LAMB WITH PEPPERS

I have been woefully neglectful of my blog for some time. You know how it is – work gets frantic, personal life take an unexpected turn, suddenly life is taking up far more time than it should do. But I think we’re over the worst now (fingers crossed) and I was delighted to have my mate Tony (aka The Skint Foodie) over for a Spanish-stylee dinner a couple of Saturdays ago.  

I turned to Rick Stein’s Spain and Claudia Roden’s new tome for inspiration. I didn’t want to do jamon, tortilla, albondigas and croquetas but something slightly different with maybe a couple of favourites thrown in.  The first dish I would like to share with you is inspired by Rick Stein’s Slow Braised Lamb with fresh and dried peppers  – we had this as a main course with a soupy vegetable dish of artichokes, peas and broad beans in a thickened chicken stock. There wasn’t much left, so it must have been alright. It is supposed to be quite a chilli hot dish so don’t spare the hot smoked paprika.

Slow Cooked Lamb with Peppers 

Serves 4 

1 kg neck fillet

1 tblsp hot smoked paprika

2 tblsp olive oil

2 medium onions sliced finely

4 garlic cloves finely sliced

1 tblsp hot smoked paprika

75g Serrano ham, finely chopped

Can of tinned tomatoes, chopped

1 tblsp fresh thyme leaves

4 bay leaves

2 large roasted skinned peppers from a jar (or DIY), chopped

1 tblsp. chopped flat  

Cut the lamb into bit sized chunks then toss in the sweet paprika and leave for an hour or so out of the fridge. Heat the oil then fry off the lamb in batches so that it gets a nice brown, slightly crispy, coat. Take out of the pan and put to one side. 

Add the onions and garlic to the oil and sauté slowly until soft and golden brown. Add the paprika and Serrano ham and cook gently for a further five minutes. Add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves and pepper. Bring to a simmer, add the lamb, and braise for 45 minutes.  

Add more hot smoked paprika if not hot enough for you, sprinkle with the parsley and serve. I served it with vegetables cooked in a chicken broth, which suited the dish very well.....

Chilli for a Friday night

 CHILLI 

Chilli is a Friday night favourite in our household. A perfect excuse for a Margarita and a plate of nachos to unwind after the toils of the week.  I make no claims to the authenticity of this dish that, like many ‘peasant’ dishes, takes many forms.  Some people say you shouldn’t use kidney beans, or tomatoes, but I like the variety of texture and flavour they bring,and I use fresh green chillies rather than chilli powder because they impart a distinctive flavour as well as heat. I often use stewing steak chopped up very small instead of mince and have even been known to use a tin of ready cooked onions but don’t tell anyone.  I do think the secret is to cook it for a long time, at least an hour and a half, so that the meat becomes really tender – it’s often assumed that mince doesn’t need long cooking but just think what cuts of meat butchers use to make mince…it won’t be fillet steak.  And if is, that’s a crime! 

I serve my chilli with guacamole, brown and wild rice mixed together and pitta bread. I make my guacamole by combining the flesh of two avocadoes, half a finely chopped shallot, tablespoon of chopped coriander, finely chopped flesh of a large tomato, a splash of cream and lime juice, salt and black pepper to taste.

So feet up, sit back, and relax into the weekend....

Chilli

2 finely chopped onions

1 clove garlic crushed

1kg minced beef (I use 10% fat)

1 tblsp. flour

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

400 g tin of kidney beans

5 green chillies, chopped (including seeds)

1 tblsp. tomato puree

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp smoked sweet paprika

Ground black pepper

Salt if needed

1.         Gently fry the onion and garlic in a little oil until soft and pale golden.

2.         Turn up the heat and add the minced beef and brown it off, breaking it up as you go. 

3.         Once the mince is cooked and the fat has come out sprinkle the flour into the pan, stir round to absorb the fat, then stir in 250ml of water until it all becomes smooth again.

4.         Now add the beef stock, tomatoes, kidney beans, chillies, paprika, cumin and black pepper.  Give it all a good stir, bring back to simmer, and cook for an hour.  You may need to add water from time to time and it does have a tendency to stick, so keep an eye on it!

5.       Taste and see if it needs more heat.  If so, add hot smoked paprika.