Thursday, 30 April 2009

Lemon, Lamb & Mint Lasagne


INGREDIENTS: (4 people)

500 g Lamb Mince, 4 Shallots, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, 150g grated cheese( Mozzarella, Cheddar), 4 tablespoon dried mint, 3 lasagne sheets, 3 lemons, 1 vegetable stock cube, 1 Small jar of white sauce. 3 beef tomatoes. Mixed salad leaves, Salad dressing.

Kitchen equipment you will need:
1 frying pan, 1 small lasagne dish

Firstly:

Chop the shallots and the garlic as fine as you can get. Take off just the yellow part of the rind of 1 lemon and chop finely, cut the lemon into quarters, take the other 2 lemons and squeeze the juice into a cup and remove any pips. Add 4 tablespoons of dried mint to the cup of lemon juice. Slice the beef tomatoes as thin as possible.

Secondly:

Gently fry the lamb mince in half a teaspoon of oil until golden brown, remove the lamb and leave in the lasagne dish for a moment and pour away any excess fat from the frying pan. Add half a teaspoon of oil and gently fry the shallots until softened, then add the mince into the pan, mix thoroughly with a crushed vegetable stock cube. Add the lemons and lemon and mint mix and stir through the mince until all the meat is coated. Add a teacup of water and simmer until the water has reduced to leave a fairly thick consistency ( this should take about 20 mins). Adjust seasoning to taste. At this point of tasting, you can decide if your lamb is lemony and minty enough for you and your guests. I have tried this recipe and the quantity of ingredients work for me.

Almost there:

Lasagne building time! Depending on the size of your lasagne dish you will have to bear in mind that you will have 4 layers to this lasagne and the top layer will be sliced beef tomatoes and cheese, the remaining layers will be lamb and white sauce combo, you will need to evenly portion the lamb between the layers.
Spoon into the lasagne dish the lamb followed by a quarter of a jar of white sauce, then 1 lasagne sheet. Repeat this step again and one more time. I you have any lamb or white sauce left over at this point then add this to the top layer. Place the thinly sliced beef tomatoes on top in rows to cover the whole lasagne. Sprinkle oodles of cheese on top. Bake in the oven at 180 C for 30 -45 mins until the cheese has melted and has turned golden brown.

Service:
Take your lasagne out of the oven after 30 – 45 mins. Spoon a generous portion on to your plates and serve with mixed salad leaves and salad dressing. Enjoy!!

Friday, 24 April 2009

Seasonal Eats

With the short window of oppotunity for decent English Aspargus, it got me thinking, what other tasty treats are on offer at this time of year.

April

Asparagus, broccoli, bananas, cabbage, cauliflower,Jersey Royal new potatoes, kiwi fruit, purple sprouting broccoli, morel mushrooms, wild garlic, radishes, rocket, rhubarb, carrots, kale, watercress, spinach, rosemary flowers, sorrel, spring onions, watercress

Dorest spring lamb, cockles, cod, crab, John Dory, salmon, sea bass, sea trout, wood pigeon.