Tag: Lamb

Mains

Cooking loin of lamb en sous vide

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Cooking sous vide (french for “under pressure”) has long been used in the professional kitchens. A few years ago people started mentioning it on food blogs and books were released on the topic.
The idea with sous vide is that you cook whatever food you are cooking in a low temperature water bath for a certain amount of time. Since the temperature is relatively low it’s very hard to overcook things. When cooking meat en sous vide we are after a perfectly cooked piece of meat from edge to edge without any of the doneness gradient which we would get if cooking it in a more traditional way. Another pro with sous vide cooking is that the food can be cooked in advance and then reheated or seared to get a nice caramelized surface.
Meat will be cooked at around 58 degrees C for medium rare, fish at lower temperature, say 45 degrees C.
Sous vide can be done at home. All you need is a big pot (it needs to be big to ensure that the water temperature doesn’t drop when food is added) and a termometer (preferably digital).

This “recipe” is for loin of lamb cooked sous vide.

What you need:
A bit pot (say 8 – 10 litres or so)
Termometer (preferably digital with a cable sensor)
Bowl of ice water

Loin of lamb

How to make it:
Take the loins out of the fridge so that they reach room temperature.
Start by filling the pot almost to the top with water. Warm the water on the hob with the termometer measuring the temperature. If you have a gas hob then you might need a heat diffuser to ensure that the temperature from the flame is low enough. When the water reaches 58 C then adjust the heat on the ring to keep it there. Let the temperature stabilize for about 20 minutes.
Trim the loins of fat and silverskin. Brush lightly with olive oil then wrap tightly in all purpose plastic wrap. Twist the ends and then tie them tightly.
Put the packaged loin into the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from pot and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process.
Remove plastic wrap and move to air proof container, transfer to fridge until needed.
Take the meat out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you are ready to sear it so that it reaches room temperature again. Heat a griddle pan over high heat, add some rapeseed oil and then sear the loins briefly on all sides. Remember that the meat is already cooked so you just want to give it a seared exterior.
Let the meat rest for a few minutes covered by tinfoil and then serve.

Mains

Lamb burger with goats cheese and tomato relish

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Being a big fan of hamburgers but often being disappointed about what’s on offer in London, even in the upmarket burger joints, I decided to give it a shot myself. The result was very nice and also quite light which for me is a nice contrast to bellybusting burgers.

Enjoy with a tempranillo or similar medium bodied red wine.

General stuff:
Two heads of little gem lettuce
Two tomatoes
One red onion
200 g of goats cheese

For the tomato relish:
(this makes about half a liter finished relish so have some jars around to store it)

800 g tomatoes
1 onion, finely sliced
200 ml red wine vinegar
200 g sugar
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 red chili, finely chopped
A handful of fresh coriander
Salt and freshly grounded black pepper
30 g capers in vinegar, rinsed in water and finely chopped
30 g baby gherkins, finely chopped
Olive oil for frying

How to make it:
Start by putting the tomatoes in a pot with warm water to later get their skin off.
Fry the garlic, onion and chilli in some oil in a big pot until soft. Skin the tomatoes, chop them finely and then add them to the pot. Mix welll with the onions.
Add the vinegar and sugar. Season a bit with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes. When the relish is the consistency of jam add the capers, gherkins and coriander. Cook for a few more minutes but be careful not to reduce it too much. Check seasoning. Let cool.

For the burgers:
500 g minced lamb
6 or so leaves of basil, torn into small pieces
A tablespoon of capers, finely chopped
Half an onion, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Flour

How to make it:
Mix the mince with onions, capers, basil, pepper and a pinch of salt. Make four patties.
Put flour on a plate and mix with a bit of pepper and salt. Put the patties in the flour mixture to coat on each side.
Heat some butter and olive oil in a big frying pan. Turn on the oven at approx 200 C on Grill to toast the ciabatta buns.
Fry the patties approx 4.5 minutes on each side in the frying pan.
While the burgers are frying prepare some lettuce, slice the tomatoes and the red onion.
When the burgers are fried, take a piece of ciabatta, spread with the goats cheese, then assemble with tomato, onion, lettuce and the lamb burger, add a sprinkle of pepper if desired.
Assemble on plate with some more lettuce, onion, tomato and tomato relish.

Mains

Lambstew with beans, olives and tomatoes

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This is very easy to make. Had it with cheddar mash and then with cous cous for lunch the day after. Definitely a red wine dish. I had it with a nice Gigondas but Italian reds like Primitivo will work great as well (and cheaper than Gigondas).
This is an autumn/winter dish.

Recipe makes two big portions and two lunch size portions.

You need:
500 g of minced lamb
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1,5 – 2 red chili
2 red peppers
Olive oil
1 piece of meat stock
300-400 ml of water
200 ml of cooked beans
100 ml black olives
About 8 normal sized tomatoes
About 6 mushrooms
1 pot of parsley
Salt and pepper

How it’s made:
Chop the onion, garlic, chili and peppers.
Fry the meat with some olive oil until properly fried. Add onion,
garlic, chili and peppers and fry for another minute or so. Add stock and
water and let cook for 30 minutes.
Add beans, olives, tomatoes, mushrooms and parsley after about 20 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve.