British Lamb - three ways

The best of British - lamb

A combination of excellent animal husbandry and the very nature of the beast - lamb and mutton from British breeds ensures a happier free-grazing lifetime for a beautiful cut of meat.

DID YOU KNOW

• Britain breeds more sheep now than New Zealand ( 33.3 million v 29.5 million).
• It's all the same to us but a ewe can recognise her lamb's bleat even on a busy hillside.
• There's more than 90 different breeds and crosses of sheep in the UK.
• It's no coincidence that the strong sheep breeding areas are also our biggest tourism areas.
• When buying lamb look out for the Red Tractor logo as the mark of its British integrity.

Greek Roast Lamb

You'll need:

• 1 large leg of lamb, bone in
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 bunch of oregano
• The zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 6 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 kg of waxy new potatoes
• 1 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp of pitted kalamata olives
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Chipotle Ketchup

 

Here's how...

Whilst the oven heats up to maximum, use a pestle and mortar to grind the garlic, half the oregano and the lemon zest. Add the lemon juice and a little olive oil to make a paste. Make incisions all over the lamb and massage the paste into the skin.

Put the potatoes into the roasting tin with the remaining oil and any leftover paste. Sit the lamb on top and roast for half an hour at full heat.Turn the heat down to medium and roast for a further hour and a half. Remove the lamb to rest and spoon the potatoes into a bowl.

For a truly delicious sauce, add the remaining oregano, tomatoes, olives and ketchup to the pan's juices and simmer for five minutes.


Pan roasted loin of lamb

This is a lovely cut of fairly lean meat, having just enough fat to enhance the flavour. It takes very little cooking time and is a succulent alternative to roast leg or shoulder.

A couple of loin cuts totalling about 500 g should feed four people nicely. In an ovenproof pan heat a mixture of olive oil and butter with a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Place the lamb in the pan on a medium heat, turning it gently for two or three minutes to brown all sides and caramelise the surface meat.

Transfer the pan to a medium oven for eight minutes then remove the lamb to keep warm and rest.

To the cooking juices add 100 ml of red wine and reduce on a medium high heat to about two thirds. Stir in 2 teaspoons of Stokes Redcurrant Jelly and one teaspoon of Stokes Mint Sauce together with 500 ml of beef stock and reduce by half.

Add a good knob of butter to enrich the sauce and give it a velvety finish.

Carve the loins into medallions (they should be just pink in the middle) and serve.



Lovely lamb burger

These are succulent minty lamb burgers served with a beetroot mayonnaise.

You'll need:

• 400 g minced lamb
• 1 finely chopped red onion
• A handful of chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon of Stokes Mint Sauce
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 3 tbsp of Stokes Real Mayonnaise
• 2 cooked beetroots

Here's how:

Mix the lamb, onion, parsley, and mint sauce in a bowl and form it into burger sized patties, rub with oil and cook on a medium heat for five minutes on each side.

For the mayonnaise, put the beetroot in a bowl and blend it into a smooth paste with a hand blender before adding and thoroughly mixing in the mayonnaise.  

The two go really well together.






More foodie thoughts for the week:





Simply salmon - delicious sauces and dressings here.








Commonwealth Day - flavours from around the world here.









We have a competition winner here.

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

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150