Showing posts with label #SundaySupper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #SundaySupper. Show all posts

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Grilled Lamb Skewers with Roasted Carrots

These grilled lamb skewers are made with tender marinated leg of lamb chunks, cooked over high heat in a grill pan, then left to rest on sweet roasted young spring carrots. A sprinkle of feta and mint lend even more flavor and just the right touch of saltiness to this flavorful dish.
 


A number of years ago, when we were living in Kuala Lumpur, I had a friend who would buy the organic new baby carrots, greens still attached, that would turn up on occasion in one of our grocery stores. They weren’t cheap but she said that they were worth the splurge. As much as I like carrots, I didn’t imagine that she could be correct. Who would pay that much – don’t remember the exact amount except that it seemed like a lot – for carrots? Not me. After all, how special could they be?

Last week I decided that a simple spring vegetable minestrone would be the perfect recipe to share on the Sunday Supper Movement website for today’s Welcome Spring event, and since it was for the website and not just this little blog, I did splurge. I bought freshly hulled peas, fine French beans, baby zucchini, baby leeks and tiny corn on the cob along with a large bunch of spring carrots, greens still attached. Such a pot of sweet wonderfulness.



I used just a couple of the carrots in the soup so I started looking for another recipe to show off the rest. My original plan for this post was simply spring lamb but when I came across a recipe on Bon Appétit for lamb skewers with carrots, it seemed like kismet. (Which comes from the Arabic word for fate, by the way.)

Of course, Bon Appétit being Bon Appétit, the dish was complicated with two marinades and then a dressing, so I simplified it down to one marinade for the lamb and a mere sprinkling of feta and mint for the finished dish. Ain’t nobody got time for all that. I can’t imagine how this could be improved upon. It was perfect in every way and the carrots were fabulous. Sweet, tender and with such wonderful flavor. Now I know what my friend was talking about! Next time I make this, I will double the carrots so I suggest you do too. I’ve already been back to the store and bought another bunch.

Ingredients to serve 2-3
For the spring lamb skewers:
1 lb 3oz or 540g leg lamb chunks

For the lamb marinade:
2 large garlic cloves
1 small red chili pepper
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/4 cup or 60ml dry white wine
1 teaspoon large grain sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil

For the oven roasted spring carrots:
9 1/3 oz or 265g spring carrots
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (a good drizzle to coat)
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
8-10 fresh mint leaves
2 oz or 57g crumbled feta
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Cut the lamb into bite-sized pieces and put them in a Ziploc bag.


Mince your garlic and red chili pepper. Strip the rosemary leaves off of the stems and chop them finely.

Add all the marinade ingredients into a mixing bowl up to and including the black pepper, then whisk in the olive oil until well blended.



Pour the marinade into the bag with the lamb. Mix it around until the lamb is well coated, then press all of the air out and seal. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but you can also make this early in the day and leave it marinating till you are ready to cook dinner. Mine marinated about three hours.

To roast the carrots, preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Scrub the carrots well and cut the long tops of the greens off. You can leave on a little bit for color, if desired. If some of the carrots are thicker than the others, cut them in half lengthwise.

Pile the carrots on a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then spread them out so they aren't touching each other.



Roast in the preheated oven until lovely and golden and caramelized, turning once in the middle of roasting time of about 20-25 minutes.



Thread your lamb onto wooden skewers cut to fit snugly in your grill pan. Discard the bag with the marinade.


Heat the pan over high heat. You’ll need to turn your extractor fan on or perhaps even open a window because this is going to smoke. But it’s going to be fast and worth it, I promise.

Once your pan is scorching hot, lay four of the lamb skewers in it, quickly searing one side. You don’t want to crowd the grill pan so don’t try to cook them all at once.

Cook for 2-3 minutes on that side, then turn and cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes.

This will leave your small bites of lamb still pink inside. If you want them done more, cook for another minute or two on each side. I encourage you to leave them pink inside though, because they will be more tender.

As you remove the cooked lamb from the grill pan, rest the skewers on the roasted carrots.

Continue until all of your lamb skewers are done and are resting on the carrots. Give the whole pan another few grinds of fresh black pepper.

Crumble the feta and rip the mint leaves onto the lamb and carrots.



Enjoy!



Who is ready to welcome spring with me? My Sunday Supper family sure is. Check out all the lovely spring recipes they are sharing today!

Breakfast:
Appetizers:
Beverages:
Main Dishes:
Side Dishes:
Desserts:




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Sunday, April 10, 2016

Beef Wellington Bites

A traditional Beef Wellington is made with whole tenderloin wrapped in puff pastry along with mushrooms duxelles and foie gras. These beef Wellington bites are the finger food version made with choux pastry puffs.

Let me start by saying that this dish was the result of leftovers of the very best kind. I made duxelles for a different dish and ended up sharing it for a group post celebrating mushrooms. And I had frozen choux pastry from a croquembouche challenge. When a weekend barbecue left me with a couple of grilled filet mignon steaks, it suddenly came to me that I had the makings of beef Wellington of a sort and just needed some foie gras or liver paté. Oh, we dined richly that night! I'd been waiting for the ideal time to share them when Sunday Supper announced a Finger Food for Dinner theme. Perfect!

Make sure you scroll down to see all the wonderful fork-free dishes we are sharing today, from appetizers through desserts. Many thanks to our host Christie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures and her guiding light, Marion from Life Tastes Good.

Ingredients
For the duxelles:
3 oz or 85g shallots
1/3 cup or 75g butter
12 oz or 340g mushrooms
1 cup or 240ml dry white wine
1 cup or 240ml whipping cream
Sea salt
Black pepper
Instructions here  You may not use the whole recipe. Stir the rest through some pasta. Or eat it with a spoon.

For the choux pastry:
1 cup or 125g plain flour
1 pinch salt
7 tablespoons or 100g butter
1 cup or 240ml water
4 eggs, at room temperature
- The dough makes about 50 small choux buns. They freeze well before baking!

For assembly: Makes 18 Beef Wellington Bites
6 oz or 170g grilled tenderloin steak
6 oz or 170g smooth duck or pork paté, at room temperature

Method
Make your duxelles ahead of time and store the bowl in the refrigerator. Do not leave it out as you work, because its volume will greatly decrease, spoon by spoon, if it's handy. That stuff is GOOD.

Now we'll make the choux pastry. Preheat your oven to 445°F or 230°C and prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper stuck down with a little non-stick spray. If you are feeling particularly anal, as I usually am, you can draw some circles to guide you on the underside of the parchment paper.

Sift together your flour and a pinch of salt and put the bowl right next to the stove in readiness.

In a medium pot, combine the butter and water and bring to the boil.



Pour the flour/salt mixture into the boiling water/butter all at once. Stir vigorously until the mixture forms a ball and pulls right away from the sides. This takes just a minute or two.



Now take the pot off of the stove and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with your wooden spoon in between. With each addition, it looks like the egg won’t mix in and the dough starts to fall apart but keep mixing and after a couple of minutes of hard labor, the dough comes together again in one big lump and it’s time to add the next egg.


After the fourth egg has been thoroughly incorporated, put the dough into a piping bag with a large tip, about 1/2 in or 1 cm wide.

Pipe the soft dough on the parchment paper in 1 inch or 2.5cm circles about an equal measure apart from each other.


Poke down any pointy tops with a damp finger.


Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes then turn the temperature down to 400°F or 200°C and bake for a further 25 minutes. (OR you can now pop them in the freezer if you want to keep some for later.  You only need 18 for the Beef Wellington Bites. Once frozen, slip them off the parchment and into a Ziploc bag for storage. They are perfect for sweet or savory fillings and can be taken out of the freezer and baked as you need them.)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Once they are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container until you are ready to serve.

When you are ready to serve, warm your duxelles and your tenderloin steaks. Slice the steaks thinly.



Split the choux buns open horizontally. Add a good spoon of the duxelles to the bottom. Top with sliced steak and finally, add a small slice of paté.



Put the top of the choux bun back on and repeat the process until all the Beef Wellington Bites are assembled.

Enjoy!



Do you enjoy Finger Foods for Dinner? I think they are great for movie nights but in our house we also always do all appetizers for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as well.

I want everything on this list!

Pinky Appetizers
Manual Mains
Digit Desserts


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Sunday, March 27, 2016

Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Roasted Vegetables

You can’t beat lamb shoulder, slow roasted with loads of vegetables, rosemary and garlic. It practically falls off the bone, the succulent lamb is so tender. I promise you won't even need a knife.

This week my Sunday Supper group is joyously celebrating a wedding we wish we could really attend, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, the sequel to one of our favorite movies. It’s been a long time coming! When the theme for this week was first announced, all I could think about was the quote from Aunt Voula, and one of my favorite scenes from the first movie.
Aunt Voula: What do you mean he don't eat no meat?
[the entire room stops, in shock]
Aunt Voula: Oh, that's okay. I make lamb.
So I had to make lamb. We eat lamb a minimum of three to four times a month at our house, either roasted leg or shoulder, lamb steaks, lamb patties with mashed potatoes and gravy, not to mention grilled lamb chops. This dish is one of our favorites and would make a great main course for Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday which will be celebrated on May 1st this year.

Make sure you scroll down and check out the link list of all the other My Big Fat Greek Wedding-inspired dishes we are sharing today, along with our talented host, Nichole from Casa de Crews. What a fabulous Greek wedding feast this would be!

Adapted from JamieOliver.com.

Ingredients
2 purple onions (approx. weight 9 oz or 255g)
3 carrots (approx. weight 9 oz or 255g)
2- 3 stalks celery (approx. weight 3 3/4 oz or 105g)
Few sprigs fresh thyme
5-6 fresh rosemary sprigs, plus 1 for garnish, if desired
Olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 lb 10 oz or 2.55kg lamb shoulder, bone in
2 1/3 oz or 65g cloves garlic (about 15)
2 red chili peppers (optional but we love the hint of spice that infuses the whole dish)
4 ripe tomatoes (approx. weight 11 oz or 312g)
2 cans – 14oz or 400g – whole plum tomatoes
1 2/3 cups or 375ml drinkable red wine (half a bottle)
2 bay leaves
1 large leek (approx. weight 14 oz or 400g, before trimming)

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and make sure the shelves are positioned so that you put a pan with a big lamb shoulder in it. I use my large Le Creuset roaster so I put the shelf almost at the bottom to leave room for the cover and its round handle.

Peel the onions and carrots. Quarter the onions. Cut the carrots and celery into bite-sized pieces.

Strip the leaves off of your thyme and sprinkle half of them into the bottom of a large roasting pan, along with a good drizzle of olive oil, a couple of sprigs of rosemary and a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Season the bottom of your lamb shoulder with more salt and pepper and lay it on the herb bed.



Use a sharp paring knife to poke holes in the top of the lamb shoulder, then stuff these holes with a quarter or half a clove of garlic (depending on the size of your clove) and a few rosemary leaves.

Give the whole thing a good sprinkle of salt, fresh ground black pepper. Add on the other half of the thyme leaves and a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Add the onions, celery and chili peppers around the lamb shoulder.



Chop your tomatoes in large pieces and add them to the pot along with the carrots.



Pour in the canned tomatoes, along with half a can of water and the rest of the garlic cloves.



Pour in the wine and then tuck the bay leaves down in between the vegetables.

Thoroughly clean the leek, cut off and discard the hard green end, and then chop the white part into small cylinders. Add these to the pot.



Cover the roasting pan tightly with a double layer of heavy-duty foil or its tight fitting cover and put it into the oven. Turn down the oven temperature to 325°F or 170°C and cook for about three hours.



Remove the cover or the foil, baste the lamb shoulder with the juice in the pan or drizzle with a little more olive oil.  Cook for another 30 minutes or until the lamb is nicely browned and falling off the bone.



You can gently remove some of the bones before putting it on the table for folks to help themselves or pull it apart for them in the kitchen.

Either way, serve it with some crusty bread to sop up all the juices. Or over the top of some mashed potatoes.



Enjoy!

Have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 yet? It just opened in the cinemas here in Dubai but I haven’t had a chance go yet so I am going to have to just console myself with some movie-inspired dishes instead. Won’t you join me?

Greek Appetizers:
Greek Soups:
Greek Breakfast:
Greek Main Dishes:
Greek Side Dishes:
Greek Desserts:
Greek Beverages:

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Sunday, March 20, 2016

Spicy Egg Biryani

Spicy egg biryani is the perfect balance of fragrant rice and mellow boiled eggs, great as a vegetarian main dish or as a side to be served with a meat-based curry.

Food Lust People Love: Spicy egg biryani is the perfect balance of fragrant rice and mellow boiled eggs, great as a vegetarian main dish or as a side to be served with a meat-based curry.


Here in the United Arab Emirates, our weekend is Friday and Saturday, with Sunday being a normal working day. Most Fridays will find us out on the water in our Drascombe Longboat, a small single hull sailing vessel. It’s not fancy but is perfectly suited to day trips amongst the islands all around the bigger island of Abu Dhabi with a two-man (one dog) crew.

After a day in the sea, salt air and sun with friends, we return to shore and spend the evening sipping gin and tonic with those same friends and we almost invariably order curry for dinner. I am familiar with most of the dishes, typical Jalfreezis and Kormas and Vindaloos but egg biryani was a new one for me. Spicy rice with whole boiled eggs! Apparently it isn’t even on the menu so one just has to know to order it. And I’m so glad my friends did.

I wish my whole Sunday Supper family could join us out on the water someday but at least you can eat some egg biryani of a Friday evening. It’s got a lot of ingredients but don’t let that discourage you. It doesn’t take long to make and is so worth it.

Make sure you scroll on down to see all of the delicious egg recipes we are sharing today, along with our eggstraordinary host, Wendy of Wholistic Woman.

Recipe adapted from Swasthi's Recipes.

Serves 3-4 as a main course, 5-6 as a side dish
Ingredients
5-6 eggs (We are going to boil these so you could use leftover Easter eggs!)
1 1/2 cups or 300g basmati rice
1 large potato

For the tarka:
3 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter
1 star anise
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 green cardamom pods
4 to 5 cloves
1 inch or 2.5cm cinnamon stick
1 strand mace

For the spice paste:
1 large onion
2 medium tomatoes
Generous handful mint and cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish, if desired
1 small knob fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons plain thick (Greek style) yogurt
Salt
2 green chili peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons biryani masala powder (premixed spices for biryani, any one will do)
2 1/2 cups or 590ml cold water

Method
Rinse your rice until the water runs clear and then soak it in cool water for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Drain water and set the rice aside in a colander or strainer.

Put your eggs to cook in a pot of cool water. When the water comes to the boil, cover the pot, turn the fire off and leave for 10 minutes. Drain and fill with more cool water. Peel the eggs when they are cool enough to handle. Prink them all over with a fork. Set aside.

Peel and cut your potato in small cubes. Thinly slice the onions and chop your tomatoes.


Roughly chop your herbs and reserve some for garnish.

Peel the ginger and garlic cloves and mash them into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Split your green chili peppers down the middle, just up to the stem.



In a pot with a tight fitting lid that will be big enough to hold all the biryani, heat your ghee and then fry the dried spices in it briefly, stirring constantly. Watch out for popping cardamom pods.



Add in the sliced onions and fry till golden brown, stirring frequently. Add in the ginger garlic paste and fry for just a few minutes again, stirring well.



Add in the tomatoes, chopped herbs, turmeric, cayenne, salt, split green chili peppers, yogurt and a good sprinkling of salt. Stir well and cook until the tomatoes turn mushy and you have a good thick paste.



Add the eggs and cubed potatoes. Stir gently to coat them with the seasonings.



Add in the drained rice and the biryani masala powder and stir again to coat the rice with the wet and dry seasonings, being careful not to break the eggs.



Pour in the cold water and one teaspoon of salt. Stir again. Over a medium heat, bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cover the pot with its tight fitting lid.



Simmer for 20 minutes or until the water has been fully absorbed and the rice is cooked. Leave the lid on the pot until you are ready to serve as the rice will continue to steam inside.



To serve, fluff the rice with a fork. Sprinkle on some chopped herbs and make sure that everyone gets at least one egg.

Food Lust People Love: Spicy egg biryani is the perfect balance of fragrant rice and mellow boiled eggs, great as a vegetarian main dish or as a side to be served with a meat-based curry.


Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Spicy egg biryani is the perfect balance of fragrant rice and mellow boiled eggs, great as a vegetarian main dish or as a side to be served with a meat-based curry.


Looking for eggspirational recipes? We've got 'em for you today!

Appetizers & Sides
Main Dishes (Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Brinner and Dinner!)
Desserts

Jade - our Drascombe Longboat. 


Our salty dog, Beso. He loves sailing! 
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Sunday, March 13, 2016

Persian Lamb Meatballs

Tart barberries give these lamb meatballs or koofteh berenji a subtle edge, mellowed by the addition of lentils and rice. This is a tasty one-pot meal to feed a hungry family.

This week Sunday Supper is celebrating National Meatball Day, albeit just a little late. My attitude is that anytime is a good time for meatballs, and I’m sure our host this week, Sue of Palatable Pastime, would agree. Almost 50 Sunday Supper tastemakers certainly do! Make sure scroll down to check out the link list below for an amazing array of meatball recipes.

A couple of years ago, when my sister and a friend were visiting me here in Dubai, we went on a foodie tour with Frying Pan Adventures, something I would highly recommend to anyone who travels here and has an interest in foods of the world. One of the stops was a lovely little shop that sold all manner of Persian and Arabic ingredients, including barberries. I had never heard of barberries so, of course, I had to buy some. They are used in many traditional Iranian dishes, especially rice pilaf and lend both a tart flavor and a beautiful ruby highlights.

This meatball recipe is adapted from one in Delicious. magazine’s March 2015 edition.

Ingredients
For the meatballs:
3/4 cup or 150g basmati rice
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for seasoning
Scant 1/2 cup or 100g green lentils
1 lb 1 1/2 oz or 495g ground lamb
Small bunch parsley
Small bunch cilantro
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 large onion
2 handfuls dried barberries, stems picked out and discarded, if any are present
3 eggs
Black pepper

For the sauce:
Olive oil for frying
1 large onion
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons tomato purée
14 oz or 400g can chopped tomatoes

To serve:
Chopped green onions or more cilantro and parsley
Plain yogurt
Flatbread

Method
Finely chop your parsley and cilantro. Chop one onion finely and slice the other as thinly as you can manage. Finely mince the garlic or put it through a garlic press.

Bring one liter or 4 1/4 cups water to the boil in a large pot. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and add in the rice. Boil for seven minutes then drain the rice and set aside to cool.

Repeat the process with the lentils but reduce the heat to medium after you add them to the boiling, salted water and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils are just cooked. Drain, rinse and set aside to cool.



In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled rice, lentils, ground lamb, herbs, flour, turmeric, and a generous sprinkling of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.



Shape the mixture into 12 large meatballs. Traditionally, they should be rugby ball-shaped but I made mine round.

Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil into a large deep saucepan with a lid and gently fry the sliced onions until they soften and start to color slightly.

Add in the teaspoon of ground turmeric and the garlic and fry for a few more minutes.



Pour 1 liter or 4 1/4 cups water into the saucepan then add in the tomato purée and stir well. Sprinkle on some more fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.



Add the can of chopped tomatoes and bring to the boil, then turn the fire down to a medium heat. Carefully add the meatballs to the pan, one by one.

Partially cover the pan with the lid, leaving it slightly ajar, and cook the meatballs for 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours.



Once the cooking time is done, taste and add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Sprinkle on some chopped green onions. Serve with yogurt and flatbread.


Enjoy!



You might also like my Sopa de Albondigas, Easy Meatballs á la Jamie Oliver, Porcupine Balls or my grandmother's favorite spaghetti sauce with meatballs.

And here are all the wonderful Sunday Supper recipes:

Meatball Appetizers and Soup
Main Dish Meatballs
Meatball Desserts