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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

How to make a great roast lamb shoulder
How to make a great roast lamb shoulder

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
Easy recipe for Roast shoulder of lamb
Manjiri Chitnis

Roast Lamb Shoulder

5 from 4 votes
Deliciously succulent joint of lamb – cheap and cheerful roast
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients Method

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

Method
 

  1. Wash the lamb shoulder and place it on a tray.
  2. Make cuts on both sides with a knife.
  3. Peel and cut the garlic cloves in half. Stud the joint of lamb with cloves and garlic in the cuts made by the knife.
  4. 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!)
  5. Peel the onions, half, and then roughly chop them.
  6. Place the onion on a roasting tray – I recycled my foil tray used for my making roast potatoes for our Christmas dinner.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Pre-heat the oven to 220° C.
  10. Cover the roasting tray with a foil such that the foil covers the edge of the tray like a proper lid.
  11. 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.
  12. 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 😉

Roast shoulder of lamb
 Roast shoulder of lamb

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:

  • Smoky and spicy lamb burgers
  • Hot and spicy lamb chops in apple sauce
  • Smoky spicy lamb chops with wild rice and gravy

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!

Filed Under: Food, Meat, Recipe Index Tagged With: 2016, 220° C, America, baster, beans, Big Apple, broccoli, carrots, casseroles, Chennai, Christmas roast chicken, cloves, curries, food blogger, garlic, happy new year, Incredible India, Indian fried fritters, leftover lamb curry, local butcher, New Year, peas, Pondicherry, pulavs, red onions, Roast Lamb Shoulder recipe, roasting tray, rosemary, ruby port wine, stews, tarvel blogger, tikkis, tourist, U.S.A, Visit New York, Visit USA, Washington D.C

Amur Beluga Caviar – a Review

December 31, 2014 by manjirichitnis 4 Comments

The beauty of any food and consuming it is in also understanding the history of its origin and the aura and mystique surrounding the food especially if it is Caviar.

My family and me hail from the western coastal parts of India – namely Konkan and fish was always a part of the daily diet , over the years of course the consumption of fish daily is not practical due to various reasons but the love for all things seafood is deeply ingrained in all of us.So when I was offered a chance to review Amur Beluga Caviar by Caviar Classic, London, I could not refuse.

Caviar classic is a small London based Caviar Company, owned and run by Darren Pedersen. They pride themselves on sustainably farmed products that are guaranteed to live up to the highest standards.

Amur Beluga is a hybrid of the Acipenser Schrenkii (Amur Sturgeon) combined with the Huso Dauricus Sturgeon (Freshwater Beluga) resulting in a gold green egg with a bit of a harder shell that pops in your mouth, the aftertaste is light and creamy. This combination of the two of the best Sturgeon in the world, not only takes 10 years to mature, but also produces a magnificent sizeable shimmering silver Roe. Naturally then this is a favourite amongst caviar connoisseurs around the world.

At the moment the Amur Beluga is in many ways considered a better product than most Iranian/Russian Beluga’s as the eggs are bigger (3mm in size) and the quality is in most ways of a higher standard.

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Caviar is served with mother of pearl caviar spoons to avoid tainting the taste of the caviar. I was also sent this beautiful spoon along with the Caviar and Caviar classic always try to go that little bit further to ensure that their customers receive their purchase at it’s best, such as chilled boxes with small ice packs and an extra gift – like this lovely spoon – in most packs.

We ate the caviar on wafer thin slices of toast with a fresh juicy salad tomato sliced in half – I wanted an absolutely neutral and fresh base to feel the caviar on my tongue …the little gems popping in my mouth …exploding with flavour…

6-IMG_9443 (Copy)

I paired the caviar with a fine Chablis from Waitrose as dry whites work as well as Champagne. Caviar can be had with a good creamy cheese too.

I have stowed the remaining away in the coldest part of my refrigerator where it should stay upto a month but ideally wouldn’t keep it for more than 3 days. And no matter what happens never freeze caviar as it can damage the delicate membrane.

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For me this post would be incomplete without mentioning how much consuming this Caviar reminded me of a scene from Casino Royale where Bond he is seen enjoying Beluga Caviar on toast as he sips on his nth Vesper Martini and seduces femme fatale Vesper after his big win at the casino.

James Bond 007 eating caviar

“The problem is not how to get enough caviar but how to get enough toast with it.” – James Bond in Ian Fleming’s Casino Royal

Image Credit: Aston from the Bond Lifestyle Forum

Thanks to my Baba, who is a great fan of 007 and the movie series, the craze for the books, movies and trivia has been passed down to my sister and me and till date the best movie marathons we have at home are when we watch Bond Films back to back with Sean Connery and Daniel Craig as our top Fav Bond actors with Pierce Brosnan as a hot favourite amongst the women in our family 😉

The fictitious and very Charming James Bond lives the high life and one his many expensive tastes is for the most exclusive and expensive – Beluga Caviar. No one rocks the Champagne and Caviar for dinner combination like Bond does, isn’t it ?sighhhhh

Hope that all of you enjoy the party tonight – Bond style with some splendid Champagne – hopefully Bond’s Fav – Dom Pérignon for the lucky few with lots of Caviar and toast to go around and hope you have great company to ring in the New Year.

Adios, dear readers, and off I go to ring in the New Year and dance the night away, here’s wishing all my readers a very Happy New Year where I shall continue to share my adventures in the kitchen and outside, a lot of travel stories and yes loads of other great c0ntent – stay tuned folks but for now – au revoir!

Caviar Classic

Image Credit: Caviar Classic

 *With thanks to Caviar classic and the  PR agency for sending me a sample of Amur Beluga for review. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Caviar and Champagne

Filed Under: Food, Product Reviews Tagged With: a Review, Acipenser Schrenkii, an extra gift, au revoir, Beluga Caviar, Casino Royale, Chablis from Waitrose, Champagne, chilled boxes, Dom Pérignon, exploding with flavour, fresh juicy salad tomato, Freshwater Beluga, happy new year, highest standards, Huso Dauricus Sturgeon, Ian Fleming, Iranian Beluga, James Bond, konkan, little gems, London based Caviar Company, mother of pearl caviar spoons, neutral and fresh, popping in my mouth, Russian Beluga, sustainably farmed products, Vesper Martini, western coastal parts of India

Clear Vegetable soup with an Indian Phodni

January 1, 2013 by manjirichitnis 3 Comments

Clear Vegetable soup – my way – Easy Cooking, Healthy Food

Happy New Year everyone! It’s a great way to start a new year on a healthy note hence some soup for new years day lunch light and easy !

Nothing warms us up in winter like a steaming hot soup, if it is filling , easy to make and wholesome it makes life even better! Agree? I love ordering clear vegetable soup when I go eating out and though this is not the typical chinese take away and is a very home cooking and simplistic approach it’s still what a soup should essentially be – wholesome…

You can add as many veggies as you like that would marry well with the basic list I think is essential, I basically use whatever is available in my vegetable tray on the said day !

The following roughly make for 2 large bowls of soup and a small leftover portion for Lunch next day, perfect I say !

  1. Cauliflower 1/4th finely chopped
  2. Small hand full green peas
  3. 2 – 3 large sprigs of spring onion finally chopped
  4. Bottle Gourd – 1/4th finely chopped
  5. 2 large cloves of garlic
  6. A pinch of cummin seeds
  7. Half a tea-spoon ghee or low-fat butter example :Lurpack
  8. 2 small carrots finely chopped
  9. Hand full french beans very finely chopped
  10. 1/4th tomato very finely chopped for flavour
  11. Large bit of fresh ginger smashed with skin to add flavour

Optional : Brocoli, sweet corn,potatoes,cabbage

Method:

  1. Boil all the veggies in water with salt to taste and the large piece of ginger with skin after its washed thoroughly , if it has too much mud on it please remove the skin , no knife skills needed just let yourself go, as Jamie Oliver would say !
  2. While these are almost boiled ,take the ghee/butter in a tadka pan(image pasted below ) add the garlic cloves with skin smash them using a mortar pestle before adding and then add the cumin seeds when the gee/butter is hot and sputtering.Add this ”tadka” or seasoning to the boiled veggie water mix and serve hot.
  3. The toasted garlic and ghee combination give off a sweet flavour and an appetising aroma.
  4. An ideal accompaniment is a boiled sweet corn stub slathered in low-fat butter and a slice of your favourite baguette !

Cheers to good health , easy cooking , healthy and wholesome meals and of course winter warmers !

Clear Veg Soup with an Indian Tadkawholesome goodness of vegetables in a broth!

Filed Under: Food, Healthy, Recipe Index Tagged With: chinese, delicious, easy, fast, food, fresh food, happy new year, Indian Tadka, tasty, veg clear soup, vegetables, winter warmer, yummy

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