Roast Lamb with Thyme-Roasted Potatoes

Recipe for: LAMB WITH THYME-ROASTED POTATOES

Ingredients: 

• 1 leg of lamb
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled & halved
• 3 tblsp vegetable oil
• Small bunch fresh thyme (but use dried if you have to)
• 100ml/ 3.5 fl oz chicken or vegetable stock
• 50g/ 2 oz butter
• 10 medium potatoes, peeled & sliced into 1cm rounds
• Splash white wine (optional)

Method: 

1. heat oven to 190C/ fan 170C/ gas 5
2. pierce lamb all over with sharp knife to create small pockets
3. push halved garlic cloves deep into the cuts
4. chop half of the thyme & mix with the oil
5. rub the oil/ thyme all over the lamb joint, then season well
6. place the joint on a rack/ trivet in a roasting pan & cook for 30 minutes
7. meanwhile, in a small pan, heat the stock & butter together until all melted
8. when the meat has had 30 minutes, lift out the joint & the rack
9. tip the sliced potatoes into the roasting tin, then pour over the buttery stock & mix well
10. splash in some white wine & mix again.  Ensure the potatoes are well coated, then sprinkle in the other half of the bunch of thyme + seasoning.
11. carefully place the rack & the lamb back on top, then put back into the oven.
12. cook for a further 60-75 minutes depending on size of joint & how pink/ cooked you like your lamb
13. when you are happy with the lamb, remove it & the rack.  Place on a warmed plate & leave to rest.  Cover loosely.
14. put the roasting tin back in the oven, giving everything a good shake to distribute the juices & seasonings.  Add more stock/ wine if it looks a little dry
15. turn oven up to 220C/ fan 200C/ gas 8 and cook for another 30 minutes, until the exposed edges of the potatoes are starting to go brown & crisp
16. return the rested lamb & any juices to the roasting pan
17. carve the lamb in to the roasting dish so that any juices run over the potatoes

What else you need to know: 

1. the trick here is to have enough liquid to cook the potatoes through & to get them soft before crisping the tops/ edges + you want some buttery/ herby liquor to form a thin gravy with the meat juices
2. serve with a green vegetable.
3. this looks an impressive dinner-party dish

 

Looking Up

Looking Up

We waited for you

To come and join us on the lawn

The tea cooling in the pot

And David said he thought he’d seen you

Not long before we came out

Climbing the back stair-case 

And mother made some conversation

About the wayward rambling roses

Near the dining-room windows

Causing dark shadows

And tapping on the glass

They needed cutting back

And she would speak to Jenson

When next she saw him 

Then David called out that he’d seen you

And we turned and looked up

And spotted you high above the gallery

Walking towards the round tower

The white flashes of your dress

Between the crenellations

Of sandy-coloured stone

And we waved hello 

The house was looking at its best

The growth of ivy softening the harsher edges

And we admired the summer blooms

The grass springy under our feet

And we called out to you

While David talked about the wedding

Busy with arrangements

His face shining with happiness 

We must have seemed quite small

Like children or puppets to you

Within the grand setting

As you regarded us from your vantage-point

High up there upon the parapet

Staring down at us from above 

And the breeze just caught your hair

Your eyes calm and steady

Taking in the view

Your face composed

Your arms held aloft

At the very moment

When we all looked up again

And watched you step out

Into thin air

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2012

Peppers With Paneer & Peas

Recipe for: PEPPERS, stuffed with Paneer & Peas

Ingredients:

• 2 tblsp sunflower oil
• ¼ tsp mustard seeds
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp group cumin
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 225g/ 8oz paneer, cut into cubes
• 100g/ 4oz frozen peas, defrosted if possible
• 1 large, juicy tomato diced
• 2 large Romano or ordinary (red) peppers, split in half with stalks, seeds & membranes removed

Method: 

1. heat oil in a frying pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and turmeric until seeds start to pop
2. add paprika & rest of spices, stirring to mix with the oil
3. add paneer and fry gently for a few minutes, turning the cubes so that each side gets lightly browned and an even coating of oil & spices
4. add peas and chopped tomato, cooking for another few minutes until the tomatoes have softened
5. heat oven to 200C/ fan 180C/ gas 6
6. in a baking dish or on a non-stick baking sheet add a little oil
7. stuff the halved peppers with the paneer/ pea mix & place on the oiled dish/ tray
8. roast for 15-20 minutes until the peppers have cooked & softened

What else you need to know: 

1. a very tasty vegetarian snack, main course or side-dish.

 

Let's Pretend

I think that maybe we sometimes get things out of perspective.

Let’s Pretend

Let’s pretend it really matters -

That Katie’s now with child:

Another one in line to the throne -

It’s enough to drive you wild. 

Let’s pretend it really matters -

Now The Leveson Report is out.

They’re arguing about the statutes,

To give it all some clout. 

Let’s pretend it really matters -

Starbucks are in discussing tax,

As if they really mean it,

When the system’s all too lax. 

Let’s pretend it really matters -

The C of E don’t want females,

They only want men in dresses,

Standing at the altar rails! 

Let’s pretend it really matters –

Who wins talent shows on TV,

Still - it fills up the tabloid papers,

And that’s all it needs to be. 

Let’s pretend it really matters –

Syrian civil war & bombs in the Holy Land:

Yes – I think that matters rather more:

Hasn’t the news got somewhat out of hand?

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2012

Sunday Dinner

This might appeal to people of a certain age.  Although not an entirely accurate memory, it contains many elements of things I remember from the very late fifties, even the early sixties.

Sunday Dinner

Hands washed, all at table

Before Mam brings it in

From the steaming kitchen

The still-smoking old roasting tin

Piled high with Yorkshires

Tall and brown and crisp

Dished out quick enough

Served onto cooling plates

With a lake of Oxo gravy

Thickened as we like it

And finished up in minutes

In case there’s another going

Simple batter puddings

To fill a grumbling stomach 

Then the cindered joint of beef

(Chicken being a luxury)

Cooked to the usual formula

Gas mark eight for two hours

And when it’s brown, it’s done

But when it’s black, it’s buggered

Lifted straight out of a roaring oven

And asking Dad to do the usual

And carve the burnt offering

As if anyone else would ever be allowed 

The small, careful, wafer-thin slices

Spread out to look like more

Watched like a hawk by Mam

And quickly passed around till all are served

The grey meat livened up with Colman’s English mustard

And then the roasties can be handed round

The shining fat still dripping down

With plain carrots or peas

Nothing fancy, plain as always

And what used to look like sprouts

Boiled to within an inch of their lives

Waterlogged and dangerous to know

Pushed to the side of the plate

And only eaten when threatened with no pudding

The scraping of knives and forks

On chipped and mismatched plates

Hides the murmurs of approval

But no time for chatting

Amongst the rapid eaters

And first to finish asks if there’s any seconds

But there hardly ever is

For nothing’s ever cooked that might be wasted

Except the remnants of the joint

That will make our Shepherd’s Pie

Or rissoles on Monday

Same as every other week 

Then the siding away of dirty plates

And the clattering of the cooking dishes

Piled up in the sink to soak

Amidst hot, soapy water

And the inquests on any leftovers

Before the pudding bowls and spoons

Put in their appearance

A fruit and pastry pie

And lashings of thick Bird’s custard

Topped with a skin that nobody seems to want 

Feeling full-to-busting, FTB

Heavy stomachs and shining eyes

Everybody had enough?

Before tackling the washing-up

Arguing over who’s washing

And who’s wiping

And who shall put the pots away

Mam now tired and fretful

After slaving over a hot stove all the morning

Driven by the need to prove her metal

Haunted by recent memories

Of war-time restrictions

Of rationing and shortages

Making do and mend

Keeping calm and carrying on 

And Gran asleep beside the fire

Leaving Dad to read his paper

And listen to the wireless

Where Family Favourites

And The Clitheroe Kid

Keep us all amused

And Mam can put her feet up for a bit

Before it’s time for Sunday tea

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2012

News From Bromham - Dateline Sunday 2nd December 2012

Bulletin From Bromham: Dateline – 2^nd December 2012

Here is our weekly round-up of events from Bromham:

·      There was outrage in the village this week when a consignment of leeks was removed from its warehouse by Bromham Vegetable Social Services (the SS) simply because its owners were known to be members of the Carrot Rooters’ Action Party (CRAP).  The leader of CRAP, Ted Willyband, described the action as “totally baffling”.

·      The publication of the Levergate Report into parsnip regulation has caused a major stir amongst Bromham’s community of parsnip-growers.  The chairman of the Parish Council, Peter Piglet, having pretended to read the report, has decided that he is against a statutory under-pinning of parsnip regulation, which has caused outrage not only amongst opposition ranks, but also within his own party.  Victims of parsnip discrimination and other vegetable intrusions protested outside the Council chamber for almost ten minutes on Thursday night.  However, once they found out that there was no-one inside, they retired to the saloon bar of The Wounded Ferret to complain to anyone else who could be bothered to listen.

·       For details of these and all other Bromham stories, don’t forget to listen to local radio station Carrot FM.

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2012

Leveson - The Backlash Years

Unbelievable!

Is this the same posh-boy Cameron who vowed, as he set up the Leveson Inquiry, that he would implement its recommendations unless they were in some way "completely bonkers"?  And, now that he's pretended to read it, has drawn back from legislative under-pinning of a regime of press regulation?  I guess it must be.  Perhaps he's changed his mind. Perhaps he does think that it's "complete bonkers".  Or perhaps he's just been got at by the powerful press lobby, and has an eye on future election support so that he can try to cling to power for longer.  Who knows?  Who cares any more?  What was the point of Leveson spending so much time and taxpayer money, only for this Eton-educated idiot to turn his face against it? I'd just like to put him in a room with all the recent victims of press intrusion and have him look them in the eye, whilst he attempts to "explain" his position. No wonder people become disillusioned with politics and politicians.