Did you know 2

Did you know 2

Did you know unless food is mixed with saliva you can't taste it

Did you know no two corn flakes look the same

Did you know lemons contain more sugar than strawberries

Did you know rabbits like licorice

Slow Roasted Welsh Leg of Lamb

Slow Roasted Welsh Leg of Lamb

This dish is dedicated to Gianna who has asked me for this recipe every time she comes over from Italy with her family to stay at our house.  Finally after a number of years I have sat down to write the recipe.

Welsh lamb is succulent, flavoursome and when cooked slowly as in this dish there is hardly the need to carve the meat as it just falls apart when you serve.

To me Welsh lamb when cooked properly is one of the best meats available and with over 11 million sheep in Wales we have had enough opportunity to practice cooking it.

There are two ways to cook a leg of lamb which will depend on the age and time of year you buy it. Spring lamb needs to be cooked quickly at a high heat and should be slightly pink when carved but I prefer mine when the lamb in slightly older, autumn time, as I believe it has more taste.  This leg of lamb needs to be cooked at a high heat and then turned down and cooked slowly for a few hours.

I bought this leg in my local butchers in Denbigh, J H Jones and the lamb came from the butchers own farm in Cyffylliog, how more local than that can you get.

For this dish I have kept the ingredients simple.

Ingredient

Serves 6 to 8 people

Whole leg of Welsh Lamb 2.6kgs

Paste

3 sprigs of rosemary  chopped or 2 tsp chopped dried rosemary

2 bay leaves chopped

1 tbs olive oil

1 large bulb of garlic, cloves pealed

1/2tsp pepper corns

1/2tsp salt

For the gravy

2 carrots

1 onion

1 garlic bulb

1tbs flour

water

Place all the ingredients for the paste in a pestle and mortar and bash away till you have a reasonably smooth paste.  Pierce the meat with a sharp knife, don't be shy you need the flavours to permeate throughout the joint.  Smother the leg of lamb with the paste, cover and allow to marinade for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight in the fridge.

When you are ready to cook take a roasting tin cut a large carrot or two small carrots in half. Remove the skin from the onion and cut into four.  Cut the bulb of garlic in half and place all in the bottom of the roasting tin.  Pour in 500ml of water and then place the lamb on top of the vegetables.  Cover with foil and place the roasting tin in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 35 to 40 minutes.  Reduce the heat after this to 160°C and cook for a further 2 1/2 hours.

For the last 1/2 hour remove the foil.  When cooked place the lamb on a warm serving plate to rest and cover with foil.  The vegetables in the roasting tin will have cooked down and combined with the meat juices will provide a fantastic basis for your gravy.  

After you have removed the lamb remove the veg and place in a bowl, carefully prise out the succulent garlic cloves from their casings and then discard the peelings, and pour the juices into the bowl.  Allow to stand for a minute until you can see the fat raise to the top, remove the fat and place back into the roasting tin then blitz the remaining juices and veg together.  Put the roasting tin on a low to medium heat and when the fat starts to bubble add a heaped tablespoon of flour.  This is where you need to be quick with a whisk stir quickly to mix the fat and flour together in the tin.  When you have a paste type consistency start adding the remaining juices and mix together.  You will need to add water at this point till the gravy is at the consistency you like.

Serve the lamb with your favourite veg and potatoes and don't forget the mint sauce.

Halen Mon - Anglsey Sea Salt

It's one of Wales' best exporters but now Halen Mon has a new salt cote and visitor centre on Anglesey

Halen Mon's David Lea-Wilson checking the levels of salt in the Menai Straits

It’s favoured by celebrity chefs and can be found on the shelves of Fortnum and Mason, Harvey Nichols and Harrods but now one of Wales’s most successful exporters Halen Mon (Anglesey Sea Salt) has opened a new visitor centre and production facilities.

Visitors to Anglesey can see how Halen Môn is produced first hand at the company’s new visitor centre, which has recently opened to the public and offers guided tours and tasting sessions.

The company's product was the first to gain the EU protected food name status, joining other protected names like Champagne, Parma ham and Roquefort cheese.

Funding

The centre is part of a new salt cote (a building to make salt by the sea) the company has built with the backing of a £1.25m funding package from the AONB Sustainability fund the Lottery Coastal Communities fund, Finance Wales, the Welsh Government, the Fisheries Local Action Group, the directors, as well as HSBC.

New facility

Located in the Anglesey Area of Outsanding Natural Beauty , the new facility will enable Halen Mon to increase its salt yields from the waters of the Menai Strait.

It was also the first Welsh product to gain the EU protected food name status, joining other protected names like Champagne, Parma ham and Roquefort cheese.

Owners view

Halen Mons Sea Salt crystals are famed for their purity

David Lea-Wilson, who co-owns Anglesey Sea Salt with his wife Alison which produces Halen Môn, said: “We harvest every flake of Halen Môn by hand using an exclusive process and we secured EU protected food name status because it’s unique to Wales.

"Opening our new salt cote with the backing of Finance Wales, the Welsh Government and HSBC has enabled us to keep up with growing demand.

“Our new visitor centre showcases the unique way we make Halen Môn and also gives visitors an insight into the important role salt plays in our diets as well as our history.

"We’re planning that it will quickly become a tourist attraction on Anglesey and provide a real boost to the Island’s economy. We have had over 500 visitors in the first month with favourable reviews on Trip adviser”

Halen Mon (Anglesey Sea Salt) has diversified its product range over the years and today it includes flavoured salt, charcoal salt and smoked water. The company has also been recognised by the Government as one of the UK’s Top 50 Food Stars this year.

Finance Wales view

Finance Wales has had a fifteen-year relationship with Anglesey Sea Salt and this is its latest investment in the company.

Allan Jones, portfolio executive at Finance Wales said: “Halen Môn showcases Wales at its best and is becoming known all over the world. Finance Wales has been backing the company for over fifteen years and David and Alison’s passion, together with their experience and innovative approach has driven the business to new heights.

“They’ve built market share by expanding into new markets as well as introducing new products and the new salt cote means they can keep up with demand. The new visitor centre is the latest example of this innovative company in action.

"It has the potential to boost the local economy by attracting more tourists to Anglesey.”

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/its-one-wales-best-exporters

Did you Know

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Welsh Lamb Cawl

Welsh Lamb Cawl

Cawl or broth is usually associated with winter but many years ago when I left school I worked for a while on a Welsh hill farm.  It was shearing time, it was a hot day and we had been hard at work since seven in the morning shearing and lunchtime approached. I was famished and we all piled into the farmhouse kitchen for lunch.  Bowls were laid out ready on the table with freshly baked bread with a couple of packs of cigarettes in the middle of the table to be enjoyed afterwards (don't forget this was quite a few years ago).  Steaming lamb cawl was served and boy did it go down well, once finished we were ready to shear a few hundred more sheep.

Cawl has over the last few years become an iconic Welsh dish with lamb and leek being one of the main ingredients but traditionally, depending on the region you lived in Wales beef, pork or bacon could have been used.  As a side dish Cawl can be accompanied by fresh crusty bread and a piece of white Caerphilly cheese.

A few years ago I use to run a small business making traditional prepared meals and Cawl was one of my best sellers.  Even though many people believe this type of dish to be fatty and full of calories, if done properly this does not have to be the case.  The meals I made had less than 300 calories per 400g portion.

The original Cawl would have been done with cheaper cuts such as lamb’s neck, but in this recipe I have used diced shoulder of lamb with some small twists to bring it up to date with today’s tastes.

Serves 6

Diced lamb   500g

Diced Potatoes 500g

Diced carrots  250g

Chopped onions 250g

Chopped Leeks 250g
Flour 100g

Sherry vinegar  1 teaspoons

Red current Jelly 2 teaspoons

Worcester Sauce  2 teaspoons

Thyme             1 teaspoons

Pepper             ¼ teaspoon

2 cubes of Lamb Stock

On a medium heat on the hob add the onions and leeks to a casserole dish and gentle fry till soft. Toss the lamb in the flour and add to the dish and stir a few times. Add the remaining vegetables and top up with water until just covering all the ingredients.  Add the remaining ingredients and place the casserole dish in a pre heated oven 160°C and cook for about 3 hours.  The lamb should fall apart when tested.

For the best result leave to cool and eat the next day, by then the juices of the meat and vegetables have had time to marinate properly. You can then reheat quickly on the hob but make sure you keep stirring the cawl otherwise it might catch on the bottom.  If you can't wait till the next day serve immediately into a bowl and have plenty of fresh crusty bread ready for dunk.  This dish is excellent at freezing and is a handy meal to have if in a rush.

Spatchcock Free Range Chicken

Spatchcock Free Range Chicken

with garlic and coriander

Spatchcock chicken - Here's one I prepared earlier

Until recently I use to cook all my chickens in the traditional manner, whole. But always found the breast to be slightly dry even when I stuffed various pastes under the skin or doused the chicken in different marinades.

But ever since I cooked a whole chicken spatchcock style I have been converted, especially when cooked first on a very high heat then reduced to about 160°C.  The meat literally falls of the bone and the breast remains moist to eat.

A spatchcock chicken use to be referred to as an immature culled male chicken but is more commonly referred to these days to a type of preparation technique.  To prepare the chicken either take a strong scissors or sharp knife and cut along the back bone then turn the chicken over and flatten in a cooking tray as shown in the picture.

This chicken is excellent when cooked as a summer dish and served with couscous or salad.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 Whole Free Range Chicken about 1.8kgs

Marinade

1 bulb of garlic (about 14 cloves) peeled and chopped

1/2 tsp salt (Halen Môn)

1 birds eye chilli (optional) chopped

1 1/2 tsp of rosemary (if you have fresh rosemary growing in your garden take a sprig of rosemary about 4 cm long. Take off the leaves and chopped.

2 bay leaves chopped

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp of cumin seeds

1/2 tsp of pepper corns

2tbs Welsh Rapeseed Oil (Blodyn Aur)

Bunch of fresh coriander chopped finely

2tbs soy sauce

This marinade is good to get rid of some of that frustration out of your system.  In a pestle and mortar place the garlic and salt and start pounding, then add each ingredient in turn until you have a paste. Alternatively you can blitz the ingredients in a food processor.  Pierce the breast and legs a number of times, smear the paste over the breast, legs and wings and pour 2 table spoons of soy sauce all over. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, but preferably overnight to marinade.

When you are ready to cook place the chicken in a baking tray with a bath of about 500 ml of water. Place two carrot halved underneath to lift the chicken slightly this will help prevent the chicken catching on the tray. Place foil on top and place the chicken in the top half of a preheated oven at 200°C.  Cook for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat down to 160°C for about 1 1/2 hours.  About 20 minutes from the finished cooking time remove the foil.  If the water has evaporated add some more.

When cooked remove from the oven, replace the foil and let to rest for about 10 minutes.  Before serving cut the chicken up by using a large sharp knife, the chicken at this point should come apart quite easily.  With the knife, cut the leg in half so that you have a drum stick, then cut the remainder of the leg at the joint next to the body of the chicken.  Next cut the wings at the joint next to the body of the chicken and then separate the two breasts.  Finally place the 8 sections of the chicken on a warm serving plate.

Kaeng Kua Prawn and Fish Curry

Kaeng Kua Prawn and Fish Curry

Curry pastes is an essential ingredient for so many Thai curry dishes. There is a wide variety of pastes that can be used from the usual green, red and yellow to Kaeng Kua, Prik Khing and Massaman pastes.  Quite often there is only a subtle differences in the ingredients which affects the heat and aroma of the curry.  Many pastes are  regional and will be influenced by the meat or fish to be used.

Different types of Thai curry pastes for sale at a market in Hat Yai, in southern Thailand

When I started cooking I use to make all my own pastes and occasionally still do but it can be difficult to get all the authentic ingredients.  Making your own paste is extremely satisfying but time is required to get the best result as you need to grind the ingredients individually before pounding them together. Due to the time needed to make the paste most Thai people wont make their own but will buy it from the local market. They will buy the meat, vegetables and the prepared paste from stalls in the market before taking them home to cook the evening meal.

There are now some very good Thai curry pastes available to buy either in Asian food stores or on-line. Brands which I use and to look out for are either
Mae Ploy http://www.theasiancookshop.co.uk/ or Maesri http://www.tradewindsorientalshop.co.uk/.

For this dish I have used a Maesri paste but if you would like to make your own I have included the ingredients for the paste at the end. This curry paste is best suited for fish and the flavour has more texture and depth which I don't feel the normal Thai red curry has, it is also my eldest daughter's favourite dish and we tend to have it most weeks.

There are many different methods of cooking Thai curries. I was shown this particular method by a good Thai friend.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tbs Kaeng Kua paste (hot, use less if you don't like your curry too hot)
400ml coconut milk
200ml of chicken stock (if you have your own better still otherwise mix a chicken stock cube  in 200ml of warm water.
1 tbs fish sauce (you can use soy sauce if you don't have fish sauce but not as good as it changes the flavour of the curry)
30g palm sugar (alternatively use brown sugar)
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
4 Thai green aubergines, chopped (each one into 4 small pieces) Not always the easiest to get hold of you can substitute with veg of your choice. I quite often use peas.
200g king prawns
200g white fish such as cod (diced 2 to 3cm)
Basil to garnish

1. Add the paste and coconut milk in a large pan, stir together and heat (high). You need to cook until the milk froths up in the pan (this will happen reasonable quickly) then add the stock. Turn the heat down to half.
2. Add the palm sugar, fish sauce and lemon juice one at a time and stir.  You now need to taste to get the balance correct for your palate.  If too hot add a little bit more sugar and lemon if not hot enough add a small amount of paste. The idea is to get a balance of taste between the salty, sweet, sour, bitter and hot or pungent
3. Add the Thai green aubergines (or peas) and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the prawns and fish and cook until the fish starts to flake.
When ready add to a serving dish, sprinkle with basil leaves and serve with steamed rice.

Ingredients for Thai Curry Paste – Kaeng Kua

12 Dried Red Chilies, roughly chopped
10 Shallots, peeled and chopped
20 Garlic Cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
3 Lemongrass Stalks, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Coriander Roots, chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Turmeric, grated
1 Tbsp Galangal, grated
1 Tbsp Kaffir Lime Peel, grated
1 Tsp Fermented Fish Paste

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara

This is one of my youngest daughter's favourite dishes (because it has pancetta in it, when we can get it here in rural North Wales or otherwise we use lardons or Edwards of Conwy http://www.edwardsofconwy.co.uk/ bacon which is quite a thick cut of bacon)

This is a very quick dish to make and can be ready in about 15 minutes. My daughter enjoys helping by beating the eggs and frying the bacon.

Serves 4

Spaghetti - between 80 to a 100g per person depending how hungry you are.

3 free range eggs beaten together.

50 to 60g preferably pancetta if not use lardons or cut up two strips of thick bacon

70 to 80g of Parmigiano (Parmesan) or for a slightly saltier taste add equal amounts of Parmigiano and Pecorino cheese.

2 Cloves of garlic crushed slightly.

1/2 tbs Oil to fry with - I use Sunflower Oil. (Olive oil should be kept for salads, to drizzle onto cold dishes or soups).

1. You will need a large pan of water, too little water and the pasta will stick together. Add a good pinch of salt to season.
2. Heat the water till it is boiling then add the pasta.  Stir the pasta this will also help to prevent the pasta sticking together.
3. The pasta will take about 8 to 10 minutes before it is ready.  Best way to check, take one strand of pasta out and try, if there is a slight bite to the pasta (al dente) it is ready.
4. Whilst the pasta is cooking, in a frying pan add the oil and heat till hot, add the garlic cloves and pancetta/bacon and fry till crisp, about 4/5 minutes (after a couple of minutes take the garlic out as it has done its work of flavoring the oil and pancetta/bacon).
5. Once the pasta is ready drain but keep back some of the pasta water.
6. Place the pasta back in the hot pan.
7. Add the hot pancetta/bacon and the oil it was cooked in and stir together.
8. Add the eggs and stir well.  Add a little of the reserved pasta water to maintain a sauce.
9. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Add half the cheese and stir well.
Place on a serving dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Eat and enjoy with a good glass of red wine.