We Love Cooking!:
roast

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.

For the August bank holiday weekend, myself and Sofie decided, very last minute, that we'd spend our three, free days in the lovely, little harbour town of Carlingford, which is just under two hours, north of Dublin. I had visited Carlingford before on a family holiday, but I had forgotten how peaceful it is.

We stayed in a really nice newly refurbished stone cottage just outside the town, on the grounds of an old farmhouse. Now we were all set for a relaxing couple of days, but there is one thing that gets to me when I stay away from home and that is DRIPPING TOILETS! I cannot sleep if all I can hear through the silence is a slow drip. So of course, what did we end up with? A dripping toilet! So at about 1am the first night we arrived, I was lying in bed when it was decided enough was enough, I was going to take matters into my own hands. I went into the bathroom and ripped the lid off the cistern to see if I could fix it, unfortunately it was a dual flush toilet so when I pulled at the lid, I broke the seal and water came flooding out! Panic stations! It was too late to ring the owners and the water kept spilling out, so I got to work effin and blinding, in true blue peter style and tried to seal it back up with cling film and tin foil. If you are ever in the future trying to seal a toilet, let me be the one to break it to you gently that, the combination of cling film and tin foil does NOT work. To cut a long story short, I manned up, inspected the broken part, turned the seal inside out and fixed the problem! Phew!

Now I hope that didn't put you off the food because that's coming next. Dripping toilets aside, we had a truly relaxing, enjoyable and romantic little break. We woke up to the view of a field full of horses, ate outside for breakfast, cooked some great meals and even climbed a mountain!

We also popped up to Sainsbury's to have a quick nose around and I picked up two great little ingredients which I used while we were away. The first being Maldon smoked sea salt, which I think is new in their range, it smells great, and a bottle of Avocado oil which is apparently extremely healthy and has a very high burning point, making it great for cooking!

Easy Quick Roast Chicken Dinner
I can make a roast chicken in my sleep at this stage, so when it gets to that stage with a recipe, I tend to start experimenting. This is my solution to making a roast chicken even easier than it already is. By cutting the whole chicken into seperate portions, you do all the hard work before the cooking, which means when it comes to serving, all have to do is plonk it on a plate! No worries!

Serves 4
1 whole chicken cut into portions.
A good handful of rosemary sprigs.
5 carrots, cut into rough chunks.
2 red onions, chopped in rough chunks.
4 cloves of garlic.
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
1 tablespoon of sea salt (smoked, if possible)
1 tablespoon of ground black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas mark 5.
Pinch off the leaves of half the rosemary and chop finely with the garlic, sea salt and black pepper.
Place the chicken portions on a large baking tray, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil and toss to coat.
Add the carrots and red onions to the tray.
Rub the garlic and rosemary onto all the ingredients on the tray until they are all coated.
Push the remaining rosemary sprigs onto the chicken portions and place in the oven for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Enjoy with a tasty salad.

Homemade Paprika Roast Potato Chips
When it comes to snack foods, everyone has their weakness, mine just so happens to be these homemade potato chips.

Makes enough for 4 portions, or one giant selfish one!
5 rooster potatoes cut into chips.
3 tablespoons of olive oil.
2 teaspoons of paprika.
1 tablespoon of ground black pepper.
1 tablespoon of sea salt.

Preheat the oven to 200oC.
Cut the potatoes into chips about 1cm in thickness. Spread the potato chips evenly over two large non stick baking trays. Try and give the chips as much space as possible, this will make them extra crispy. Drizzle the oil over the chips and toss until they are all combined. Sprinkle over the paprika, pepper, salt and toss again. Place in the oven and roast for 40-50 minutes or until crispy and golden.
Serve straightaway as a tasty snack or alongside a main meal.