We Love Cooking!:
lamb

The funny thing about the food writing biz is that you end up preparing things way in advance of certain events and Christmas is one of the major ones which editors and researchers panic about and will have you cooking turkeys and hams even before Halloween has passed! However it was very refreshing yesterday to be shooting lots of leftover Christmas dinner recipes for RTÉ's 4Live in the middle of the Christmas season with snow on the ground outside. We thrashed through 6 great festive dishes including, cranberry and white chocolate muffins, leftover ham pies, and a Christmas cheesecake. A big thanks to the lads, Robin, Mark, Niall and Tony who left the house last night stuffed... or so they told me! I'll post some of the recipes from the day during the next weeks but for now just in case you have been suffering from Christmas overload, how about some real food?

Roast Garlic Shepherd's Pie
I was never really a big fan of shepherd's pie growing up, mainly because it was churned out most weeks (sorry mom!) so we became far too used to it, which realistically is a terribly ungrateful complaint, but it's only in the last few years I have fallen in love with this classic little dish all over again. I make mine with a twist by stirring mashed roast garlic through the potato, to be honest I normally make it with two bulbs of garlic because I'm a bit of a garlic fiend, but if you are pushed for time skip the garlic and just make the mash, it will taste just a good. Another handy tip to remember is that once you have assembled the shepherd's pie to the point just before you put it in the oven you can actually freeze the pie and cook from frozen if you fancy prepping a few in advance!

Serves 4
1 garlic bulb
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion , chopped
2-3 medium carrots , chopped
500g pack minced lamb
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
400ml beef stock
800g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
75g butter
50ml milk
Sea salt and ground black pepper to season

First things first, get the garlic in the oven! Preheat the oven to 200oC/Gas Mark 6.
Slice the top off the garlic bulb just enough so that each of the cloves is exposed and place on a roasting tray. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with a some sea salt. Place in the oven to roast for 40 minutes or until soft and tender. When the garlic is cooked, remove the roast cloves from their skins and mash with the back of a fork.
While garlic is roasting, add the potato chunks to a pot of cold water, cover, place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potato is tender when pierced with a fork.
When the potatoes are cooked, remove from the heat, drain into a colander, then add back into the pot with the butter and milk. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy. You may want to add a little bit more or less milk and butter, it is up to you! Add in the mashed garlic and season with sea salt and ground black pepper, stirring to combine.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium frying pan over a medium heat and soften the onion and carrots for 5-6 minutes. Turn up the heat and allow the pan to get hot before you add the minced lamb. Using the a fork break up the meat and allow to brown and cook through for 3-4 minutes. Stir through the tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce until combined and then pour over the beef stock. Bring to a steady simmer, then partially cover and cook for 45 mins.
Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4.
When the lamb is ready, season with sea salt and ground black pepper and transfer to an ovenproof baking dish and top with the roast garlic mash, using a fork to make a nice topping. Give the topping an extra sprinkle of ground black pepper and bake in the oven for 25 mins until the top is starting to brown and the mince is bubbling up around the edges.
Serve straight away for a delicious and comforting supper!

Well we're two rooms down on the house and surprisingly after 3 days in a row in IKEA, I'm still ready for more! We have just got in the door from sorting out the bedroom, with a bed and wardrobe set for delivery tomorrow. I have to admit that with all the rushing around, we have ended up in the cafe twice and I have to confess that I have munched my way through 30 meatballs in the last two days, with copious amounts of mashed potato, gravy and lingonberry jam! But then again when you are lugging your life around there is most definitely a need for some serious comfort food. Speaking of which today's recipe is one of my ultimate comfort foods- Slow cooked lamb shanks for many need absolutely no introduction as you will know just how delicious, slow-cooking this off-cut of meat is. If you haven't tried them before, give this recipe a go it's perfect for the cooler evenings.

Lamb Shanks with Colcannon Mash
I really am a sucker for a good lamb shank, with it's melt-in-the-mouth texture, which literally falls off the bone, it truly is a thing of beauty! The key is to slow cook it at a low temperature. This transforms the gnarly piece of meat into a rich and juicy piece of deliciousness. You can serve it on normal mash, sweet potato mash, or with lentils, but I love colcannon and seeing as it is the season, it makes perfect sense!

Serves 4
30ml/2 tbsp of olive oil
4 lamb shanks
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 onions, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk of celery, finely sliced
350ml/12 fl oz of red wine
A few sprigs of thyme, tied in a bunch with string
650ml/1 ½ pts of stock (vegetable or beef)
2 tablespoons of cornflour
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper

In a large casserole dish, heat the olive oil and add the lamb shanks and brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Fry the onions for two to three minutes until soft but not browned. Add the garlic, carrot and celery and fry for another couple of minutes. Pop in the thyme and stir through.
Add the red wine and bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes.
Place in the browned lamb shanks and pour over the stock. Bring to a steady simmer, then cover and place in the oven at 150oC/300oF/Gas Mark 2.
Cook the lamb shanks very slowly, for three hours, turning them half way through the cooking time, until the meat is extremely tender and almost falls off the bone. Toward the end of the cooking time, taste and season.
If you want to serve the lamb shanks with its juices, I remove a few ladles of the juices and place them in a small saucepan. Then place two tablespoons of the juices in a bowl and stir through the cornflour until you have a smooth mix, pour this back into the saucepan and bring to a steady simmer, cooking down until you have a thick gravy.
Serve in large deep bowls with the colcannon.

For the colcannon:
1kg potatoes, peeled and diced
250g cabbage, finely sliced
1 bunch of spring onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons of butter
75ml of milk or cream
A good pinch of sea salt and black pepper

Add the peeled and diced potato to a pot of cold water, cover, place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potato is tender when pierced with a fork.
Place a metal steamer into another pot, add a little water and bring to the boil. Place the cabbage into the steamer and steam cook until it is tender.
When the potatoes are cooked, remove from the heat, drain into a colander, then add back into the pot with the butter and milk. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy. You may want to add a little bit more or less milk and butter, it's up to you!
Add in the spring onion, steamed cabbage, sea salt and black pepper and stir through with a spoon until evenly combined.
Serve with the lamb shanks.

I have to admit I am a little disappointed in the food culture of Sweden, but then again coming from Ireland where we are awash with small artisan producers I guess I have been a little bit spoiled for choice. When I first arrived here a few years ago, I was so impressed to see kids at school eating proper lunches and cafe's serving full on salads on their menus. However I have scraped a little beyond the surface and despite having very balanced diets and having a good sense of "eating well" it seems to me, many Swedes food options begin and end at the supermarket. There is that ominous feeling of large food machine in operation behind the scenes spewing out what the consumer demands. While in Ireland I certainly don't shop at farmers markets everyday but I do like the option to. If you are from Sweden and can point me in the direction of some good honest food not produced for the supermarket I'd love to hear about it- prove me wrong!

New Season Spiced Lamb with Simple Griddled Asparagus
Lamb is in season right now and if you are looking for something a little different try this spicy rub. Today's recipe is a bit of change up for the traditional lamb chop. While I love the simple and delicious flavours of lamb sometimes it's nice to mix things up and try something a little different, which is why I love this spicy rub. The spice rub also works well on other meats too so give it a go!

Serves 4
4 Irish spring lamb chops
½ tablespoon of cumin seeds
½ tablespoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
½ tablespoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of paprika
A generous pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper

For the asparagus
1 large bunch of Asparagus (3-4 spears per person)
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
A generous pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper

In a pestle and mortar grind together the cumin, coriander, chilli, turmeric, paprika until you have a really pungent orange coloured powder.
Place the lamb chops on a plate and sprinkle on the spice mixture, turn to coat.
Cook the spiced chops under a hot grill for about 2-3 minutes either side until cooked through.
While the lamb is cooking, snap off the woody end of the asparagus and toss the spears in a bowl with sea salt, black pepper and olive oil. Fry on a hot griddle pan until tender for about 3-4 minutes.
Serve the lamb and asparagus with some salad leaves and enjoy.

Some people were a little bit upset about the lovely shots of the cute, cuddly little lambs yesterday and I got asked how I could possibly think about eating them! I appreciate that it is a sensitive subject for some, but I'm not sure I'm going to help things along when I post today's recipe for roast lamb! All I can say is non meat eating lamb lovers AVERT YOUR EYES! I guess it does come back to making the choices on the types of meat you buy, I know I would prefer to know I am eating a piece of meat from an animal that has been treated well and has had an excellent standard of life.

Ethics aside, lamb is absolutely delicious and right now it is very much in season! Traditionally if my parents were ever "down the country", they would always come back with a leg of lamb for the Sunday roast, claiming it was best you could get. You know what? I think they were right, it must be something to do with the country air! There are lots of different ways to cook lamb, but this is one of the easiest and certainly in my mind the most traditional.

Simple Garlic and Rosemary Roast Lamb
Most meats really benefit from the roasting process and lamb is no different. As it is in season now, it needs very little work to bring out the really fantastic natural flavours of the meat. Roasting it with the classic combination of rosemary and garlic is simply the only way to go in my books! You get delicious, mouthwatering end results with a kitchen filled with amazing aromas! Normally I would roast lamb on the bone, so just adapt with whatever cut you can get your hands on.

Serves 6-8
1 leg of lamb, boned and rolled
A few cloves of garlic, sliced into thick studs
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
A generous sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper
250ml of lamb stock (or use beef or vegetable if you are stuck)

Preheat the oven to 180oC/ Gas Mark 4.
Place the lamb in a large roasting tray and using the point of a sharp knife make holes all over the lamb about 2-3cm apart.
Insert some rosemary and a stud of garlic in each hole. Season generously with sea salt and ground black pepper.
Place in the oven and depending on the weight of the leg, roast for approximately 25-30 minutes per pound for medium rare. Alternatively check the lamb with a meat thermometer, 145oF for medium rare.
Remove the cooked lamb from the pan and allow to rest on serving dish.
Tip the juices to one corner of the pan and spoon off the fat. Place the pan on the hob and add the stock. Bring to the boil and make sure to whisk all the caramelised meat juices from the sides of the tray. Decant to a small jug. You can add a little roux while it comes to the boil if you want a thicker sauce.
Serve slices of lamb with a little of the gravy some roast potatoes and steamed asparagus.

As I travel along this little food journey of life, one of the most exciting and fascinating things I've been learning about, is where meat really comes from, beyond the simple view of farm to plate and really developing an appreciation for the people behind the produce. I don't think I will ever be vegetarian, but I do think it's important that I make decisions to choose the right types of meat. By the right type, I mean the type of meat that comes from an animal that has lived a good life, that hasn't been fed medicine, and has been free to roam. It does sound like a lot to think of but when you see well reared animals like these and the process they go through before they reach the butchers, you really appreciate the cuts of meat so much more!

Michael Gottstein works for an Teagasc (The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority) and is also one the farmers who set up Ring of Kerry Quality Lamb. I originally got in contact with Ring of Kerry Quality Lamb a few months ago, just before Christmas, when Timmy one the farmers invited me to come down to see his farm, but unfortunately the 6 hour drive did put me off slightly- However I did promise that if I was in the area I would come down and take some pics. So when I was down in Cork for the Hope Foundation Demonstration, the next day I headed up to Killarney to check out a few of the farms.

I don't know if you have ever been to Killarney in Co. Kerry before, but it is probably one of the most beautiful places in Ireland, lots of fantastic green fields and rolling mountains, sure what more could you ask for! Probably one of the most amazing places for a little lamb to grow up! On the tour of the farms, Michael told me the reason that 25 of the local farmers came together was so that they could have more control over their final product. Before they were sending the meat to other parts of the country to be processed and couldn't be 100 percent sure that the meat coming back was their own. Now the meat is guaranteed to be from Kerry and the local farms.

One of the farms we visited was on the side of a mountain and Michael told me that throughout the year, the sheep graze on the heather on the mountains and this in turn affects the taste of the end product. Only thing is can you imagine the amount of work it must take to find the sheep and round them up! Michael and the lads are extremely proud of what they do and took me to one of the local pubs in Killarney who they supply their lamb to and left me with an amazing pack of lamb cuts which I vouch for being absolutely delicious! I have eventually got through them all!

If you are interested in trying some Ring Of Kerry Quality Lamb which comes from farms which are all Bord Bia Quality approved, you can buy and order it online nationwide via their website which is here.
Also check out the video below where Michael shows us some sheep dog commands.

This has to be one of my favorite Turkish street foods. I got the great opportunity to watch how they are made, not out of choice, I might add! We had ordered 2 of the pizza's at this little restaurant right beside the local mosque in Fethiye, and the owner spotted me taking pictures around the place earlier. He quickly dragged me in to the kitchen, full of pride and instructed me to take pictures of the pizza's being made!

Not that I was complaining, the guy who was doing the cooking, gave me a full demonstration and from the speed he was producing the pizza's, it was pretty clear that he had done this before! The small pieces of dough are rolled out into long thin oval shapes and then a mix of meat, egg and herbs is placed on top. The dough is then folded in towards the centre to form a chewy crust. Don't let the idea of pizza throw you, this is nothing like it's Italian cousin. The recipe here is adapted from a Turkish cook book, with the advice of the Fethiye pizza maker, thrown in for good measure!

Turkish Pizza (Pide)

1. 5 Cups of Flour.
2. 4 Tablespoons of Butter.
3. 1 Sachet of Active Dried Yeast.
4. 2 Cups Of Milk.
5. 1 Teaspoon of Salt.
6. 1 Teaspoon of Sugar.
7. 3 Eggs.
8. 250g Minced Lamb.
9. 1 Beef Tomato, finely chopped.
   
10. A Good Handful of Coarsely Chopped Parsley.
11. 1 Medium Onion, finely chopped.
12. A Good Pinch Of Salt and Pepper.

When the dough has risen, seperate into egg sized pieces and flatten them into long oval shapes on a floured surface. Place the meat mix in a long line, on the dough and make sure to leave about 2cm on either side for the crust. Fold the dough in on either side and place in an oven for 10 minutes, at 240oC.

Serve straight away and slice into smaller pieces.

Now generally I am a Chicken and fish fan so this dish mostly came about because my girlfriend gently suggested that I should cook something other than chicken tonight! Not one to dissappoint I head to the butchers with this in mind and picked out some lamb chops. Ok I know carrot and cabbage mixed together is coleslaw but there's something off putting about coleslaw which make my mind conjure up images of soggy cabbage drenched in watery cheap mayonnaise. Ew! So that why I'm sticking with carrot and cabbage salad!

Oregano Lamb Chops

• 4 good quality lamb chops
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped finely
• 3 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of good quality balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons of dried oregano
• A good pinch of sea salt and ground pepper

Put the lamb chops in a ziploc food bag and add the chopped garlic plus the rest of the ingredients to the bag. Zip Lock the bag then shake so that the mixture completely coats all the lamb. Then put the bag in the fridge to marinate, while you prepare the salad. It's like sooo easy!

Simple Carrot and Cabbage Salad

The salad is just as easy. You will need:

• 1/4 of white cabbage
• 1 Large carrot
• 1 tablespoon of homemade mayonaisse
• A good pinch of Sea Salt and Ground Pepper.

Peel the carrot and slice into thin strips and place in a large bowl. Then chop the cabbage finely and seperate into pieces. Add the cabbage, mayo, salt, pepper and mix it all up! Put the salad mix in the fridge.

I normally cook this for just my self and my girlfriend so I take two of the chops out of the marinade bag, reseal it and freeze. I find that when the meat is defrosted in the marinade it makes it very tender. So anyway take the lamb chops out of the fridge and place on a hot grill and cook till brown on both sides (about 5 mintues either side). Take the carrot and cabbage salad out of the fridge and put a portion on a plate and place a golden brown chop ontop!

Enjoy!