - this will help the breadcrumbs crisp and golden. Cook at 200°C/fan 180°C for about 30 - 40 minutes depending on how well you like your meet cooked. I cooked mine to about medium, which was about 40 minutes. Rest before carving the lamb into cutlets. Serve with your sides of choice. Mine were steamed broccoli, green beans, roasted parsnips and a rather lumpy gravy made from red wine, beef stock, lingonberry jelly and a little leftover breadcrumb mixture.

Mangal Ocakbaşı - Grilled Lamb Dreams Do Come True!

My visit to Istanbul was all about the consumption of lamb .... all the delicious dripping goodness of the revered baby sheep. But by the time our 5 day stay was over, lamb ... and mutton was definitely off my menu for awhile. Ok... so Istanbul was months ago (end of April ... and still no posts from that trip up yet) and even then I surprised myself when I suggested trudging up to Dalston/Stoke Newington over the weekend for some grilled meat ... some Turkish grilled meat to be precise. It is a long way to trudge, something of which SM constantly reminded me of as we made our way there through Saturday evening traffic, but what's a few miles and a bit of light London traffic when there's such promise of good food? I think some true Malaysian colours are shinning bright from me :) Anything for a bit of delicious chow.

I had done my bit of research and was set on Mangal Ocakbaşı with its very decent online reviews. Not even a Saturday evening with queues of diners and rumbling tummies was going to deter me from this restaurant. Thank heavens the queue was short and we got a table within 10 minutes of arriving. As we waited we watched the man behind the grill work his magic - meat on, wait, turn meat, wait, turn meat, wait, meat off the grill - all this behind a huge plume of smoke. I take my hat off to him. He must go home stinking of grilled meat at the end of the night.

As soon as we sat down, a basket of bread was set down on the table. Judging from the other tables, this was the bread we were going to have to work with throughout the meal. Soft yet chewy at the same time it .... brilliant on an empty stomach and even more delicious with our order of ezme salata - finely chopped tomatoes, onions, parsley, chili and lemon juice. I absolutely adored this (remember my love for tomatoes?) ... tangy, refreshing .... what's not to like? Oooh .. maybe the the raw onions. What a strong lingering after taste.

I was pretty insistent on getting the lahmacun, which came thin,crip and topped with a right amount of minced lamb, onion and peppers. Very nice indeed but (shake your head if you must) even better with a nice big dollop of ezme salata. Perfect portions for a starter but not enough for me. I wanted more!

For a bit of everything, the mixed grill is a pretty good choice. For £13 there's a minced lamb kebab,a piece of lamb chop on the bone,a piece of lamb chop off the bone, cubed lamb and a chicken wing (fortunately/unfortunately you don't get the other boring chicken bits like chicken breast kebab). Served with a grilled tomato, grilled green chili and a mixed salad. For a couple of extra quid, the quail could be added to the mix. he lamb chops on the bone was probably the best of the mix, tender with just the right amount of fat and of course that bone to gnaw on. I found the chop off the bone had a little too much fat and the lamb cubes were cut just too small. The chicken wing was tender and juicy and oh so good. I sometimes forget how much I enjoy barbecued chicken on the bone.

Adding to our lamb fest, I ordered a portion of lamb chops on the bone (£9). The three large juicy pieces of lamb were served with the usual grilled tomato, grilled green chili and a mixed salad.

Mangal Ocakbaşı is not the sort of place that seduces you into staying too long. Space is tight, noise levels are high and there's almost always a group waiting eagerly for a table by the entrance. Here you eat, you drink (it's BYO if you want anything alcoholic) and then you make way for the next lot of diners. The service was brisk but not unfriendly. Some old timers have complained that Mangal Ocakbaşı has lost some of its charm since its popularity has soared over the last few years - heaven forbid,they have even introduced a menu! :) The food is wonderful and so worth the visit.

Mangal Ocakbaşı
10 Arcola Street, London E8 2DJ

Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb

A Sunday dinner of roasted shoulder of lamb rubbed with a paste made with garlic, rosemary, anchovies, English mustard and olive oil. Slow roasted on low heat for a good 4-5 hours. Served with gravy made from the pan juices and red wine, steamed broccoli and green beans and oddly, for a roast, steamed rice. You can take the girl out of Asia but ....

For dessert, trifle topped with hundreds and thousands - just for Stuart who was all miserable because he was just told his broken ankle will have to stay in a cast for 6 weeks. I admit I thoroughly cheated on the trifle. The cake were the last of the madelines I had brought back from my trip to Switzerland, the custard came from Sainbury's Taste the Difference range - all lovely and creamy with those beautiful speck of vanilla and the jelly came from a packet I packet I picked up from the supermarket. No booze. I rarely keep alcohol in the flat unless it's chocolate liqueur or wine or beer or ... you get the idea.

Stuart's all better now. His cast came off two weeks ago and he's limped his way round London since. I'm off cooking duty for now - woohoo! Note the lack of posts recently - boo ... but I'm sure I'll find other beautiful bits of food to blog about :)

Happy Thursday!

Roast Lamb Dinner with All the Trimmings

Sometimes I do make an traditional English dinner to keep Stuart happy. On the menu, roast leg of lamb, roast potatoes, steamed veg - cabbage, baby corn and broccoli, Yorkshire pudding, gravy and mint sauce. Keeping it traditional, the lamb went into the oven went into the oven with the barest sprinkle of salt and pepper ;) It come out cooked well done (just the way Stuart and I like our lamb cooked). The veg was slightly overcooked and the Yorkshire pudding was little too dense. The spuds and gravy were good though :)

Stewed Lamb with Orzo

I tend to drop by Sainsbury's near the office to have look for bits and pieces after work. If I go at the right time, there's always a bargain to be had and this time I scored a boned shoulder of lamb. Roasting the meat was out of the question, unless of course I was prepared to eat at midnight so I decided to use my trusty old friend - the pressure cooker. Considered slightly old fashioned, yes, but a wondrous gadget for those short of time and/or patience.

Putting it all together
I seared the meat off in a pan to get some of the fat to drain off the meat. As the meat is browning, sweat some onions and chunks of garlic in the pressure cooker. Add about a teaspoon of tomato paste and cook for a few seconds. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and let it cook down. Once the meat is nicely seared all over, transfer it into the pressure cooker. Drain off the access lamb fat and de-glaze the pan with some white wine. Make sure all the nice crusty bits are scraped up. Pour the liquid from the pan into the pressure cooker and add in a tub of ready made chicken gravy (I bought a 500g tub of ready made poultry gravy). I added some fresh rosemary from my plant and seasoned the dish well just before the lid went on for 40-45 minutes.

Cook some orzo in a separate pot. When the lamb is done (you should be able to cut the meat with a fork), take it out of the pressure cooker and mix the orzo into the gravy. Bring the pot to a boil if the gravy is too watery. Ladle the orzo into a bowl and top with chunks of meat.