Category: Meat

I decided to try this dish because it is dead easy to cook.  I had a kilo of mutton cubes so I cut them into even smaller pieces.  After which, I browned them and then seasoned them with salt and pepper (black, always black). Then, I transferred them into a casserole dish, and in the pot that I had browned the meat, added garlic. I then added a jug of Ribena, carrots, potatoes and two whole bulbs of garlic, skin on. I added bay leaves too. To the meat again, I sprinkled dried thyme and oregano and then poured the whole liquid into the casserole dish. Cover the dish with aluminium foil and pop in a slow oven (170 Celsius) for actually, 5 hours.

Now the actual recipe (Jaime Oliver’s) called for pieces of leg of lamb (but mutton works as well) and white wine (a bottle). I expected the liquid to dry up or thicken but after three hours in the oven, there was still plenty of liquid. I removed the foil and roasted it for another hour but by 2, my guests were already very hungry so I served the dish.

It really is pretty good served with toasted pita bread, though it would be better if served with freshly baked crusty baguette (I’m buying a few from now on at my favourite butchery to keep). The meat was tender, and even the Hubby who doesn’t really like potatoes, scooped a few onto his plate. There was too much wasted liquid and my mother told me maybe I should make a roux first so that the sauce would thicken. I’m definitely going to try this dish again, but this time, find another recipe. 😀

Unfortunately, I was too busy (read hungry) to take an after picture. Just imagine the above browned, the liquid clear.  Sweet but delicious.

A colleague told me how she bought halal wagyu beef at a local butchery and it was divine! Super duper beef as her 5 year old son called it.

On Saturday, I asked if I could tag along at the butchery’s sale conducted at its warehouse. We spent an exhausting morning not only queuing up for the meat but also bought lots of confectionary at reasonable prices at the many other factories located nearby.

I had to buy the wagyu even though I was pretty much broke. I bought the rump. At $38 per kilo, it was a rather good bargain.

And when I went home, the first thing I did was to get the skillet out, heat it with some olive oil and placed the steak on it. When it was done, I let it cool before cutting it into manageable slices. DIVINE! So there. Even if you can’t cook two hoots, all you need is money to buy a very good piece of meat and dump it on a skillet. Just thinking about the steak makes my mouth water.

I am so not a vegan no matter how much I love my greens. Wagyu beef rules!

We happened to pass by a Halal butchery cum deli which was highly recommended by a colleague. I insisted that we go in and once in, I was hooked. In the end, I bought a frozen Frenched rack of lamb. All I had to do was marinade and cook.

On Saturday, I didn’t marinade it. I simply put salt and plenty of black pepper, browned the meat and put it in the oven. I’ve never cooked rack of lamb before and it was a pleasant surprise when I found out that it was a relatively simple meat to prepare; the pieces came off easily with a swipe of the blade.

I baked it in the oven until it was still quite rare. I didn’t want an overcooked meat but it was too rare for The Hubby and so I  toasted his portion in the toaster. I served it with Greek yogurt drizzled with good quality honey, a salad and fried butter rice with sausages and raisins. It was a delicious lunch but one I suppose laden with so much fat because immediately after eating, I had a dull throbbing in my head for a few hours.

Last Sunday, I made meatballs. I followed a recipe taken from one of those mini cookbooks you can get at bookstores. The only thing I didn’t have was mint leaves and I think yogurt. The recipe is simple. Mix, by hand, minced meat of choice (in my case beef), bread crumbs, a beaten egg, garam masala (a mix of Indian powdered spices like cardamom and cumin) salt and finely minced garlic and onion. Form into balls and then fry in olive oil. The result? Juicy yet crispy on the outside. Love it. Then, I realised even though the onions were very finely sliced, they were still visible. So, for the picnic, I opened a jar of ready made pasta sauce, diluted it a bit, added some more seasoning and spooned some of the tomato sauce over the meatballs. They were lovely and even The Boy ate it with gusto.