Greek Lamb Slow Cooked & Rhubarb & Strawberry Pudding

Main: Slowed Cooked Greek Lamb
Women’s Weekly June Issue

Dessert: Rhubarb & Strawberry Sponge Pudding
Women’s Weekly The Baking Collection

Hi Everyone!

I’m so excited about all the lamb recipes that are about at the moment. I will be cooking up quite a few of them over the coming weeks. Now, don’t judge me but I have been buying more recipe books. Yikes! where will I put them is the only problem I see here. When I look at the inviting pictures on the front covers whilst standing 1.5 mtrs from the next person ahead of me in the register line, I just can’t resist reaching over and grabbing one to look at. Then, of course, due to COVID I can’t put it back. Hmmmmmm….

Now the full name of this recipe is Slow-cooked Greek Lamb with Chilli Garlic Broccolini. The Women’s Weekly has done this recipe to get two meals out of it which is fantastic. I will write up the recipe just how they have written it. However, I just wanted to concentrate on one so only cooked the one shoulder of lamb as opposed to two.

If you cook two shoulders you will be able to make Lamb and Rosemary pasta the next night with the left over meat. I am so sold on slow-cooking to make life easier, especially if you are working from home at present. The smell throughout the house (or apartment in our case) and the fact that the oven warms everything up. There’s really no negatives with this one. Just place everything in your tray, cover and roast for 5 hours. I served the lamb with the chilli broccolini as per the recipe and it was such a tasty side to have. I will definitely be doing that again with other meats or chicken. Then I added some yummy roast potatoes done on the BBQ. If people would like gravy (which mine do) just whip up some Gravox with a dash of mint sauce in it and all your bases are covered. This scored 9.5/10.

Dessert was also a winner. Not only taste wise but time wise. The fruit can be prepared ahead of time and just before you are ready, whip up the sponge mixture, top the warmed fruit and cook for 30 minutes. This gives you time to chat to the family/guests between courses. I loved how the fruit sort of oozed through the sponge mixture.

It looked so appealing and honestly I think you could do the same with so many other fruits in season. Just stew them up in the same way as the rhubarb and strawberries. This dessert tasted light, healthy (well maybe that’s me trying to justify stuffing my face) and not overly sweet. Top it with ice-cream or cream if you fancy but I liked mine just as it came. 8/10.

Next week I am having my very dear friend for her birthday. We will be having a seafood something as she is a pescatarian not quite sure what as yet.

So until next week.

From my table to yours with love x

Slow-cooked Greek Lamb with Chilli Garlic Broccolini

This recipe ends up enough for two nights. The second shoulder creating a whole other meal. However, here I am just concentrating on the one shoulder with the broccolini.

2 medium brown onions (cut into wedges)
8 cloves garlic (unpeeled, bruised)
4 bay leaves
6 10ch sprigs fresh rosemary
2 1.6kg lamb shoulders on the bone
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 c chicken stock
1 medium lemon, cut into wedges

Chilli Garlic Broccolini

½ c water
2 long fresh red chillies (halved lengthways)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
20 g butter
400 g broccolini (trimmed)

Preheat oven to 160°c (140°c fan-forced). Oil the base of two large shallow-sided oven trays. Divide onion, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, then lamb between trays. Rub lamb with oil; sprinkle with oregano. Season.
Pour stock into base of trays; cover trays tightly with foil. Roast lamb for 5 hours.
Increase oven to 200°c (180° c fan-forced). Remove foil from lamb, skim fat; spoon pan juices over lamb.
Roast lamb, uncovered for a further 10 minutes or until juices are reduced and lamb is browned. Reserve one lamb should for night 2.

Chilli Garlic Broccolini

Bring water, chilli, garlic and butter to the boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Season. Add broccolini; cook, covered, for 4 minutes or until broccolini is tender and water almost evaporated. Reserve one-third (150g) broccolini for Night 2. Cover and refrigerate.
Serve lamb and pan juices with Chilli Garlic Broccolini and lemon wedges.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Sponge Puddings

5 c rhubarb (trimmed and coarsely chopped-you need about 10 stems)
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
500 g strawberries (sliced thinly)

Sponge Mixture

2 eggs
½ c caster sugar
½ c self-raising flour
½ tbsp cornflour

Preheat oven to 180°c
Cook rhubarb, sugar and juice in a large saucepan over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Cook, uncovered bout 10 minutes or until rhubarb is tender. Stir in Strawberries.
Meanwhile, make sponge mixture.
Spoon fruit mixture into 8 1-cup ovenproof dishes; bake about 5 minutes or until fruit mixture is bubbling hot.
Top hot rhubarb mixture evenly with sponge mixture; bake about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Sponge Mixture

Beat eggs in a small bowl with an electric mixer about 10 minutes or until thick and creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until sugar dissolves. Fold triple-sifted flours into egg mixture.

Greek Lamb Slow Cooked & Rhubarb & Strawberry Pudding