Sixth of April! There have been no posts since that date, shame on me. Still, I've been somewhat distracted by the hoard of lamb in my freezer. That's right, lamb, my favourite source of protein. And this is not just any lamb, believe me.
Sam Hayes from Mirrool Creek Lamb is a friend mine from Sydney and as a wedding gift she presented S-bo and I with seven cuts of fantastic lamb. Some might find meat a strange wedding gift, but if you're reading this blog you obviously like food as much as I do and I doubt you would even blink. As Mirrool Creek Lamb is a finalist in the 2010 Delicious produce awards S-bo and I feel very spoilt indeed.
Mirrool Creek Lamb comes from the Riverina region of NSW, an area renowned for high quality lamb production. All stock is bred free range and pasture fed, vital to ensuring the produce benefits from the unique soil, climate and rainfall conditions of the Riverina. Low stress handling throughout the lifecycle, particularly prior to processing, ensures exceptional quality and consistency. For more information check out Mirrool Creek Lamb's website.
All cuts come in a cryovac and will keep for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator. The rack was prepared so finely, it was a pleasure to work with. A neat strip of muscle that could almost be described as elegant, with a fine edging of fat for flavour and moisture was an exciting prospect. The rack was seasoned and then seared before being roasted for 20 minutes in a medium oven. Homemade olive and rosemary tapenade formed a crust on the outside during cooking and filled the room with a mouth-watering smell.
Cooked to medium-rare, this was the most tender lamb I can remember eating, what's more, it tasted like lamb. That sounds like a funny claim to make, but too often I find lamb is either too light on flavour, or too strong, conjuring images of mutton at boarding school (fortunately those dark, dark days are behind me).
My first attempt at cooking this beautiful wedding present demonstrates how successful anyone can be in the kitchen when using good quality ingredients. What's more, I have 6 cuts to go. Dinner anyone?
If you're heading to Sydney you can find Mirrool Creek Lamb at various markets and food stores. Unfortunately there are no stockists here in Melbourne, instead you can sample this great produce at Longrain.
You can also find Mirrool Creek Lamb if you're lucky enough to be headed to Noosa Food and Wine Festival. As a finalist in the 2010 Delicious produce awards the lamb will be on display in the Grand Marquee on Saturday and Sunday and Martin Boetz from Longrain will be serving the lamb on his Spice Trail. And if you see Sam up there, send her my thanks!
Showing posts with label lamb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lamb. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Irish Stew
Slow cooked meat would have to be one of my favourite foods. I love how the meat just falls off the bone and dissolves in your mouth. I fail a little at actually cooking stews, casseroles and roasts as I'm rarely at home long enough. I get home a little too late on a weekday. As for weekends I'm usually cramming far too much into the two days to cook anything which takes more than 1 hour to prepare and cook. Often this cramming includes some kind of baking so perhaps I could cook sweets after the stew is underway. Still, there I go again, more cramming. I'd like to think the idea of a long, slow stew is about slowing down in general. Staying inside, cozy and relaxed. I think I will make an effort to make slow-cooked meals more often. Wind things back a little, take my time and watch the pot boil.
Having said that, this Irish stew is one thing that can be prepared and forgotten. My inspiration came for a Good Weekend clipping but I consulted various different recipes to get the feel of things. The clipping's ingredients were lamb, potatoes, onions, water and salt/pepper. Surely you need more than that to make a meal delicious? Apparently not, I included a few additions, as outlined below, but it was still pretty simple and tasted delicious. The potatoes really soaked up the flavour and were a particular highlight. All recipes I consulted suggested the potatoes should be peeled. I wasn't so keen on this, partly because I thought it added a rustic touch, but also because I couldn't really be bothered. Were the Irish bothered back in the day? On one hand I think waste not, want not. But on the other hand, I guess illness and disease were killers and potatoes probably weren't as well washed in the clean water that we have today.
Many recipes also stated mutton over lamb. I didn't even try to get it. I probably should have. The flatmate often brings back legs of mutton from her parents farm and they are delicious. The bigger flavour of mutton is definitely under-appreciated, hidden by mutton being a "cheaper" meat and often poorly cooked. It takes me right back to student days and institutionalized food. I did try to get neck chops as suggested but the butcher claimed forequarter would be just as good.
The recipe (serves 5):
1 kg mutton or lamb neck chops (this quantity of chops was a little short for 5 people, you could increase it without changing anything else in the recipe)
1.2 kg potatoes (this is heaps for 5 people), peeled.
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper
1 cup stock (beef, veal or lamb)
about 3 cups of water
thyme
parsely
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Trim the chops of all fat, including the skin. Slice the potatoes about 5mm thick and lay half evenly over the base of a large casserole dish/pot. Sprinkly with half the onion and then lay the chops over the top to form another layer. Season well with salt and pepper, add 1-2 stalks of parsely and thyme each, sprinkle with remaining onion, top with potato and season again. Add the stock and enough water to almost cover the contents. Cover and put the pot in the oven.
After 15 minutes turn the heat down to 150 degrees and continue cooking for about 1 3/4 hours.
Check half way through that there is still enough broth left to cook the potatoes and meat. You can remove the lid for the last 15 minutes to crisp up the top layer of potatoes.
I cooked the stew and had S-bo's flatmates round to help me eat it. There was ample potato but a little less meat. Don't forget to reserve the liquid from the cooking. If you let it cool and skim fat off the top it makes a delicious stock. I can't wait to make soup with it!
Having said that, this Irish stew is one thing that can be prepared and forgotten. My inspiration came for a Good Weekend clipping but I consulted various different recipes to get the feel of things. The clipping's ingredients were lamb, potatoes, onions, water and salt/pepper. Surely you need more than that to make a meal delicious? Apparently not, I included a few additions, as outlined below, but it was still pretty simple and tasted delicious. The potatoes really soaked up the flavour and were a particular highlight. All recipes I consulted suggested the potatoes should be peeled. I wasn't so keen on this, partly because I thought it added a rustic touch, but also because I couldn't really be bothered. Were the Irish bothered back in the day? On one hand I think waste not, want not. But on the other hand, I guess illness and disease were killers and potatoes probably weren't as well washed in the clean water that we have today.
Many recipes also stated mutton over lamb. I didn't even try to get it. I probably should have. The flatmate often brings back legs of mutton from her parents farm and they are delicious. The bigger flavour of mutton is definitely under-appreciated, hidden by mutton being a "cheaper" meat and often poorly cooked. It takes me right back to student days and institutionalized food. I did try to get neck chops as suggested but the butcher claimed forequarter would be just as good.
The recipe (serves 5):
1 kg mutton or lamb neck chops (this quantity of chops was a little short for 5 people, you could increase it without changing anything else in the recipe)
1.2 kg potatoes (this is heaps for 5 people), peeled.
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper
1 cup stock (beef, veal or lamb)
about 3 cups of water
thyme
parsely
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Trim the chops of all fat, including the skin. Slice the potatoes about 5mm thick and lay half evenly over the base of a large casserole dish/pot. Sprinkly with half the onion and then lay the chops over the top to form another layer. Season well with salt and pepper, add 1-2 stalks of parsely and thyme each, sprinkle with remaining onion, top with potato and season again. Add the stock and enough water to almost cover the contents. Cover and put the pot in the oven.
After 15 minutes turn the heat down to 150 degrees and continue cooking for about 1 3/4 hours.
Check half way through that there is still enough broth left to cook the potatoes and meat. You can remove the lid for the last 15 minutes to crisp up the top layer of potatoes.
I cooked the stew and had S-bo's flatmates round to help me eat it. There was ample potato but a little less meat. Don't forget to reserve the liquid from the cooking. If you let it cool and skim fat off the top it makes a delicious stock. I can't wait to make soup with it!
Monday, May 07, 2007
St Ali, South Melbourne
Such an appropriate name for a cafe don't you think? Personally I still find Melbourne's back alleys a novelty so I can't resist taking visitors down as many random streets as I know (the ones that I know lead somewhere funky that is). So when N1, my roommate and best friend from boarding school, and her boyfriend, N2 came down to Melbourne I took them here for lunch.
St Ali seems to be a known gem for South Melbourne's coffee lovers however I first heard about it only 2 weeks ago, over a few Friday night drinks. When I bumped into some fellow drinkers the next morning at the gym we decided to check it out over a post-gym coffee. I only stayed for coffee but I was most impressed, not to mention pleasantly caffeinated as I made my way home. (Note: Saturday gym is not a habit of mine. I often talk it up the night before over a wine or two but rarely do I back myself up!)
N1 & N2's visit seemed the perfect excuse to have lunch here. The atmosphere is great, with high warehouse ceilings, cement floors and clever usage of coffee sacks. I was particularly taken with the hessian mounted on wooden frames and hung as pictures. N1, who owns a homewares store in Goondiwindi, laughed and said she'd never be able to sell pictures like that because all the farmers would turn around and make them themselves. Still, how often do you see things at the market and say "I could make that" and then never do it! A few louds bangs echoed across from the walled-off half of the building just as we were ordering however the waiter managed to downplay the noise with his sense of humour.
Apparently St Ali takes a lot of influence from Yemen, including their namesake. There's a definite Middle Eastern and North African feel to the dishes but I would've never picked Yemen. Check out their website for more info on the namesake. I ordered pork and fennel sausages on pide, with tomato relish, chilli and roquette. The sausages were sensational. I thought the chilli overpowered some of the flavours however my tolerance to chilli can fluctuate so perhaps my tastebuds were feeling a little sensitive.
My fellow diners all had lamb. S'bo and N2 both had the lamb pizza (pictured) and thought it was good, quite a compliment from N2 really, who's mother has a lamb feedlot business in Goondi (check this link to abc). N1 had lamb kofta which looked great and was apparently delicious, although the portion seemed a little on the small size, perfect for a raining afternoon snack perhaps?
St Ali seems to be a known gem for South Melbourne's coffee lovers however I first heard about it only 2 weeks ago, over a few Friday night drinks. When I bumped into some fellow drinkers the next morning at the gym we decided to check it out over a post-gym coffee. I only stayed for coffee but I was most impressed, not to mention pleasantly caffeinated as I made my way home. (Note: Saturday gym is not a habit of mine. I often talk it up the night before over a wine or two but rarely do I back myself up!)
N1 & N2's visit seemed the perfect excuse to have lunch here. The atmosphere is great, with high warehouse ceilings, cement floors and clever usage of coffee sacks. I was particularly taken with the hessian mounted on wooden frames and hung as pictures. N1, who owns a homewares store in Goondiwindi, laughed and said she'd never be able to sell pictures like that because all the farmers would turn around and make them themselves. Still, how often do you see things at the market and say "I could make that" and then never do it! A few louds bangs echoed across from the walled-off half of the building just as we were ordering however the waiter managed to downplay the noise with his sense of humour.
Apparently St Ali takes a lot of influence from Yemen, including their namesake. There's a definite Middle Eastern and North African feel to the dishes but I would've never picked Yemen. Check out their website for more info on the namesake. I ordered pork and fennel sausages on pide, with tomato relish, chilli and roquette. The sausages were sensational. I thought the chilli overpowered some of the flavours however my tolerance to chilli can fluctuate so perhaps my tastebuds were feeling a little sensitive.
My fellow diners all had lamb. S'bo and N2 both had the lamb pizza (pictured) and thought it was good, quite a compliment from N2 really, who's mother has a lamb feedlot business in Goondi (check this link to abc). N1 had lamb kofta which looked great and was apparently delicious, although the portion seemed a little on the small size, perfect for a raining afternoon snack perhaps?
The prices for lunch are very reasonable, but I'm simply excited to have found a place in Melbourne where the coffee is comparable to my favourite roaster in Sydney, Campos. And, just round the corner! I hadn't even had a chance to look for somewhere yet, so the stumble-across makes it all the more sweeter!
St Ali
12-18 Yarra Place
South Melbourne
Ph. 9686 2990
Open for breakfast & lunch, 7 days.
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