The versatility of leftover lamb

Add love to your lamb

For value for money, we love to buy a joint of lamb at the weekend. Sometimes it's a leg plugged with rosemary and garlic, cooked pink with gorgeous gravy and roast winter veg.

The absolute favourite is a slow cooked shoulder, tenderising over four or five hours on a trivet of vegetables into which its juices slowly drizzle, steaming under a foil top which is removed  to crisp up the juicy fat for the last half hour on a higher heat.

A special piece of meat deserves a loving gravy to honour it. Here's a suggestion. Make your gravy as you would normally then add Stokes:

• For a fruity sweetness - stir in a spoonful of  Stokes Redcurrant Jelly to taste
• For a minty compliment - stir in a spoonful of our special Mint Sauce
• For a deep flavour with zesty chilli warmth - stir in a spoonful of Chilli Jam
• Try a spoonful of Mint Sauce and Redcurrant Sauce together - simply superb.

Butterless gravy without a roux

To cut down on butter (sad but true) we came up with this easy, quick and mouth-watering alternative.
You need a hand blender, pan and imagination.

Roughly chop an onion, a couple of sticks of celery, as much fennel as you like and a couple of pointed sweet red peppers (which are great value on the market at the moment). Add boiling water to only just cover the vegetables.

Pop a beef stock bouillon into the pan and simmer for just 3 or 4 minutes then blend to a smooth 'gravy' consistency. If you need to thicken it, blend in a cooked potato or two, or add more water to thin.

You're serving fresh, healthy vegetables as a sauce or gravy.

Again, by adding a spoonful of Stokes, you can intensify and move the flavours in whichever direction you want.


Lovely leftover lamb

Lamb is probably the most versatile of leftover meats. Its texture and flavour can take just about anything you throw at it - sweetly spicing it Persian style;  currying it Indian style; or refreshing it Mediterranean style.

          Lamb Tagine                                           Lamb Curry                                        Moussaka Boats

Lamb Tagine - as a shepherd's pie.

This works best with leftover shoulder, shredded as small as you can. Put the meat in a pan with a tin of chickpeas (washed) and any cooked, sliced carrots you may also have left over.

Make a 'butterless gravy' (as above) to which you add a teaspoon of Ras El Hanout (Moroccan spice mix) and a spoonful each of Stokes Spiced Apricot Chutney and Chilli Jam - all adjusted to taste. Pour the sauce into the pan and cook warm the meat thoroughly.

For the shepherd's pie version, spoon the tagine into a casserole and cool while mashing potatoes. Try oilseed rape instead of butter and mash with frozen petit pois and a good spoonful of Stokes Creamed Horseradish Sauce. Spoon this over the cooled meat and bake on a medium heat for half an hour or until the meat bubbles and the mash browns.

Lamb Curry

Leg meat suits this as it holds together more whilst cooking.  Cut the meat into mouth size pieces and toss thoroughly in a couple of spoonfuls of Curry Powder and set aside to make a 'butterless gravy'. This time, add a tin of chopped tomatoes and blitz. You will need to thicken it with a couple of cooked potatoes.

Add a tablespoon of Stokes Brown Sauce and two of Curry Ketchup. Pour the sauce over the meat and simmer at least until the meat is piping hot. The longer you leave it the more the flavours will marry. Serve it with chopped coriander on a bed of fluffy basmati rice.

Moussaka Boats

The softer sweeter shoulder cuts work in this fun take on a moussaka. For a snack or starter use one aubergine between two. Brush them with oil and bake on a medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are tender when pricked with a fork. Set them aside to cool, halve and scoop out half the flesh to create aubergine boats.

Make a butterless gravy (as above) adding Chilli Jam and our Award-Winning Tomato Ketchup and half the aubergine flesh that was scooped and set aside earlier and blitz.

Chop a couple of tomatoes adding them to the meat in a pan and pour over the sauce. Warm through until piping hot and spoon into the boats. Sprinkle grated Cheddar and torn strips of Mozzarella on top and grill until the boats have warmed and the cheese has melted. It's impressive.

 Enjoy !


Learn more about Stokes Extra Jams here.


Discover Forest Holidays and save 10%, just because you love Stokes - here. 

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150