SLOW COOKED INDIAN SPICED LAMB IN GINGER BEER

So here is an alternative idea for your Easter lamb.  Sainsbury's gave me a challenge of cooking a leg of lamb but adding a 'Little Twist' and using ginger beer. Here is what I came up with.

Ginger beer already has a bit of heat to it so the addition of Indian spices are the perfect marriage.  If you're organised enough you can marinade your lamb over night but it's still super delicious if you do it an hour or so before cooking.  You could cover the base of your roasting dish with slices of waxy potatoes such as Charlotte or Jersey Royals to cook your lamb on, they will cook in the juices and soak up all those lovely flavours.

Slow cooking the meat gives it a melt in the mouth texture that just falls of the bone. I marinade the lamb the day before then pop it in the oven when I get up in the morning.  I don't have to think about it then untill lunch time and it's ready to serve.  The gravy from this dish was delicious, the indian spices and a bit of sweetness from the ginger beer made it very popular indeed.

1tsp Ground Coriander
2tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Cinnamon
3 Garlic Cloves crushed
1 Thumb of Ginger peeled and grated
Lemon Juice to mix paste
31g pack fresh Coriander chopped
2.5kg Leg of Lamb
500g Charlotte Potatoes (optional)
500ml Ginger Beer

In a bowl combine all the spices, garlic and ginger then add enough lemon juice to form a slightly runny paste and stir in the coriander.  Pierce the meat all over.  Smother the lamb with the marinade and massage it in.  Seal in a large food bag or non-metalic container and chill over night.

When you are ready to cook your lamb, heat the oven to 150C.  Place the marinated lamb in a deep sided flame proof roasting dish and pour the ginger beer around it.  Seal with a lid or foil and leave it to cook for 5 hours, basting from time to time.

Once the lamb has cooked, carefuly remove it from the pan and cover with foil to keep it warm.  Skim off any excess fat and transfer the pan to the hob to make a gravy.  Add 2tbsp of flour, stir for a couple of minutes to cook the flour and thicken your gravy, you can add a little hot water to make it go a bit further if you like.

You can now serve your lamb with the gravy poured over it or separtely with rice or the potatoes if using.

CHEWY ALMOND BISCUITS

OMGosh, I'm addicted to these biscuits, I made them for friends as a gift when we went for dinner and now I can't stop making them. I have a feeling that everyone will be getting a parcel of these from me this christmas.

Because they are made with just almonds, icing sugar and egg white they have a light crisp outer shell and a soft chewy middle a bit like a macaron, what's not to like?  As they are so irresistible this batch makes quite a lot but why mess about, lets face it they'll get eaten before you can give them away.

Give them a go and you too will be making small hampers of them as gifts this year.

Makes 30


300g Icing Sugar
230g Ground Almonds
2 Egg Whites
1 tsp Almond Extract
100g Flaked Almonds
Icing Sugar to Dust







In a bowl combine the icing sugar, ground almonds, egg whites and almond extract.  I use my free standing mixer.  It will come together into a thick paste.

Scoop out a large teaspoon of the mix and roll in your palm to form a ball, about the size of a walnut. Now role the the ball in the flaked almonds and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Repeat until you have used all the mixture.  I found it easier to make all the balls then role them in the almonds as you get a but sticky.  Give them enough room on the parchment to spread a little.

Once they are all made, give them a liberal dustin with icing sugar and bake for 15 minutes at 160C Fan.  Dust again with icing sugar and leave to cool a little on the baking tray before transferring to a cooling rack.  try to resist having one straight away, ok, maybe just one :)

CHRISTMAS BREAD PUDDING

I must confess that as a child, if we were ever fortunate enough to have the opportunity to select a cake from the cake shop, I would quite often opt for the bread pudding.  Mainly because it appeared to be the largest cake available.  I realise now that it was probably a great money spinner for the bakers giving them a new lease of life for the unsold stale bread.

Bread pudding is a proper comfort food with its warming spices and stodgy texture and perfect for this time of year.  I made some after our halloween party when we had lots of hotdog rolls left over and it reminded me of christmas pudding so I thought I'd take it a step further and give it a bit more yule tide pimping.  So here we have my christmas bread pudding which we ate warm with cream and custard. I think it tastes like christmas but a lot quicker to make than the usual pudding.

1 Litre Milk
130g Sugar
300g Dried Cranberries
200g Sultanas
75g Butter
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Mixed Spice
Zest of 1 Orange
1 tsp Orange Extract
700g Bread (made into bread crumbs)
2 Eggs
2 tbsp Demerara Sugar
40g Flaked Almonds
2 tbsp Granulated Sugar


Butter a large baking dish (30cm x 20cm).  Heat the oven to 160C fan

Warm the milk in a large pan with the sugar, cranberries, sultanas, butter, cinnamon, mixed spice, orange zest and extract.  Heat till the buyer has melted then pour in the bread crumbs and stir till combined.  Now mix in the eggs.

Tip the mixture into the baking dish and gently spread it out evenly.  Don't squash it, you want a rough top with texture.  Scatter the flaked almonds and Demerara sugar on top and cover the whole dish in foil.  Bake for 40 minutes then remove the foil and give it another 15 minutes uncovered.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle immediately with granulated sugar.