Housewife

I cooked the most amazing dinner for my housemates the other night #ifidosaysomyself

Slowcooked shoulder of lamb with roast cauliflower salad and spiced sweet potato.

The lamb was on the slow cooker from 8am til 7.30pm and the sides took 20 minutes to pull together. Such an easy and relatively healthy dinner. 

The lamb was based on this Jamie Oliver recipe, but I put about 1.5 cups of chicken stock in the bottom of the slow cooker because I had it on for so long and didn't want it to dry out.

The roast cauli salad was from the Women's Weekly fast diet cookbook. It was kind of similar, sort of, almost, to this one.

And then there was the sweet potato that was gingery and delish with preserved lemon and fresh coriander. Find it here.

I cheated with dessert and picked up some absolute delights from Millstone Patisserie in Malvern. Get there as soon as humanly possible. Run, don't walk. It's phenomenal.

Spicing things up

Dreaming of Morocco today after a brilliant cooking class with the Head Chef of B'Stilla in the LG Kitchen at South Melbourne Markets last night.

Liam gave me a voucher for my birthday and it was brilliant. I'll share photos over the next week or so. The tagine was Out. Of. This. World.

TGIF friends x

Get some pork on your fork

I'm trying to cut back on buying magazines but I just can't walk past Donna Hay in the supermarket.

Her food stylists are masters and I just love how her food looks. Of course, I can never replicate such beauty, but the recipes are just so easy that I'm willing to give it a shot.

I had Ad and Nick over for dinner the other night so that Nick could set up my itunes and iCloud and all the rest of it. I've got no idea what it all means! He has the patience of a saint and fingers crossed has me all sorted when my phone - including all photos and contacts - is deleted from the system when I leave my job.

Scary how much we rely on phones these days!

Anyway, I wanted to do one big final cook up before I pack up my kitchen.

I'm in the mood for comfort food so settled on a pork and lemon ragy with crispy sage. Perfect Sunday night fodder.

It was delish and even the leftovers were good.

pork and lemon ragu with crispy sage

Serves 4-6

1 Tbspn olive oil, plus extra for brushing

1.5kg boneless pork neck, cut into 8 pieces (I had no idea what this was so asked the butcher and he said it was pork scotch fillet)

sea salt and cracked black pepper

1 brown onion, sliced

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup (250mL) dry white wine

1 x 400g can cherry tomatoes

1/2 tspn dried chilli flakes

1/4 cup (6ml) lemon juice

2 Tbspns finely grated lemon rind

2 cups (500ml) chicken stock

24 sprigs sage

1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil

12 slices rye sourdough bread

1. Preheat oven to 180. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based ovenproof saucepan over high heat.
2. Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper and cook, in batches, for 3-4 minutes each side or until browned.
3. Remove from the pan and set aside.
4. Add the onion, celery and garlic and cook, stirring frequently for 3-4  minutes or until the onion is softened.
5. Add the wine and cook for 2-3 mins until reduced by half.
6. Add the cherry tomatoes, chilli, lemon juice, 1 Tbspn lemon rind, stock and half the sage and stir to combine.
7. Return the pork to the pan and bring to the boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven.
8. Cook for 2 hours - 2 hours and 30 mins or until tender.
9. Stir through the remaining lemon rind, set aside and keep warm.
10. Increase oven temp to 220. Heat the vegetable oil in a small non-stick frying pan over high heat. 
11. Add the remaining sage leaves and cook for 30 seconds or until crisp. Drain on absorbent paper.
12. Place the bread on a large baking tray and brush with oil. Bake for 4-5 mins or until toasted.
13. Serve the pork with the sauce and bread and top with the crispy sage.

Donna Hay - Autumn Winter 2013

(I served mine with mashed potato and used fig and fennel sourdough which was the perfect match for the pork)

Enjoy xxx

Party of five

New friends are a wonderful find. I've recently sparked up a friendship with a couple who are new to the Rad and although the link might be distant, we get on like a house on fire.

Kristie and Andy are from Sydney and I've made it my mission to prove to them what a great place Adelaide is.

I had them over for dinner last week with another couple and cooked up a comforting winter treat for the five of us.

Baked camembert | Osso bucco | Maple pears

The baked camembert was a hit - kind of a posh fondue! I took the skin off the top of the cheese, left it in its wooden box and stuck some slivers of garlic and a few rosemary pieces into the top. Then, with the leftover rosemary stems, I whittled away the greenery except for a few sprigs at the end and threaded on some chunks of bread before splashing it with olive oil and sea salt and baking with the cheese - about 20 mins.

Shame it was so good - I didn't even get a chance to take a photo!

The maple pears were also a lovely treat - thin slices of pear brushed with butter and covered in demerara sugar, then fried until caremalised, stacked on the plate and drizzled with maple syrup and a dollop of King Island honey and cinnamon yoghurt (so so good!)

Such a lovely evening. And don't you love my strip of imperial trellis fabric? $2 a metre from Spotlight!

Meat me at my place

Indulge me, just for a moment.

As the daughter of a meat wholesaler, I appreciate a good cut of meat. And lamb shoulder is my new favourite.

Inspired by this cold snap at the moment and wanting to jump head first into Winter cooking, I invited the troops around for slow cooked balsamic lamb tonight. That meant a trip to the butcher to source the perfect cut of meat and I'll tell you what - customer service is back and better than ever!

My butcher was awesome - he went above and beyond and even got the whole team involved, giving me hints and tips how to get the meat to caramelise on top and ensure it was lip smackingly good and falling off the bone.

And I didn't do so bad, even if I say so myself!

After 5.5 hours in the oven, the wait was well worth the trouble - complete with duck fat roast potatoes and steamed beans.

It was ah-mazing.

Literally falling off the bone, sooooo tender.

And the balsamic glaze was heavenly. The most delicious dinner and perfect, comforting, indulgent end to a lovely weekend.

And don't get me started on the sticky date puddings . . .

Slow cooked balsamic and garlic lamb

Ingredients
1kg lamb shoulder, on the bone
1⅓ cups (310ml) balsamic vinegar
3 cups (750ml) chicken stock
6 sprigs rosemary
8 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons brown sugar

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 140°C (275°F).
2. Place the lamb, vinegar, stock, rosemary, garlic and sugar in a deep baking dish and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
3. Bake for 3 hours. Turn the lamb and bake for a further 2 hours.
4. Remove the lid, increase temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 30 minutes or until the lamb has browned.
5. Remove lamb from the pan and keep warm. Pour the pan juices over a large bowl of ice and quickly remove the ice and the solidified fat with a slotted spoon. Place the pan juices into a small saucepan and bring to the boil.
6. Serve the lamb with crispy roasted potatoes, steamed greens and the pan juices.

 Thank you Donna Hay

Moreish Moroccan

Gemmy-pops and Benny-boo had me over for dinner last week for quite possibly the most flavoursome dinner I've had all year.

I felt quite honoured to have them crack open their Vera Wang wedding crockery for the special occasion (felt very daggy in my leggings and baggy tee!) and was thrilled to take home a care package of scrummy food - albeit it in a Tupperware jelly mould. Hilarious!

Gem cooked up a treat in her authentic tagine and the flavours matured beautifully overnight to really hit home for lunch the next day. Delicious. I was the envy of the office, that's for sure!

For dessert, I pulled out my trusty new little favourite, thanks to Donna Hay . . . chocolate and cinnamon wontons.

Please, enjoy xo

Lamb, prunes, apricot and honey tagine
Serves 4-6

1-2 Tbspns olive oil
2 Tbspns blanced almonds
2 red onions, finely choped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
a pinch of saffron threads
2 cinnamon sticks
1-2 tspns coriander seeds, crushed
500g boned lamb, from the shoulder, leg or shanks, trimmed and cubed
about 12 stoned prunes, soaked for 1 hour and drained
about 6 dried apricots, soaked for 1 hour and drained
3-4 strips unwaxed orange zest
1-2 Tbspns dark, runny honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

Heat the oil in a tagine or heavy-based casserole, stir in the almonds and cook until they turn golden. Add the onions and garlic and saute until they begin to colour. Stir in the ginger, saffron, cinnamon sticks and coriander seeds. Toss in the lamb, making sure it is coated in the onion and spices, and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Pour in enough water to just cover the meat and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover the tagine or casserole and simmer for about 1 hour, until the meat is tender. Add the prunes, apricots and orange zest, cover the tagine again, and simmer for a fruther 15-20 minutes. Make sure there is enough liquid in the pot, as you want the sauce to be syrupy and slightly caramelised, but not dry.

Stir in some of the fresh coriander and reserve the rest to sprinkle over the top of the dish. Serve immediately with chunks of crusty bread or buttery couscous.

Chocolate and cinnamon wontons

(my after dinner last minute version)

12 wonton/gow gee wrappers

12 pieces of dark chocolate

cinnamon

caster sugar

butter, melted

1. Place the wrappers on a baking tray and top with one piece of chocolate
2. Paint the edges of the wrappers with melted butter and fold over one corner of the wrapper to meet the opposite corner. Press along the edges to seal.
3. Brush the top of the triangles with melted butter and sprinkle with a mixture of caster sugar and cinnamon.
4. Bake in the oven at 180C for 8 minutes.
5. Serve warm (but great cold as well!)