broccoli

Roast Lamb Shoulder

January 7, 2016 by manjirichitnis 6 Comments

Succulent, delicious and easy to cook – Roast shoulder of Lamb

Happy New year everyone! 2015 has sped past at lightening pace and lots has happened offline and as well as online too. My blog has a new name and a new home and so do we, we finally decided to move ur from our tiny but very pretty flat to a new place with a proper kitchen for a change! Exciting times! I was not blogging as frequently as I would have liked to though but hope to put that behind me and regularly share my food and travel adventures with all of you. Speaking of travel I am happy to report that I started 2015 with a month-long trip to India and visited Chennai and Pondicherry apart from my usual trips to Mumbai and Pune! Very exciting and I have finally managed to write up some posts about Pondicherry – more later! We also did our first ever trip across the pond to the Big Apple and managed to squeeze in four days at Washington D.C too – was so exciting, but the best bit, of course, was that we spent Thanksgiving with our family and caught up with friends after many years – what a treat! 2015 was kind to me in other ways too, I was invited to many foodie events and met some really cool master chefs, tried exotic food and reviewed many restaurants and bars too – will soon share more as the year unfolds 🙂

On the very first of the New Year, I experimented with a cut of lamb that I haven’t before – a large shoulder of lamb that I decided to roast. Here is an easy to follow a recipe, the only tough bit – waiting for the meat to cook 😉

I wanted to use a cheaper cut than the usual ones, a lamb shoulder seemed like a good place to start – this joint cost me £7.99 per kilo from my local butcher. For that price, this cut gives some much more ‘bang for your buck’

Lamb’s shoulder is quite fatty so there is no need to add too much oil, the meat pretty much cooks in its own fat and the port wine I have used adds deep rich flavours to this very succulent cut of meat. A joint of this size also allows for a lot of leftovers and therefore a great way to make a range of other recipes – think stews, casseroles, curries, pulavs, tikkis (a mashed potato fritter stuffed with meat – a great tea time treat) and so many more. Great on the pocket and a great choice for winter recipes.

Try cooking with this highly underrated cut of Lamb today

I am happy that the baster I purchased for my Christmas roast chicken is proving to be very handy. I have to say that I am so proud that my Roast Chicken turned out absolutely fab and delicious – it was another experiment and the pork and cranberry stuffing and all the sides were made at home by me with lots of chopping, peeling and cutting help by the OH.

Juicy roast Lamb shoulder recipe

**Easy recipe for Roast shoulder of lamb**

Roast Lamb Shoulder

Manjiri Chitnis

Deliciously succulent joint of lamb – cheap and cheerful roast

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 2 hrs 35 mins

Total Time 2 hrs 40 mins

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

1.5 kg Lamb Shoulder
2 medium-sized red onions
15 -18 cloves
6- 8 cloves of garlic
Sea Salt as per taste
500 ml A generous glug of ruby port wine – approximately a pint
handful Fresh rosemary
2 – 3 spritzs Oil – from a spray bottle

Instructions

Wash the lamb shoulder and place it on a tray.
Make cuts on both sides with a knife.
Peel and cut the garlic cloves in half. Stud the joint of lamb with cloves and garlic in the cuts made by the knife.
Sprinkle with sea salt. Tear the rosemary leaves from the stem and sprinkle them on both sides. (lamb and rosemary – a classic combination – just about to be made better with a little twist!)
Peel the onions, half, and then roughly chop them.
Place the onion on a roasting tray – I recycled my foil tray used for my making roast potatoes for our Christmas dinner.
Place the seasoned and prepared lamb shoulder on the onion and spritz with oil – I used oil very sparingly and find using oil from a spraying bottle ideal for this recipe.
Then pour a generous glug of ruby port wine onto the lamb – I didn’t measure this but added enough to ensure that the meat is totally wet and there is enough to make a gravy – allow for enough so that you can baste the meat at least twice while it is roasting in the oven. Roughly 500ml or one pint should suffice.
Pre-heat the oven to 220° C.
Cover the roasting tray with a foil such that the foil covers the edge of the tray like a proper lid.
Roast in the preheated oven for 2 hours, basting at least twice to allow the meat to cook thoroughly and ensure you get a succulent soft roast that simply falls off the bone.
After 2 hours check the roast and adjust cooking time accordingly – I needed about 40 mins more for a soft roast.

The lamb should now be at the ‘melt-in-your-mouth stage – serve with warm bread and steamed veggies on the side – ideally beans, carrots, and peas, or broccoli. Hubster is not fond of peas but I would be very happy lots of them 😉

The leftovers will get a rub of my home-made hot spice mix that adds a warming touch to my curries and stews – leftover lamb curry – can’t wait to share that recipe – it’s definitely a winter warmer and a firm family favourite.

Inspired to give Lamb meat a chance? Then why not also have a look at other Lamb based recipes:

Also, have a look a my easy recipe for an aromatic and delicious recipe for a cracking home-made spice rub that will work to elevate the flavour of any cut of lamb!

Homemade spice rub

Happy New Year once again folks and a lot of new and exciting recipe and travel posts coming up! wooooohoooo!

Easy Moroccan Chicken one pot meal

February 20, 2015 by manjirichitnis 22 Comments

The chill in the air is just right for warming one-pot meals. Make them healthy, quick, and easy to put together and you have a winner on your hands. Last year at the Cake and Bake show which I attended with a dear friend and fellow blogger, I ended up spending a bomb (£££!!!!) on four different sized pots – non – stick being one of their biggest virtues. One of them is a huge wok which I intend to use to make a stir fry over the weekend. The coating is said to last for years and each vessel comes with a glass lid. I can apparently also shove them directly into the oven but haven’t tried that yet. The big and rather saucepan is what I use as my crockpot for making one-pot meals in. In fact, there is something very comforting watching a warming curry or gorgeously tasty and nutritious one-pot meals!

heaven in a saucepan - healthy , happy meals begin here!

Ok so coming back to my one pot recipe. I had a bag of baby spinach leaves in my fridge and was craving a wholesome soupy stew with lots of vegetables. So managed to gather a few things that I think would taste great together and then added in Knorr onion gravy pots and Knorr mixed chilli pot for flavour and the result was so very satisfying. But the best part was adding in Ras El Hanout a delicious and fiery moroccan and North African fragrant spice mix. The delicate dried rose petals look so pretty , that’s why I decided to name my dish Moroccan Chicken one pot.I also devoured it for lunch today – umm.

Make this in a large quantity and it will freeze well. Batch cooking is highly recommended as it saves you time and ensures that you do not eat things that you will end up regretting when you are hard pressed for time and simply cannot cook.The freezer is a wonderful boon, use it!

I purchased a beautiful Red Leicester and Pumpkin seed batard to go with my meal – it is soul-satisfying to mop up the thick gravy with the bread while sitting on the couch watching my fav crime show on the telly, feeling all warm and happy.

The best part of this recipe is I haven’t added in potatoes or extra sugar to taste and yet the flavours are so well balanced. (Though both gravy pots do contain sugar) I love stocking up on these tiny Knorr flavour pots they are life-savers!

A recipe with enough spinach to make Popeye jump with joy! Spinach has several health benefits and is known to be a great source of folic acid and several essential vitamins and great levels of iron too. Best part is a big bag of spinach can be consumed in no time as the leaves are high in water content and it reduces in size when cooked.

Easy Moroccan Chicken one pot

Serves:4 Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking time: approx 25 minutes

Ingredients:

Olive oil 2 tbsp
1 large red onion
2 cloves of garlic
Mixed bag of broccoli, carrot and cauliflower – 270 gm
Chicken thighs – 500 gm – appox 3 big pieces
Trimmed green beans – 75 gm
Chestnut Mushrooms – 4 – 5
1.5 Knorr onion gravy flavour pot
1 Knorr mixed chillies flavour pot
4 handfulls of spinach leaves
Red lentils – without skin and halved 3/4th cup
1/2 tsp of Ras El Hanout
1/2 tsp of roasted cumin powder
Water

Method:

Remove the skin from the chicken thighs after washing thoroughly under running water.
Chop the chicken thighs to make strips of the flesh leaving just enough on the bone.
Wash and cut the broccoli, carrots,cauliflower, green beans and chestnut mushrooms bits into bite sized pieces.
Slice an onion lengthwise into fine strips.
Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and chop into tiny bits.
In a large saucepan or stock pot heat olive oil on a medium flame, when the oil becomes to heat up add the finely chopped garlic and saute’ until they turn a golden brown then add in the sliced onion.
Stirring occasionally allow the onion to sweat and just when it begins to brown add in the chopped vegetables and saute for half a minute.
Then add in the chicken thighs and saute for another minute.
Then wash and add the red lentils , add enough water to create a thick gravy – enough to allow the lentils to cook and not soak up all the water. Then add in the Knorr flavour pots and mix well.

Big, beautiful pot of healthy goodness - absolutely irresistible!

Then add the washed spinach leaves, cumin powder and cover and cook on a medium flame for 15 minutes.

Gorgeous Bowl of goodness with immunity boosting spinach and delicious veggies

By now the lentils will have cooked and the chicken will almost be done too.
Then taste the soupy water and if it is too spicy add just a very tiny pinch the Ras El Hanout , I added 1/2 a tsp as the taste reminded me of garam masala. Ras El Hanout is a moroccan mixture of fragrant spices with rose petals and gives the stock pot a gorgeous full bodied flavour.
Cook for a further 10-15 minutes on a gentle low flame.
Serve in large bowls with a big portion of the pumpkin batard bread.

In my Veg Box – May 2014 Round up – Theme – Cauliflowers

June 4, 2014 by manjirichitnis 14 Comments

Ok, it is that time to share the roundup for the May linky for ”In my Veg Box” an event run by Nayna Kanabar of Citrus Spice UK. The theme was Cauliflowers and I am happy to say that a large variety of recipes were created by you and shared. Read on and enjoy, there’s even an award-winning recipe in here by Nayna!

First up is a very easy and tasty recipe for Cauliflower and green peas curry by Nayna on her blog Citrus Spice UK. This robustly flavoured curry is a fabulous addition to any menu, just as good with a hot roti as it is with rice or pulav, a very worthy addition on the menu when hosting a vegetarian dinner party I think.

Another cool link-up from Nayna, her recipe for ‘Spicy Cauliflower Tempura’ won her the runner up prize in the National Vegetarian week– Betta Living, held during 19-25 May 2014. Nayna winning entry got her whopping prize money of £250 prize! woohoo! Well done Nayna! Proof that cauliflowers rocks and vegetarian recipes are far from boring and actually require more creativity and culinary expertise to create flavour from simple ingredients! I also think the photo below is really beautifully done, agree?

Linsy who blogs at Real Home Cooked Food has shared a tangy pickle-based recipe for Aachari Cauliflower, Chana and Corn / Cauliflower , Chickpeas, and Corn in Pickle spices. I love using pickles as a marinade for my meat dishes and cauliflower take sup the flavours so readily it is satisfying to eat this dish am sure.

After a stew and tempura, a Manchurian recipe is up next.Cauliflower(Gobhi) Manchurian in Knorr Chinese Schezuan Sauce from the blog Hobby Chef uses a store-bought powdered packet sauce. Though the Manchurian sauce is from a packet it looks really yummy and I’ve always like Knorr’s recipe mixes, a quick fix for days when you just can’t be bothered with making a sauce from scratch I guess, with my current crazy schedule and a head cold from hell! I could do with some warm soup which I hopefully won’t have to make for myself 😉

When I was in North Wales, my husband and I had fish and chips with a curry sauce at a dingy little place, the chips were blah but the curry sauce was super fab, ever since it’s stuck in some corner of my brain and every time I pass by a fish and chip shop that does a fairly decent job I wonder if they have curry sauce on their menu. This Cauliflower Curry Sauce by Linzi of Lancashire is a minefield of all things good and wholesome. Its no fat, high fibre, can be made ahead and frozen for saving the day at a later date, and is a fabulous way to hide veggies in a tasty sauce if that wasn’t enough it is a versatile sauce which will go with meat, fish or veggie curries.

Up next another fabulous sauce this time a Hidden Cauliflower Cheese Pasta Sauce by Elizabeth of Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary. I just happened to read her ‘About me’ section on her blog, in great detail, and discovered that we have both done our B.Sc in Lifesciences! I also went on to do a year of Masters in Biochemistry which I ditched and went for an MBA in Marketing when I realised I didn’t want to sit in a lab and talk to test tubes which I had named with characters from a fav sitcom 😉 Another beautiful food photo for the roundup and another great recipe for making in extra portions and saving a mid-week meal!

Shobhas Bengali style recipe for Bengali Style Cauliflower with Poppy seeds & Mustard Paste is simple curry but packed with earthy moreish flavours. I thoroughly enjoy Bengali food and a big fan of seafood which am sure you know by now if you are reading my posts regularly.

Nayna innovative recipe for Spicy Cauliflower Couscous is a clever way to use this versatile vegetable with a small number of spices and get something yummy on the plate for everyone to enjoy.

Another cool link up by Shobha who blogs at FoodMazaa, her Punjabi Pickle recipe is a lovely traditional recipe from the northern part of India. Pickles are to be stored for flavours to develop. I remember eating this with great relish at a Punjabi friends place when I stayed over during my MBA final exams, I always tried to sneak in some extra pickle on my plate 😉

Another recipe from Helen this time a Cauliflower with anchovy and garlic, very unusual combination with anchovies I must say!

Sonal who blogs at simplyvegetarian777 has shared a recipe for Crunchy Gobhi Tandoori. Great idea for a summer BBQ party don’t you think?

Lastly my everyday recipe for a Cauliflower and Peas bhaji. I like to have at least once a week with warm soft chapatis.

I hope that this round-up leaves you inspired to experiment with cauliflower and try any one of the many lovely recipes.

Thanks to Nayna for letting me host this exciting linky event.

In my Veg Box: Cauliflowers – Recipe Linky Challenge

May 1, 2014 by manjirichitnis 19 Comments

Am back in May with another exciting challenge! This month, I am guest hosting In My Veg Box, an event run by Nayna Kanabar of Citrus Spice UK. This month’s theme is Cauliflowers.

Cauliflower – ”The kale of 2014, the budget-friendly superfood, the most underrated vegetable” is what the Huff Post,Canada mentions in a recent article about 10 health benefits of cauliflower.

Did you know that Cauliflower is an aid to weight loss! Yes! That’s why its the new kale and tastes much better too, don’t you think? My favourite new way to use cauliflower creatively is by shredding it in a food processor and cooking it with some water in a microwave as a replacement for rice.

Cauliflower is bursting with various vitamins like Vit B and C , potassium and phosphorous that can support your body’s repair and maintenance of the nervous system, immune system, muscles and bones.

Its name is from Latin caulis (cabbage) and flower.

A brassica, like cabbage and broccoli, cauliflower is a mass of tiny, tightly packed flower heads (called curds), which grow from a thick central stem to form a single, round head, cupped by green leaves. It has a firm, almost waxy texture, and a mild, delicate flavour. Most cauliflowers are white, but it’s also possible to find green and purple varieties, as well as the sweeter Romanesco cauliflower, with its distinctive pointed florets.The orange cauliflower is also rich in beta-carotene and vitamin A.

I tasted the orange and purple coloured variants of cauliflower for the first time a few years back and my love affair with the beautiful Romanesco cauliflower has only just begun! Did you know that the English call romanesco – broccoli, the French – cabbage and the Germans and the Poles – cauliflower. Some of the undecided place it somewhere between broccoli and cauliflower. Taking into account its shape, romanesco rosettes bring to mind the pyramids or minaret towers, the theory, that it fell out of a flying saucer would seem to be rather interesting.

According to the BBC Good Food Guide: Like all brassicas, cauliflower smells very unpleasant if overcooked, so brief cooking is essential.

With me and my husband, cauliflower and green peas, bhaji made using a simple hand me down recipe from my Aai (mother in Marathi, my mother tongue) is a firm favourite. I make it at least once a week. My Aai, my sister and her kids love it too, we are a veggie-friendly family that way!

If all this has not put you in the mood for cooking up something interesting or simple and easy with cauliflower then what will?! 😉

So get cooking, clicking and link up but first a few rules! I know, I know RULES. But I promise the rules are dead easy to follow!

Rules to Participate:

Please prepare any vegetarian recipes using Cauliflowers and link your dish to the linky code below. You will need to enter the name of your dish, as well as the url of your blog.
The current theme is CAULIFLOWER.
You must link this post to Travelsfortaste and to Citrus Spice UK.
Use of the logo is not mandatory but it helps to spread the word if you can use it.
Multiple entries are allowed.
Archived entries are also allowed, only if they are re-posted and updated with this event link, as well as the Citrus Spice UK link.
Recipes must be added to the linky by 31st May 2014.

In the event of any problems with using the linky code, please email me your entry to manjiri.chitnis@gmail.com. Please include your name, recipe name, url and an image no larger than 300 pixels.

Thank you! Can’t wait to see a variety of recipes that I am sure are possible with the humble cauliflower! Get Cooking Bloggers!

References: Wiki, Huffington Post Canada

In my veg Box – Theme Cauliflowers – all entries.

Spicy Chorizo Pasta with loads of veggie goodness!

April 29, 2014 by manjirichitnis 13 Comments

I often struggle to get the hubster to consume hero veggies like Broccoli and Mushrooms ,both which I quite frankly love .. always have ! So what started off as a veg pasta was met with a grunt and audible grumbling and had to be re-engineered to create something fabulous ! I am therefore grateful for the grumbling – totally depends on the end result right? 😉 Its also a very good recipe to use all the veggies lying around in your fridge and many some store cupboard excesses to start that spring clean you have been itching to do ( yes I love cleaning – am quite certain I have a mild OCD too)

Preparation Time: 25 minutes Cooking Time:40 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients:

500 gm Penne
300 gm Chorizo chopped bite size
Broccoli a handful
Button Mushrooms – half a small packet – std supermarket size-chopped bite size
200 gm Sweet Corn and Red Peppers canned
Grated parmesan Cheese – generous amount;)
1/2 of a large Red Onion
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 large tomatoes pureed
Sea salt
2 large tablespoons Olive Oil
Chilli flakes as per taste
2 large Spring onion finely chopped
1/4th cup low fat cream
Dried italian herb mix for pasta 2 teaspoons

Method:

For the creamy sauce

In a saucepan heat one and a half large tablespoon of oil and saute the finely chopped garlic and when it begins to brown add 2 cloves of garlic chopped spring onion and saute for about 1 min
Then added the finely chopped broccoli
Now add the chopped button mushrooms and the sweet corn and red pepper mixture.
Add the cream and cook on a low flame for 2 – 3 minutes,season with salt and then add generous amounts of cheese.
This sauce should have a balance between creamy and chewy with the mushrooms on the broccoli can retain a bit of its crunch so if you use a lid it may overcook

Before starting on the spicy sauce boil the past in a large saucepan and add sea salt and olive a generous splash I use flavoured oil – the bottle had a large sprig of rosemary some crushed garlic and chilli flakes tossed inside to give it a deep rich flavour- so , so good!

For the Spicy Sauce

In a saucepan heat half a tablespoon of oil and fry the red onion chopped lengthwise and 2 garlic cloves finely chopped.
Then add the bite sized pieces of Chorizo and reduce the flame to low.
Let the chorizo almost start to get crispy and then added the pureed tomatoes,dried herb mixture,chilli flakes and salt as per taste.

In a clean bowl add a generous portion of the creamy sauce, top it with cooked pasta and then add the spicy chorizo sauce.Sprinkle with as much cheese as you want and watch it melt into the steaming hot pasta.If you want just a bit of guilty pleasure drizzle some chilli olive oil on the pasta before mixing the whole thing together!