Hi Everyone!

A cold snap has set in on us right when we escaped lockdown so I was glad when the family asked me to cook lamb this week.  My favourite way to cook lamb is slowly and this recipe is super easy and very, very tasty.  It comes from the Northern Beaches Cooks cookbook which was produced by a local school to raise money and has done very well.  It’s another one of those meals that make it easy to gather the family for a no-fuss evening, however, because the lamb is cooking away for 8 hours, you do have to be there.  In other words, you can’t just throw this one on after work.  It simply involves placing a leg of lamb in an oven bag after having inserted garlic and rosemary into about 10 slits made into the skin of the lamb leg.  Two onions sliced and two cans of chopped tomatoes.  100°c for 8 hours and you’re done.  I served this on a mash made from potato, parsnip and cauliflower.  So the MAV got his veg without even knowing it.  It doesn’t need gravy because the lovely sauce from the cooking juices combined with the onion and tomato is enough.  10/10

Mine certainly didn’t look like the picture and I think that was because whilst I let the curd settle in the fridge for the suggested amount of time, it was too soft when I put the mascarpone topping on.  So the answer to this would be to leave it over night which I will do next time.  This dessert does not only have coffee to add flavour but a great deal of alcohol.  It’s absolutely scrumptious but perhaps not a dessert for the littlies.  Anyway, it was very well received and scored 9/10.

So, until next week….

From my table to yours with love x

8Hr Lamb

Super easy slow cooked lamb

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 2k Leg of lamb
• 5 cloves of garlic
• fresh rosemary
• 1 large oven bag
• 2 onions peeled and sliced
• 2 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 100°c. Cut 8-10 holes into lamb's skin and fill with garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary. Season with salt and black pepper.
2. Place lamb inside oven bag and place into a large roasting dish.
3. Add onion and tomato to lamb and tie bag according to instructions.
4. Roast for 8 hours
5. To serve, open oven bag at table and serve melt-in-the-mouth lamb with mash and pan juices.

Notes

Source: Northern Beaches Cooks

Tiramisu with Orange Curd and Mascarpone Mousse

Start this recipe the day before and leave the orange curd overnight to set.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 220 ml strong espresso
• 35 g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Kahlua
• 1 1/2 tbsp marsala
• 200 g savoiardi biscuits
• zest of 1 orange + 300ml juice
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 100 g caster sugar
• 4 eggs, plus 2 extra yolks
• 2 gold-strength gelatine leaves
• 225 g unsalted butter softened
• 40 g candied orange peel finely chopped, plus extra to sprinkle
• 2 gold-strength gelatine leaves
• 50 ml marsala
• 25 ml dark rum
• 50 g caster sugar
• 150 ml pure (thin) cream
• 300 g mascarpone
• 25 g dark (70%) chocolate grated, plus extra to serve

Method

 

1. Line a 22cm x 12cm loaf pan with a double layer of plastic wrap, then lightly spray with oil (this will ensure your tiramisu comes out easily. Using a pan that's slightly larger is okay, but anything smaller and you will need to downsize the recipe).
2. Place espresso, sugar, Kahlua and Marsala in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and stir to dissolve the sugar. Place in the fridge to cool completely.
3. For the orange curd, place orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until reduced by approximately half and you are left with 140ml (top up with extra orange juice if you reduce too far). Place the citrus zests and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl, and rub together. Add eggs and extra yolks and whisk to combine. Whisk in the warm orange juice.
4. Place the orange and egg mixture over a small saucepan of barely simmering water (don't let the bowl touch the water) and whisk continuously for 10-12 minutes until the mixture is thick, pale and creates ribbons. Meanwhile, soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes to soften. Remove bowl from the heat then add butter a little at a time, whisking continuously, until emulsified. Squeeze excess water from the gelatine then add to the curd, whisking until dissolved. Strain curd mixture through a sieve and into the prepared pan, gently tapping the pan to make the surface even. Sprinkle over chopped candied orange. Place in the fridge for 1 hour until set.
5. For the mascarpone mousse, soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes to soften. Place the marsala, rum and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. Squeeze excess water from gelatine and add to the marsala mixture, stirring to dissolve. Strain into a small bowl and cool to room temperature.
6. Whisk the cream and mascarpone together in a medium bowl to soft peaks. Stir a few spoons of cream mixture into the gelatine mix to loosen, then fold in the remaining cream mixture. Pour over the set curd, smooth the top and sprinkle with grated chocolate.
7. Working with one biscuit at a time, dip savoiardi int he cold espresso mixture for 2-4 seconds on each side, allowing any excess to drip off. Gently arrange on top of the mascarpone mix and grated chocolate, standing each biscuit up on its long edge. Repeat with remaining biscuits. fold the plastic wrap over the biscuits, applying a small amount of pressure to make sure they are tightly packed. Leave to set in the fridge for 6-8 hours, or overnight.
8. To serve, unwrap the tiramisu and carefully invert onto a serving plater, removing the plastic wrap. Slice using a warm knife and sprinkle with extra candied orange and grated chocolate, to serve.

Notes

Source: Delicious - July issue