Marinated lamb & slow roasted tomato salad | Recipe

Lately I've become utterly obsessed with Leeds Market when it comes to my food shop. I've watched food programes since I was a tot and never really gave much of a toss about these great markets in Britain until recently. Whilst walking around, picking up fresh duck eggs and nibbling on bits of sample cheeses, it occurred to me, my Dad would often tell me to visit the local market in Chester, to keep it alive for others to enjoy too when it was threatened to be closed, but the importance just never sank in until now. The huge range of fruits, veg and meat you can pick up is incredible - not to mention cheap! I will forever wince at the price of meat and veg in Morrisons or Tesco after my recent ventures. 

So in honour of my Dad, the ever experimental "throw whatever you have in the cupboard in it" kind of cook. I picked up some quality lamb cutlets and stocked up on my fresh herbs & headed home to pull together a fresh, summery (and relatively healthy) tea for me & Creature.

After routing through my veg stocks, I decided upon a slow roasted baby tomato salad with balsamic glaze to accompany the lamb. My fridge is stock full of salad, veg and fruit at the moment as myself & Creature are on a major health kick. So many of the bits you need for this recipe I already have as cupboard essentials. So without further ado. Here is my recipe for Marinated lamb with slow roasted garlic baby tomato salad. 

Ingredients:

The lamb & marinade:

(Feeds 2)

4 Lamb cutlets on the bone

Olive oil

dried chilies

fresh mint

fresh rosemary

Garlic pepper seasoning

For the roasted tomatoes:

1 packet of sweet baby tomatoes

1 bulb of garlic

black pepper

sea salt

Fresh thyme

Olive oil

Salad:

1 packet of mixed baby leaf salad or Rocket

balsamic vinegar or dressing

red onions (roasted or raw)

Fresh mint

Fresh basil

This may seem like a lot of ingredients, but the most important thing for this recipe is the balance of herbs. For those of you who don't have garlic pepper for the marinade, using garlic salt and a twist of black pepper would be fine. Or even fresh garlic and chilies would work a treat too.

1. The Lamb marinade:  Firstly you need to marinade the meat. Finely chop 2 sprigs of rosemary leaves and mint, mix 3 table spoons of olive oil in a large dish and add in 1 tsp of dried chilies & 1 tsp garlic salt. Sprinkle in your fresh herbs and mix with a spoon until evenly distributed in the oil. Next drop your cutlets into the marinade and made sure they're all lightly coated. 

Cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge. The longer you leave them the better, over night would be best. But 4 hours+ will ensure your meat had absorbed enough of that gorgeous flavor. 

2. The roasted tomatoes: Cut your baby toms into half's and mix in a bowl with 1 tbsp of oil, ensuring all have a light coating. Next finely slice 3 garlic cloves and a handful of fresh thyme. Distribute the tomatoes across a lined baking tray, and place a thin slice of garlic on each one. If you enjoy roasted garlic you could also like I have roast some whole cloves too, but this is optional. 

Next,  sprinkle the toms with cracked black pepper and place in a preheated low oven at 140'c for 2 hours. Make sure they are wilted but still a little juicy when took out of the oven. They should be soft and deliciously sweet. 

Leave the tomatoes to cool once cooked so they are at room temp when served. In the mean time, turn on your grill for the lamb.

3. Cooking the Lamb: The lamb will only need 3-4 minutes on each side to ensure it is medium and pink inside. I prefer my lamb pink and juicy. However if you prefer yours rarer, or even well done, add or subtract 1 minute cooking time. The meat should spring back to the touch and the fat will have crisped up some when done, but again this is personal preference. - leave to rest for 5 minutes.

I grilled my lamb to ensure any excess fat was drained off, this was a healthier option for myself and creature. Feel free however to roast the meat instead - basted in its own juices.

4. Assemble your dish: Whilst the meat is resting, in a salad bowl place your salad leaves, whole mint and ripped basil leaves, roasted tomatoes and garlic and toss together. The tomatoes will break up some and create a lovely sweet juice that coats the leaves. On this occasion I also slow roasted some red onions in just a little oil, salt and pepper and tossed with the salad.

Add a liberal handful of the salad in the middle of your plate, dribbling a drizzle of balsamic vinegar around the plate and over the leaves. Then place your cutlets on the top & enjoy with a glass of vino!

Would you try my marinated lamb & salad?

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Cadburys Creme Egg brownies | Recipe

Last week my social media pages were inundated with photos of chocolate from Easter. It may come as a shock, but I'm not a huge chocolate eater, other than high % dark chocolate that I can eat by the bar. However, sweet milk chocolate? - Not my bag.

Like many of you though, I do get an insane amount of Crème Eggs from friends and family. And although I'm admittedly not a chocaholic, I can never say no to a gooey brownie. So here is a deliciously chocolaty recipe that will put good use to any stray crème eggs you may have left over.

| Prep time: 15mins | Cooking time 40mins | Serves 12 |

Ingredients:

185g Dark Chocolate

185g Butter (or Margarine)

85g Plain Flour

40g Cocoa Powder

3 Eggs

275g Caster Sugar

6 Cadbury Creme Eggs

1. To begin, pre-heat the oven to 180 and gas mark 4.

2.You need to start your basic brownie batter. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Once mixed together, leave to the side to cool a little.

3. Next mix your eggs and sugar using an electric whisk. This takes time and your mixture needs to double in size and thicken up. Your mix should also be pale in colour.

Add you egg and sugar mix to your cooled chocolate mixture. TIP: Make sure your chocolate mixture is at least luke warm, or cooler. If the chocolate mixture is too hot it will cook the eggs!

4. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and fold everything together. TIP: Take your time and be gentle. Cut your creme eggs in half. This is tricky and doesn’t always turn out very neat, but don’t worry, it will still taste great!

5. Pour everything into your greased & lined tray, pushing the crème egg halves into the mixture and spaced evenly. Then bake in your preheated oven for 40 minutes.

6. I like mine still gooey in the middle however if you like yours a little more cakey, leave them in the oven for 50 minutes. Once cooked, leave to cool before cutting into 12 pieces and serving with vanilla ice cream.

Have you ever tried Crème Egg brownies?

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Sausage & red wine casserole | Recipe

 

This recipe is one of my favourite winter warmer meals. We usually do this for a mid week treat, and often it is done in the slow cooker, however for todays recipe, I'll take you through the steps to making it on the hob first.

 

What you'll need:

4 Sausages

2 large potatoes

1 white onion

1 courgette

1 red pepper

handful of mushrooms

Garlic

Ginger

2 cups of red wine

2 cups of beef stock

Chopped chillies (optional)

 

1. Brown off your sausages on a medium - high heat. You can either keep them whole or cut them into bite size pieces, either is fine. Once browned, set aside and start frying your onions, garlic and ginger in the same pan (I used a wok, but I was making a large amount).

 

2. I like my veg to have a little bite, so after 3 minutes of frying your onions, add your courgettes, peppers and mushroom to the pan, sweating them down for a few minutes.

 

3. Add your sausages back to the pan & mix them around. Then pour in your beef stock & bring to the boil, before turning it down to a simmer. You can now add your wine, I like to have a rich gravy so I used 2 cups, you can however use less.

 

4. Simmer for an hour on a low-medium heat, ensuring your sausages are cooked through and juicy. Your gravy will reduce and become more intense in flavour. But, if like me you like a thicker sauce, You can thicken by either adding some gravy granules or a little bit of corn flour mixed with water.   

 

I serve mine with a heap of creamy mash & lots of those lovely stewed veggies. 

 

The slow cooker process is much the same, except I don't brown or soften my veg. You just throw in the browned sausages, raw veg, stock and wine into he slow cooker & cook for a minimum of 6 hours on low, 4 hours on high. - Again, to thicken just use gravy granules or corn flour.

 

You can also do this in the oven, follow the above steps, but when ready to add stock, transfer the softened veg and sausages to a casserole dish, add your stock & wine, cover with foil or a lid and bake in the oven for 40 minutes - 1 hour.  

 

Would you try my sausage casserole recipe?

 

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ROTW | Homemade summer potato salad

 

 

 A little bit of a simple recipe but one I absolutely adore. For many of you who are really well seasoned cooks this will be a pretty basic & beginners dish. But hey ho, I thought I'd share what has fast become a house favourite here in the Leeds Man Den.

So, what you'll need:
(serves 2-3)
20 baby potatoes
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
pinch of Pepper
1/4 tsp Chilli
1 Red onion
1 tbsp Light Mayonaise

Step 1: Prep your veg!
 Chop each of your potatoes into bite size pieces, this ensures they cook quickly & its a no fuss eat. also finely chop your red onion ready for softening in a pan later.

Step 2: The Cooking!
Allow your potatoes at least 15 minutes to cook in boiling, lightly salted water, until soft & cooked through. Whilst you're waiting for your potatoes, fry your onions in a pan adding a 1/4 teaspoon of hot chilli power for a little bit of a kick - If you're not a fan of chilli this bit isn't essential but it gives a slight bit of heat that I personally love.
Once the onions are softened, set a side & once cooked through, drain your potatoes.

Step 3: Bring it together!
Grab a serving bowl & transfer the drained potatoes & softened onions, mixing them together well. You can then add the table spoon of light mayonnaise and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
(The garlic salt is just for flavour, again if you dislike this, its not essential, I just find it to be tasty with both chilli & garlic added)
Once everything is in the bowl, mix well & add a few twists or a pinch of black pepper to taste.

I served my potato salad still warm with a Salt & Chilli chicken breast & a size of rocket salad.

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This recipe, although unbelievably simple, is an amazing side dish to so many main meals or lunches. I've found myself leaning toward this even more since the weather took a turn for the glorious. And its perfect with grilled/BBQ meats or fish!

Have you ever made your own potato salad?

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BBQ pulled pork | ROTW

Hey guys,

A few months ago I set off with the plan to share at least one recipe with you a week. Unlike a lot of students I know, I don't tend to live on beans on toast or microwave meals. I'm one of these weirdos who actually cooks a proper meal every night!
However my vow to share my food with you weekly has failed miserably and I think this is only the second post? Darn it, I really need to stick to these weekly posts!

Anyways, today I've been giving something new a try and I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Because honestly, its super easy & for any of you out there who are (like me) obsessed with TV food shows like Man V Food, I guarantee you'll be drooling at your computer screens once you've finished reading!

So here is my super easy slow cooker pulled pork recipe!

 

    Ingredients:

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon salt,

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 (4-1/2- to 5-pound) boneless pork shoulder, fat removed.

2 cups barbecue sauce (optional) 

1. Place the chopped onions and garlic in an even layer in the slow cooker and pour in the stock or broth.

2. Combine the sugar, chili powder, measured salt, cumin, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pat the pork dry with paper towels & rub the spice mixture all over the pork.
Place the meat on top of the onions and garlic. Cover and cook until the pork is fork tender, about 6 to 8 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.

3. Turn off the slow cooker and remove the pork to a cutting board. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the onion mixture from the slow cooker through the strainer and return the solids to the slow cooker. Set the strained liquid aside.

4. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker, add the barbecue sauce, if using, and mix to combine. If you’re not using barbecue sauce, use a spoon to skim and discard the fat from the surface of the strained cooking liquid, and then add 1/4 cup of the liquid at a time to the slow cooker until the pork is just moistened. Taste and season with salt as needed.

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I seriously recommend if you haven't invested in a slow cooker, to do so. So many of my favourite meals are done in the slow cooker & if you're a student & in & out of your flat/house its ideal!

In these photos I have pinched my flat mates larger cooker as I have a 1.5lr one that could only fit 1 small joint in. But the upside to mine is it only cost £15 from B&M bargains!
Otherwise most bigger ones are around the £25 mark in most supermarkets.

Would you try this recipe?

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