Love Your Leftovers: Lamb Stock & Scotch Broth

I love leftovers. It makes me happy to have a full fridge full of delicious things. But it's also magical to see something that looks finished transformed into a brand new meal.

So far I've not been a great fan of homemade stock but think probably because I just didn't manage a good one! But the lamb bone from Sunday's roast was too good to waste and after all, if we're going to eat meat I feel we should absolutely use it all.

I googled for a bit of help and loosely followed Gordon Ramsay's advice:

Lamb Stock

bone from 2kg leg of lamb (of whatever you have and scale up/down as necessary, small ones are fine too)
2 small onions
1 large carrot
1 leek
1 tsp black peppercorns
bay leaf
large sprig each of rosemary & thyme
1/2 glass white wine

1. Remove any remaining meat from bones then brush the bones with olive oil and roast at 200c for 60 minutes.
2. Chop vegetables into large chunks then heat some olive oil in a large soup pan and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Pour in the wine and deglaze the pan, then add remaining ingredients and cover with cold water. 
4. Bring to the boil then simmer for 4-6 hours, removing any scum or fat that collects on the surface.
5. Sieve the stock then (this is the gross part) pick through the pieces to remove any more meat that has come away from the bone..
6. Freeze the stock or keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

I've also never made Scotch Broth but again, I consulted Google as I wasn't sure what I should actually use the lamb stock for. I will say immediately that this is not a traditional or accurate recipe: it's just my interpretation based on what I had in the house

Scotch Broth

approx 2 litres stock (and be brazen about topping up from a cube if you homemade quantity wasn't enough)
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large or 2 medium carrots, in small dice
2 sticks celery, in small dice
2 medium potatoes, in small dice
1/4 large swede, in small dice
2 leeks, finely chopped or sliced
250g yellow split peas (pearl barley is traditional but I avoid gluten)
1 large sprig each of rosemary, thyme, of whatever fresh herbs you might have (but woody types)
whatever quantity of leftover lamb you have, shredded small (even a tiny quantity is fine, after all what else would you use it for?!)
salt and pepper to season

1. Chop all the vegetables as directed.
2. Heat some oil in a pan then add the onions and celery, cook for a few minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add garlic and remaining vegetables, cook for a few minutes.
3. Add split peas, lamb, stock and herbs then season.
4. Bring to the boil then simmer with the lid on for about 50-60 minutes or until the split peas are cooked.
5. Stir every so often and add more water if necessary.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning - you'll be surprised how much soup needs especially with a homemade stock which doesn't contain salt.
7. Serve it up! 

Soups generally freeze well and I tend to make a large quantity and freeze half in portions. In my experience homemade soup doesn't keep very long in the fridge - I would say maybe three days. Mindful that I really should have included more photos here but it was an unplanned experiment so I have only the finished dish! I thought it was seriously delicious.

                              

Leaving Las Vegas

A week in Vegas (for a conference!) and some terrible jet-leg has turned me into a serious slacker on the blogging front. So definitely time to complete some of my half-finished drafts!

Travel and being away from home has also meant falling off the wagon on the food front. I'm going home in a minute to take measurements, get on the scales, and take a 'before' photo in my bikini (aaaagggghhh).

Tomorrow is the first day of my 'Evolution Challenge' - as well as returning to my fab plant-based recipes I'm also going to be using the Evolution range from Arbonne - vegan, gluten-free supplements which support healthy weight loss. As a consultant I'm a fan of all their products but I'm excited about using these and having a personal testimony. I have a minimum of 2.5 stone to lose so it's quite a challenge but I'm committed to being patient and doing it gradually.

I'm going to have a read of some great cookbooks tonight to get back in the right mindset and do some planning for the rest of the week. Those pictured below are my current favourites and I thoroughly recommend them all for their good advice, imaginative ideas and delightful approach to food, cooking and eating.

Think I must also face the fact that cutting out booze is going to be key....but can I actually face a dry 90 days?!

                    

Working Lunch at The Hampshire Hog

Every month I am lucky enough to have lunch at The Hampshire Hog in Hammersmith with my networking group - the Ravenscourt Park meeting of The Athena Network.

Since my first visit more than six months ago I have been struck both by the food and it's general loveliness so it seemed only right to write about it here.

It's a beautiful, light, airy interior with both comfy fireside chairs and an unexpected and delightful garden out the back. All the staff are friendly, helpful and a pleasure to deal with - and they make a great cup of coffee with the biggest selection of milks I've seen anywhere in West London (never mind do you have soya - there were two nut milks and a coconut milk too). Although I've yet to try them they also have a fab looking selection of cakes on display including gluten and dairy-free options.

The menu changes with the seasons and it's always fresh, tempting and made on the premises. Last week I had one of my best lunches so far: a cup of wonderful mushroom soup (I've had celeriac, aubergine and various others) followed by a Roasted Red Onion, Butternut Squash, Lentil and Apple Salad. Being in a vegan week of eating led me to choose a different option to my normal choice (both the Blue Cheese, Pear & Walnut and Prawn & Mango Asian-style salads are also yummy) but I was so glad I did. Unbelievably flavourful and leaving me energised for a busy afternoon.

So thank you Hampshire Hog for being a highlight of my month and I look forward to May. The Housemate assures me the weekend brunches are delicious so I'll be along for one of those very soon...


To book your own lunch at the Hampshire Hog, please visit their website http://www.thehampshirehog.com/

To find about more about The Athena Network or to book attendance as a visitor please click here, we'd love to welcome you. http://theathenanetwork.co.uk/london-west/

Saturday Heaven: Borough Market

Borough market is one of my favourite places in London. If you love food and cooking, it is irresistible.

Usually I am so lazy that I rarely arrive before 11.30 but this weekend we had breakfast booked at Roast so were there for 9.15. Our Roast experience is going to be a subject of another post so I won't expand on it here!

It's amazing how quiet the market is even at 10.30: I'm used to it being absolutely packed and a struggle to get anywhere but this was a revelation. Am absolutely resolved to always arrive early and make sure I'm gone by midday when it gets too crazy!

There's so many photos in this post because I always want to take so many while I'm there. It's all so beautiful and I want to capture it. I'm always particularly drawn in by the fruit and veg: they're such a glorious rainbow array of fresh colour. Turnips is probably my favourite and most frequented: they have such a huge selection and all sorts of more unusual varieties you might struggle to find outside a food market.

My advice would always be to visit on an empty stomach. There are endless tempting tastes for you at every stall and I actually felt a bit cheated this time having eaten first!

I will allow a coffee for the lovely walk along the river from Embankment: also one of the most beautiful views of London and a happy way to start your weekend.

I have to admit than it wouldn't be a trip to Borough without a few drinks but then who wouldn't like to wander with a cold prosecco in hand?! That's my go-to drink (yes, I confess it, possibly even at 11am) but the New Forest Cider stall is also wonderful - they have mulled cider throughout the year as well as a surprising array of variations and they're amazing experts. In fact that's one of the special things about this market: all the traders are infinitely knowledgeable and passionate about their produce - and you won't get that at a supermarket! You'll be surprised what amazing value lots of it is too.

Weekend boozing aside, my favourite snacks/lunch are the fab scallops from Shellseekers or the freshly shucked oysters from Richard Hayward. I'm too scared to do my own oysters at home so they are a proper treat.

Best mulled cider in London

For possibly the first time ever I am without a shopping list, and winging it in terms of dinner (yes I'm usually a crazy planner). It's a lovely experience to just buy what I feel like (whether it goes together or not!) and take the advice of the stallholders. It ended up being so simple that I'm not even going to type a proper recipe.

Scallops from Shellseekers

The lovely gent at the fish stall (sadly I can't remember which) advises plaice fillets. I can't resist adding a few scallops but cook them later exactly as he suggest: hot frying pan for just a few minutes. They are meltingly fresh and delicious - a thousand miles away from the frankly uninspiring pre-packed salmon fillets on the supermarket shelves.

Vegetables? A wealth of possibility. I plump for jerusalem artichokes and roast them in a hot oven in olive oil, sea salt and rosemary. A salad love, I can't resist the selection here: sorrel, mizuna, winter purslane and red mustard make a herby selection that's lovely with the fish. I did also make a salsa verde but it was really too strong for a delicate fish like plaice: which for me tasted lovely just as it was.

Borough-inspired dinner

I think it's important to do at least one fun activity every weekend: it's all too easy to let our time off slip by without truly enjoying it.

We trek home at 3pm, tired but happy and carrying a heavy coolbag full of our bounty. A beautiful London Saturday outside and a fresh seasonal dinner to follow.

Borough: I love you. Food for the stomach but also, undoubtedly, for the soul.


To find out more about all the fantastic traders at Borough Market, visit http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/traders

Easter Lunch

For the first time ever, housemate and I decided to have friends over for Easter lunch and I abandoned my plant-based eating for a day and decided on lamb. I'm actually a bit nervous about cooking big joints - it's not my area of expertise and I stress about it getting overcooked but thanks to Jamie Oliver's instruction I ended up feeling pretty proud of myself! Plus a food delivery disaster meant we didn't get the lamb shoulder I'd planned to slow roast so it ended up being a fast-roast leg sourced by Kim on Sunday morning! Thank you Parsons Green farmers market for still being open.

I think these quantities serve 5-6 people depending on appetite and greed.

Easy Roast Leg of Lamb
(This is inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe I found online)

2kg outdoor reared leg of lamb (best you can buy will turn out nicest)
3 garlic cloves
olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
8 medium sprigs rosemary
salt and pepper

slug of red wine
lamb stock cube

1. Crush the garlic cloves and finely chops the leaves of half the rosemary.
2. Zest the lemon and stir it all together with enough olive oil to make a paste.
3. Put the lamb in a roasting tray with the rest of the rosemary.
4. Make lots of tiny slits all over the lamb (or stab repeatedly!) and season with salt and pepper.
5. Rub in the herb paste and roast at 200c for 1hr15.
6. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
7. Once the lamb is resting, add some water to the roasting tray and scrape off all the yummy goodness stuck to the bottom. Then decant to a pan, add wine (about half a glass) and a stock cube and boil to reduce.
8. Thicken with a tiny bit of cornflour if you like then sieve into a jug.
9. Drain juices from resting lamb into gravy then slice up and serve.

It might look underdone but have faith and do not cook any longer if you like it pink. You'll be surprised how much more it cooks during the resting time - mine ended up resting for too long as the potatoes weren't done. I was amazed at how much juice etc was produced for a gravy - also not one of my culinary skills but with a friend's help it was surprisingly easy to make a good one!


Crispy Layered Thyme Potatoes
(based on a James Martin recipe that was in my Good Food magazine for March)

2kg white potatoes
140g butter or vegan alternative
100ml vegetable stock
small pack thyme
rock salt & pepper

1. Slice the potatoes finely using a mandolin or the best you can do by hand.
2. Rinse in cold water then dry on tea towels and put into a large bowl.
3. Melt the butter and pour over potatoes, mix thoroughly to coat. 
4. Add the leaves from the thyme plus some salt and toss again.
5. Using a roasting tin or dish measuring approx 20cmx20cm, layer the potatoes vertically like a deck of cards - they should fit tightly.
6. Pour over the stock and season again with both salt and pepper.
7. Cook at 200c for an hour or until cooked - for my over it was about 1hr15 - cover with foil if it starts burning before the potatoes are soft, as you can see mine did!


Spring Vegetables with Salsa Verde
(my brain and Jamie's salsa)

1 bunch fresh tarragon
1 bunch fresh mint
2 anchovy fillets (omit for a vegetarian version)
1 tbsp cornichons
1 tbsp capers
1 heaped tsp dijon mustard (or vegan alternative)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 tbsp cider vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

175g babycorn
175g baby leeks
175g baby courgettes
250g baby carrots
200g asparagus
200g frozen peas
150g broad beans
(any vegetables you like are fine, this is just approximately what I used)
50-100ml vegetable stock

1. Blend all the salsa verde ingredients in a food processor until they form a sauce. Taste and add seasoning/more oil/whatever you think it needs. Chill until needed.
2. Trim the leeks and halve the carrots and courgettes lengthways.
3. Heat a splash of olive oil in a deep frying pan and add the leeks and courgettes.
4. Add the stock and cook for a couple of minutes - I like braising them like this for great flavour plus it's really easy.
5. Add the rest of the fresh and frozen vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes without the lid on, stirring occasionally. By this point the stock should have mostly been absorbed - you don't want liquid left so don't use too much.
6. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of salsa verde (according to your taste) and tip into a large bowl for serving. This sauce is also great on other meats and fish.

I'm not a big fan of a traditional roast (too labour intensive and last-minute) and for me this lunch feels special but is pretty easy to produce. Lots of herbs and vegetables have a really lovely spring-y feel and flavour. I love the tarragon version of salsa verde as I'm not so keen on parsley and it jazzes up anything to make it taste amazing. It keeps in the fridge for probably about a week - can't be sure as I've never had any left that long.

Happy Easter!

Girls Night In

I was super excited about this evening because I was trying out two Ella recipes (the excellent choices of housemate K): Gnocchi with Pea Pesto and Sweet Potato Brownies. We get to feel naughty because it seems like pasta and chocolate, but actually it's incredibly healthy! And naturally we can therefore indulge in some wine without feeling bad.

It's also lovely having new people over for dinner - feels like I've spent a lot of time working recently and maybe not enough doing fun things.

Mixed feelings about the success of these! The gnocchi was easy to assemble but had a texture that was both sticky and crumbly so it was quite hard to form into bits - also couldn't get the full amount of flour into the mix. Luckily I had Bonnie's nimble fingers to help but she is an expert dumpling-maker so she has skills. During cooking these did disintegrate a bit so I was left with a very sticky panful of gnocchi which were hard to stir into the pesto without them breaking up more.

Loved the flavour of the pesto - it's fresh and delicious but quite thick so I think needs more oil and water to make it an easier consistency to stir into the gnocchi. I think you can see what I mean from the photo.

I've changed the quantities here a bit to reflect my changes and I'll probably keep tweaking.

Pesto:
200g frozen peas
60g fresh basil
120g brazil nuts
12 tbsp olive oil
2 rounded tsp nutritional yeast
4-8 tbsp water as needed
1 bag pea shoots

Gnocchi:
1 kg mashing potatoes
4 tbsp apple puree
400g brown rice flour
salt & pepper

Pesto:
1. Put peas in a small pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil then drain.
2. Put 3/4 into the food processor with the basil, nuts, nutritional yeast , oil and 4 tsbp of the water.
3. Blend until smooth and creamy and add more water as needed to get a good consistency that isn't too thick.

Gnocchi:
1. Put potatoes (whole, don't chop) into a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes or until soft.
2. Drain and allow to cool then peel off their skins.
3. Mash with apple puree until smooth - this takes quite a while.
4. Season and stir in flour until a dough forms.
5. Flour the table or worksurface then roll the gnocchi into long sausage shapes (again this takes a while and you need to do it gradually).
6. Cut into 2cm pieces and press each one slightly with a fork to flatten.
7. Fill large saucepan with boiling water, add salt, and drop the gnocchi in.
8. Do NOT leave these: if they overcook they get sticky. They only take a couple of minutes to cook and you'll know when they're done because they float to the top.
9. Drain then put back in the pan with the pesto and remaining peas, and heat together for a couple of minutes.
10. Serve with some pea shoots to garnish.

No idea how it keeps but imagine it would reheat well if you added a bit more water to loosen the pesto.

As for the brownies - probably the less said the better. My expectations were high after Ella's claim about how 'divine' they are.

They're easy to make and the mixture tasted okay although not that chocolatey. They took FOREVER to cook and even then I couldn't get to grips with the strange consistency. The taste is like coco pops and strangely bready: Jenna re-named them 'brown-breadies'.

Not yummy (in fact quite unpleasant) and I don't want to eat them again. Ever. But I probably will have another go and tweak the recipe a bit - but until I've made something edible won't be sharing the recipe.

Bonnie liked everything but her reasoning:"I like mashed food"  was worrying. The following exchange between Jenna and Kim (who is kind about everything) sums it up:

K: Its' clever really, they don't have the taste of sweet potato at all.
J: Noooo, but they do have the consistency of sweet potato.

Yes. And personally that is not what I look for in a brownie.

Evening in the Kitchen: Superfood Bread

This evening was earmarked for a bit of cooking as I hadn't done much by way of preparation over the weekend. Which is to say nothing. The organised plan told me I should be making soup, bread, energy balls and granola bars....which felt ambitious leaving work at 6 with the shopping not yet done.

As Nature Intended is truly one of the best food shops ever: it has so many lovely tempting things and having looked at a few websites lots of their prices were also better for the storecupboard items I was wanting to stockpile. Who knew I would one day be regarding raw cacao powder, psyllium husks and nutritional yeast as the staples of my kitchen?!

Ella's Superfood Bread is a truly brilliant recipe that I guarantee I will be making time and time again. Eating gluten-free tends to mean saying goodbye to bread as the alternatives are generally so horrible but this is inspired. It has a texture much like a german-style rye bread but a light nutty/seedy flavour. Only a crust remained by the time I got round to taking this photo...

It's an incredibly easy recipe to throw together and The Housemate and I are still eating it nearly a week later so it keeps well wrapped in foil. It toasts like a rye bread too so that gives a slightly chewier consistency.

It was the basis of a thrown together lunch on Sunday with houmous, avocado and tomatoes and I took a few slices out to my networking lunch one day to go with my soup. Because of the herbs this isn't a great one for breakfast but next time I'm going to try a version leaving them out and trying cinnamon or another spice instead to make something more breakfast-y. Obviously you could just leave them out altogether for an all-the-time bread - the loaf has a lovely nutty flavour of it's own.

My edited version of the recipe as follows:

200g almonds
200g pumpkin seeds
200g sunflower seeds
200g brown rice flour
3 tsp dried mixed herbs of your choice
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp psyllium husks (apparently this is what holds is together so no substitutions - easy to buy in Holland & Barrett or any health food shop)

1. Blend almonds and 3/4 of the pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a food processor until they resemble flour.
2. Put in large mixing bowl with all other dry ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Add 600ml cold water and stir together until fully combined.
4. Stand for about an hour until the water is absorbed and the mixture is all stuck together.
5. Form into a a long shallow loaf (it will fall apart if you try to make it too tall) on a baking tray.
6. Bake for about 45 minutes at 200c until browned and a knife will pull cleanly out of the centre.

I'm making this again tonight as I've actually felt a bit bereft without any in the house the last few days!

As regards the soup.....considerably less enthused. Ella's Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper with Canellini Bean. It was okay but as a huge soup fan I think it's easily to make something far more delicious with probably less effort. So that's a post for another day with a few of my favourite soups.

Score for these: Bread 1 - Soup 0