Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb

Ingredients

• 1kg Half shoulder of lamb
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 2-3 Sprigs of rosemary (although as I grow my own, I took around 6 of the tips of the sprigs as they are the most tender)
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• For the gravy
• Beef or lamb stock (you can use a stock cube and water but fresh stock is better if you have it)
• 1-2 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220oC / 450F.  Fry the lamb shoulder on all sides until browned.  Discard any oil and fat in the pan.

Smash together the garlic, rosemary and pepper in a pestle and mortar until broken up (it doesn't have to form a paste).  Rub over the lamb shoulder and put into a baking dish.  Pour 100ml (3.5 fl oz, just under half a cup) of cold water around the lamb.  Cover with a layer of baking paper and then wrap well with foil and I mean well, you want to seal it as well as possible.

Put in the oven for 30 minutes and then lower the temperature to 170oC, 340F and roast for a further 2 hours or until tender.

Allow to rest for a good 20 minutes and in the meantime drain off the juices into a jug.  Scoop off the fat from the juices, there will be quite a bit, shoulder can be a fatty cut.  Mix the juices complete with the bits of rosemary and garlic (they're tasty) with the stock and bring to the boil.  Reduce until to your liking.  With the stock mixture boiling, mix 1-2 tbsp cornflour with cold water and whisk in, bring to the boil until thickened.  The amount of cornflour you will need will depend on how much stock you have.  Just see how thick it is and add more if you feel it needs it.

Carve the lamb, this won't carve into super neat slices because it is so soft but do watch out as there are a couple of natural fatty layers in a shoulder so you might want to cut them off rather than serve them.

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Mini Quiches

Ingredients

Shortcrust pastry made from:
280g, 10oz plain flour
60g, 2oz cornflour
225g, 8oz unsalted butter
A few tbsp water
(Or buy some ready made)

Filling
4 eggs
100ml, 3.5 fl oz milk
150ml, 5.25 fl oz single cream (this is cream of around 18% fat in the UK.  Light cream would be fine.)
200g, 7 oz cheddar

Optional ingredients
Cheese and ham:
Cut up pieces of ham; I used black forest ham which has a good smokey flavour even if you don't use very much.
1 onion, chopped up into small pieces and fried in olive oil and butter until translucent

Broccoli and Goats Cheese:
Lightly cooked broccoli (3 mins, mini florets) and a tiny bit of goats cheese added as the tarts are being assembled.

Method

Roll out pastry until very thin, 1-2mm thick and cut into rounds and put into a cupcake tin, a mini muffin tin will work at a stretch and that's what I used for the broccoli ones.  Chill until ready to cook.

Preheat the oven to 180-200oC; 350-400F.

Prick bases using a fork and cook for 5 mins.

Mix egg, cream, milk and cheese.

When you take the bases out of the oven, push down any which have puffed up.

Put filling into base (i.e. a small amount of onions and ham or some broccoli and goats cheese).  Add egg mix, try not to spill over as this will make them difficult to remove (but this is a little tricky!)

Put back in the oven and cook for 13-15 minutes.  Use a blunt knife to ease them out of the pan (where the filling spills over this is a little trickier.)

These can be made in advance, stored in the fridge and reheated in a warm oven at about 150oC for 10 minutes.

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Cheddar and Sweetcorn Muffins

Ingredients

140g, 5oz Self Raising Flour
Freshly ground black pepper
70g, 2.5oz Natural Greek Yogurt, put into a jug and make up to 125ml with milk
3 tbsp Oil
90g, 3oz Frozen Sweetcorn
70g, 2.5oz Extra Mature Cheddar (Extra sharp)
Extra oil for greasing

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC / 350F / Gas Mark 5.

Put the flour and pepper into a bowl.

Weigh the yogurt into a jug and make up to 125ml with milk.  Crack in the egg, add the oil, sweetcorn and cheese.  Whisk together.

Oil a mini muffin tin (or mini cupcake / fairy cake tin).  Add the wet mix into the dry and stir until almost but not completely combined. 

Spoon into the tin and bake for 14 mins (or thereabouts) or until they spring back when pressed.

Take out of the tins (it might help to loosen with a blunt knife) and put onto a cooling rack.  Best served  warm but certainly fine cold and you can always warm them up for a few secs in the microwave.  Freeze well.

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Pumpkin Brownie Bites

Ingredients:

• One (13×9 family size) brownie mix
• One (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
• One egg (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix brownie mix, pumpkin, and egg with a wooden spoon. Spoon into greased 13 x 9 pan or mini muffin tins.
2. Bake for about 30 minutes for the pan, and 15-20  for the mini muffin tins (they’re done when they spring back slightly when you touch them).
3. Devour!

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Homemade Pita Chips

Ingredients:

• 4 pita pockets
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• a few big dashes of salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut the pita pockets in half, then slice the half pockets again so you have four halves. Cut each half into three triangle wedges.

3. Whisk together the olive oil and spices. Then brush the olive oil over both sides of the pita chips with a pastry brush. Bake for 11-13 minutes until brown and crispy.

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