Lamb steaks with Friars Farm Middle Eastern Marmalade and Potatoes

Being based in Northamptonshire, Friars Farm, one of the local producers of jams, chutneys and sauces approached me and asked if I'd like to sample some of their products.  Of course being a foodie, and wanting to support local producers, I said yes and I'm thoroughly glad I did too!  They have a fab range of products; the first of which, their Middle Eastern Marmalade, I'm reviewing here. I also used this in a batch of flapjacks that I made, but for that recipe you'll have to wait a short while...!

1 Red onion

4 Lamb leg steaks

4 tsp Friars Farm Middle Eastern Marmalade

Freshly ground black pepper

1 Sweet potato, peeled

2 Large potatoes, washed but not peeled

1 Knorr chicken stock pot, dissolved in:

280ml Boiling water

145ml Orange juice

2 tsp Mint sauce concentrate

1 Knorr rich beef gravy pot

100ml Double Cream

1. Heat the oven to 150℃.

2. Lay the lamb leg steaks in a single layer on the bottom of a rectangular dish.

3. Spread 1 teaspoon of the Friars Farm Middle Eastern Marmalade over each of the lamb steaks.

4. Season with ground black pepper.

5. Slice the sweet potatoes on setting 3 of a Oxo Hand Held Mandoline and layer on top of the lamb steaks.

6. Slice the potatoes on setting 3 of the mandoline then layer these over the sweet potato and lamb.

7. Mix the chicken stock, orange juice and mint sauce concentrate together.

8. Gently pour this over the lamb and potatoes.

9. Cover the dish with foil.  I run my finger gently around the inside of the dish after covering it which creates a low point, thereby enabling the evaporated juices to drip back down into the dish and retaining the moisture.

10. Place in the centre of the oven and cook for 3 hours.

11.  When cooked, remove from the oven and gently drain the juices into a saucepan.
12. Re-cover and keep warm whilst you make the gravy.

13. Add the beef gravy pot to the saucepan and quickly bring to the boil, whisking to distribute the gravy pot.
14. Add the double cream and gently heat through.
15. Serve a lamb steak with the potato topping on a bed of peas with the gravy poured on top.

I was given a range of products from Friars Farm to try.  I was under no obligation to develop or publish a recipe using their products.

Potato Topped Chicken and Leek Bake

A delicious meal of chicken and leeks in a white wine and cream sauce topped with thinly sliced potatoes, sprinkled with cheese and baked until golden.  What more can I say?  Except sumptuous!

25g Butter

15ml Rapeseed Oil

2 Leeks, finely sliced

4 Chicken Breasts, cubed into bite sized pieces

15ml Chopped fresh parsley

30ml White Wine

60ml Single Cream

Salt and Pepper to season

4 medium potatoes, thinly sliced (3-4mm)

25g Butter

50g Cheese, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 180℃.

2. Melt the butter and the oil in a large pan.

3. Gently sauté the leeks until softened.

4. Add the diced chicken and cook gently for 5 minutes.

5. Add the chopped parsley, wine and the cream

6. Season to taste.

7. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

8. Meanwhile bring a large pan of water to the boil and drop the sliced potatoes in.

9. Boil for 4-5 minutes until starting to soften.

10. Pour the chicken and leek mixture into a large ovenproof dish.

11. Drain the potato slices and layer on top of the chicken and leek to cover completely.

12. Dot with the butter and sprinkle the grated cheese on top.

13. Cook for 20-25 minutes until browned and bubbling on top.

14. Serve with steamed vegetables.

I cooked and paired this dish with a Central Co-Operative Fairtrade 2013 Pinot Grigio which I reviewed on my post {here}

Potato Dauphinoise

I'd find it difficult to completely cut carbohydrates from my diet and my own personal philosophy in life is a little bit of everything (that you're not severely allergic to) can't do you any harm.  I find it sad that so many people profess to be allergic or intolerant to so many foods when really they just don't know for sure and are just guessing at what is upsetting their digestion.  I can speak from experience here as I was advised that I was wheat intolerant for over 5 years, removed it from my diet completely, but still suffered.  Only upon proper medical food allergy testing did they actually find out that my demon food was to be egg white, and on cutting that out of my diet, my life and health improved significantly.  But I digress, this is about a recipe not me on a soapbox, so here it is...

Serves 4

Little knob of butter to grease your dish
200ml Double cream
250ml Milk
2.5ml Nutmeg, freshly grated
1 Garlic clove, peeled and flattened (not crushed)
4 Large potatoes
100g Gruyere or Cheddar cheese, grated

1. Heat the oven to 190℃.
2. Butter the inside of a 20cm deep square dish.
3. Add the cream, milk, nutmeg and garlic clove into a large saucepan until boiling.
4. Meanwhile peel the potatoes, and using a mandolin (I thoroughly recommend the Oxo Good Grips Hand Held Mandoline), slice into 3-4mm thicknesses.
5. Reduce the heat under the cream and milk to a simmer and add the sliced potatoes.
6. Simmer gently for 3-4 minutes, gently stirring occasionally to prevent the slices sticking together or catching on the bottom of the pan.
7. Remove the potato slices with a slotted spoon to the buttered dish to create a relatively level surface covering the whole of the dish.
8. Remove and discard the crushed garlic clove.
9. Pour the milk and cream mixture over the potatoes.
10. Sprinkle with cheese.
11. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown on top and the potatoes are cooked.
12. Serve sliced into portions.

A wonderful, creamy and rich vegetable dish to serve with so many meals.  If you're watching you calories, then reduce the cream and replace this with milk, but be prepared to lose some of the taste if you do!

Serve this with my Fillet Steak in a Worcestershire Cream Sauce recipe for a decadent meal.

Knorr Flavour Pots - Garlic, herb with Chicken Ras El Hanout

I'm really loving how easy these Knorr Flavour Pots are to use; a perfect blend of flavour combined with absolute ease of use makes meal preparation so much easier.

Tonight I combined two of the Flavour Pots; the garlic and the mixed herbs with 2tsp of Ras El Hanout seasoning and 1tbs of rapeseed oil into a large bowl and mixing them thoroughly. I then cut 4 chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and coated them all in the garlic, herb & spice mixture before covering the bowl with cling film and placing in the fridge for 4-6 hours to marinade and infuse the chicken with these amazing flavours.

The chicken pieces were placed onto a baking tray and cooked at 200°C for 25-30 minutes until the chicken was cooked through.  Served simply with a stuffed bell pepper and some home made roast potato wedges was the perfect, simple tea time treat.  

There were some of the chicken pieces leftover after serving dinner, so I've allowed them to cool ready to go with a salad for my lunch on Monday.

The Knorr pots were given to me by the Unilever Kitchen and Knorr UK.  I was under no obligation to create this recipe or to post a positive review on the product.  My review above is a true reflection of how simple, convenient & delicious I have found these Flavour Pots.

Sunday Roast anyone?

To celebrate Knorr stock pots being awarded Product of the Year in the consumer voted Gravy & Stock category, I was sent all the ingredients last week with which to create an incredible Sunday lunch.  Succulent lean beef, fresh vegetables and a supply of the stock pots, along with a china gravy boat were delivered on Saturday while I was in London enjoying the delights of Borough Market and celebrating my birthday the following day with two close friends.

I'm an absolute traditionalist when it comes to my Sunday dinner, with a roast being on the menu pretty much every week. What better way to round off the week than with good food, fresh and healthily prepared with lots of steamed veg & a rich gravy.

My beef was roasted slowly at 150C for a few hours in a roaster to keep it moist.  Whilst the meat was resting, I roasted half of my potatoes and parsnips in a hot oven, along with my Yorkshire pudding (always with chopped onion added to the mixture as my mum does!) The remainder of my potatoes, I cut up & boiled with the rest of the parsnips, the carrots & broccoli steaming above them. Into a large saucepan, I put my meat juices and a beef gravy pot, and brought them to the boil whilst whisking.  To this I added a little of the leftover Yorkshire Pudding mix that I'd loosened slightly with cold water and returned it to the boil to thicken before reducing it to a simmer.  A couple of splashes of Tabasco sauce and a glug of double cream and it was tasting amazing!  Dinner was served with a dollop of hot horseradish sauce, making it a meal to remember!

It may have been my birthday last Sunday, but I didn't mind cooking my roast, and boy! Did we all enjoy eating it too!

Knorr gravy pots can be used on their own, whisked into boiling water. You don't need to use meat juices, to thicken them, or add any additional ingredients.

The hamper of food was sent to me free of charge by Knorr. I was under no obligation to provide a favourable review of the contents, nor to endorse the products contained therein. All views are my own.

Colmans Season and Steam Sachets with Crispy Sage & Onion Stuffing

Using some more of the ingredients from the kit I was sent by the Unilever kitchen, I created a whole tasty meal, which I'll share with you here:

CHICKEN

4 chicken breasts, cubed

15ml Rapeseed oil

50g Paxo Sage & Onion Stuffing Mix

50g Flora buttery

4 Cloves garlic

1. Cube the chicken into bite sized pieces.

2. Place into an oven roasting dish.

3. Drizzle with oil.

4. Sprinkle with the stuffing mix and dot over with the flora buttery.

5. Throw in the whole cloves of garlic.

6. Roast at 180C for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile...

POTATOES

500g Potatoes

100ml Water

1 Sachet of Colmans Season and Steam Garden Herb & Potatoes mix

30ml Rapeseed oil

1. Cube the potatoes into even sized pieces.

2. Place the potatoes into the steam bag and sprinkle with the Season Mixture in accordance with the instructions on the back of the sachet.

3. Add the water and use the to tie the top of the steam bag. Shake well to coat the potatoes with the Garden Herb mix.

4. Cook in the microwave on high power for 9 1/2 Minutes, according to the timings provided for your microwave.

5. Remove from the microwave and allow to stand for 1minute, then drain.

6. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes until nicely browned all over.

VEGETABLES:

150g Courgettes, sliced 1cm thick

1 Medium red onion, diced

120g Red pepper, cubed

130g Vine ripened tomatoes, quartered

Colmans Season and Steam Mediterranean Vegetables mix

1. Prepare the vegetables as above and place into the steam bag.

2. Sprinkle the season mixture over the vegetables and use the tie to seal the bag, in accordance with   packet instructions.

3. Shake the bag to coat evenly.

4. Microwave on high for 5 1/2 minutes according to the timings provided for your microwave.

5. Remove from the microwave and allow to stand for 1 minute.

Serve

Rosie's Sausage House Hash

I've got another quick savoury recipe to share with you today.  A fave in our house or even caravan if we're away and really quick & easy to make too.  Let me share it with you.  You will need:


1 1/4lbs potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large onion
1 pack (about 1lb) Cumberland / Lincolnshire sausages
3tbs olive oil
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
1tsp paprika
salt & pepper to taste
8oz mushrooms (optional)
3/4 pint beef or onion gravy

Oven temperature 190C / Gas Mark 5

Ok then, lets get those ingredients prepped:

1. Peel your potatoes and cut them into bite sized pieces. (oops!  forgot to photograph them).  Place them in cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.

2. Slice your onions.

3. Crush your garlic.

4. Gently fry your sausages until browned all round, remove and set aside.

5. Add a little oil into the pan that you cooked your sausages in and fry for 4-5 minutes until starting to become transparent.  Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.

6. Drain your potatoes and add them to the onions and garlic with the paprika.

7. Stir to coat well and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

8. Cut each sausage into 3 diagonally (only because it makes them look nicer!) and then add them to the pan. Season and mix well.

9. Pour the potato and sausage mixture into an ovenproof dish and pour the gravy over the top.  Mix gently to coat.

10. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes until the sausages are cooked through.

11. Serve with steamed carrots or broccolli.


Enjoy, and if you do follow my recipe and like the result, please return and leave me a comment.

Thanks.


Rosie
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