Balsamic Glazed Oven Baked Lamb Steaks

It seems my last few posts (yes, I know the last one was quite a long time ago now) have started with apologies, and following suit I must once again apologise for failing miserably to keep up with this bad boy recently. I can blame many things (moving, new flat having a kitchen that makes me genuinely angry, new job etc.  but really, I just haven’t been very inventive in the kitchen recently. Well, hopefully that is all going to change. I am now settled in the new flat (though there is still so much to do, is adulthood really just a never ending to do list?!), I'm nearly 100% decided on the new kitchen design and I have finally been inspired again!

I'm not sure if I have mentioned but I joined a lovely scheme called foodie pen pals recently. Each month I send and receive a parcel of food related goodies to another blogger/blog reader (if you are interested have a look here). I'm supposed to have written blog posts about each month’s parcel but due to my own disorganisation and late arrivals I haven’t been very good about this either but I shall put a stop to that too! Before it’s too late, I’ll tell you a little about my October parcel. It was a box of dark chocolate deliciousness from Lucy (you can read her blog here) and I can’t thank her enough! 

She’s also reminded me how good the 'raw choc' range of healthy treats is. For anybody with any allergy issues these are like heaven! Little chunks of rich chocolaty goodness that are milk/gluten/sugar free and you only need a small amount to satisfy that sweet craving. I haven’t tucked into everything yet  but my treats cupboard is well and truly happy, thank you so much Lucy!

So, back to the recipe in question. This is a fairly hands off dish and with veg and meat cooked in one pot, it also makes for easy washing up. I served it with an oven baked vegetable pilaf (recipe to follow) though if you double up on the veg (or perhaps just adding a beetroot or two, I think they would work wonderfully in this) you can cut the carbs altogether.

Ingredients

2 lamb steaks

2 tomatoes

2 carrots

2 large/4 small red onions

5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons honey

1 clove garlic

1-2 sprigs rosemary

1 teaspoon dried orgeno

Small handful mint

Small handful parsley

Salt/pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180, Roughly chop the carrots and onions.

Place in an ovenproof dish with a good glug of oil, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, the oregano and some salt and pepper. Put this in the oven.

Make the marinade with the rest of the ingredients and pour over the lamb (for optimum results do this the night before).

After about 30 minutes (when the carrots and onions are starting to turn) add the tomatoes (cut in half and skin side down). To really bring out the flavour of the tomatoes (and this is a must if your tomatoes aren't perfectly ripe) sprinkle a small pinch of brown sugar over each half.

Put back in the oven and once the tomatoes are blackening on top (after about another 20 minutes) add the lamb steaks and cook for a further 10-15 minutes (depending how large the steaks are and how pink you like them).

Stuffed Tomatoes

As I may have mentioned, you know…in passing, just maybe once or twice….I moved last week. In fact, I didn't just move, I moved into my very first real home that I own!!! Its all been a little bit mental and hectic (we completed about an hour before the man and van were arriving to move me out of my last residence) but I felt a little bit like superwoman on moving day. I really am my mother’s daughter because as well as getting everything boxed up/marked/moved, I managed to also prepare a rather delicious dinner for moving night. Very simple, cheap and perfect to prepare in advance just to chuck in the oven on the night. Before it seems like I'm just a big bragger, I didn't feel quite like superwoman over the next week as I don’t think I made one proper meal in my own kitchen during that whole time!

Ingredients

4-8 large tomatoes

1 cup rice

250g lamb mince

Handful of pine nuts

1 onion

Garlic

Pinch cinnamon

Pinch paprika

Salt/pepper

Mint/parsley/basil/thyme/sage (basically whatever fresh herbs you have available)

Cook the rice as you usually would but stop it ¾ way through (the rice will still have a bit of bite) drain and set aside. While the rice is cooking you can make the mince mixture. Cut the tops off the tomatoes (but keep) and scoop out their insides (keep these too).

Chop the onion and garlic and the insides of the tomatoes. Roughly chop the herbs.Cook the onions and garlic on a very low heat with a small amount of olive oil (lamb is a far fattier meat than beef and you will not need any more) until translucent (about 6-10 minutes), then add the lamb mince and turn the heat up. Keeping it moving, brown the lamb mince and add the cinnamon,paprika and pine nuts.

Cook for a few minutes before adding the chopped tomato insides, salt and pepper and some tomato purée  At this point, if it is looking a little dry, add a small amount of water and the ¾ done rice, giving it all a good mix. Turn off the heat and stir through the chopped herbs.

When you are ready, stuff the rice mixture into the tomatoes, spreading any extra around them in the base of the dish (I use my cast iron pot for this, but any heavy based dish suitable for the oven would do, i.e. a ceramic/glass one that fits everything in snugly) and pour a bit of water over.

As I didn't have enough large tomatoes,
I threw some chopped cherry ones around the rice
 at the bottom of the dish.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes on high (about 180-200) until the tomatoes have slightly blackened. Serve with a fresh salad and a rich tomato sauce and it’s a dinner for kings! If you are preparing this in advance, do everything until putting it in oven and then you are ready to go whenever you need it. 

Stuffed and rolled lamb with spinach and gremolata

This was a bit of an experiment attempting to get that slow roasted lamb tenderness in much less time.I mixed a Greek slow roasted lamb recipe I know with a stuffed lamb and because I didn’t have white wine I used champagne instead, I think it turned out blooming marvellously! I tend to use whatever boneless piece of meat I  can get reduced in the and have thrown in the freezer, this one is a shoulder.

Gremolata is a mixture parsley, lemon zest and garlic. The lamb I used weighed 700g and I fed three people with it, though it could have easily fed four.

Ingredients

Small bunch parsley (about 15 sprigs)

2/3 cloves garlic

Zest of ¾ lemon

Boneless joint of lamb

130 g (half a bag) of spinach

White onion

Lemon

100ml chicken stock

½ glass champagne

Finely chop parsley and garlic (I find a mini chopper a lifesaver here!) and mix with lemon zest. Tada! You’ve made gremolata!

Preheat the oven to 180 (I have a fan oven, adjust accordingly)

Dice the onion and soften in a pan on medium heat. Keep stirring! You do not want the onion to brown and the slower it cooks the sweeter the flavour. Once its nearing translucency remove from pan.

Put the spinach in this pan and wilt, then squeeze in a colander or sieve to get rid of as much moisture as possible.

Chop up spinach and mix with the gremolata and onion (if my mini chopper is otherwise occupied I’ll use a pair of scissors in a smallish bowl to chop the herbs spinach and mix it all up).

Unroll lamb and spread a thin layer of the mix over it

Roll back up and secure with string of pre-soaked bamboo or wooden skewers (this stops them burning in the oven, use this technique for the barbecue too.)

Slice half a lemon into wedges and place in the baking tray with 100ml hot stock and half a glass of champagne (or white wine). Put in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 140 and cover lamb with foil (baking paper will also work here, you just need to tuck it properly around). Cook for a further 40 minutes (adjust according to weight and as you can see from the picture, I like my lamb pink, for more well done I'd add up to 20 more minutes here) before turning the oven up for the last 10 minutes of cooking to 180. 

Allow lamb to rest (under foil/baking paper and lots of tea towels) for at least 10 minutes before carving. It will keep the heat and it makes such a difference to the amount of juice the meat retains.