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Roast Leg of Lamb with Herbes de Provence

Tuesday, March 09, 2021

Tender, juicy and full of flavour, a leg of lamb is an extremely versatile and budget cut of meat that’s great for feeding a crowd. I personally like bone-in because of its intense lamb flavour, but you can use boneless if you prefer. You can use boneless leg if you prefer. Try not to overcook this lean meat or it will get tough and dry. To ensure a leg of lamb cooks evenly, you want to remove it from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for two hours before cooking.
Herbs de Provence, a staple in French and Mediterranean cooking, is an aromatic mixture of dried Provençal herbs and spices, which traditionally includes thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, savory, marjoram, oregano, and bay leaf. If you don't have this spice blend on hand, you can easily make your own.

5 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp Herbes de Provence
2 tbsp Dijon wholegrain mustard
3 tbsp Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 New Zealand grass-fed leg of lamb, bone-in, about 1.5kg
1 cup Homemade beef broth
500 g Potatoes, cut into bite size chunks
Lamb's lettuce
Red cabbage salad

Combine chopped garlic cloves, herbs de Provence, mustard and olive oil together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Score lamb leg with a sharp knife and place it in a roasting pan. Generously spread the herb mixture, reserving 1 tablespoon for the potatoes, all over the leg of lamb. Cover, and refrigerate for overnight.
Two hours or so before you plan to roast the lamb, remove it from the fridge so that it can warm to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Add the broth to the roasting pan. Roast the lamb in the middle of the oven for about 55-60 minutes for medium or until internal temperature registers 60C/140F when an instant read thermometer is inserted into the center of the thickest part of the meat. Roast for 10 more minutes if you want it medium-well. Toss the potatoes with the reserved marinade and add into the roasting pan after 15 minutes.
Remove the meat from the oven and loosely tent with foil. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes. This helps the juices redistribute throughout the meat instead of over the cutting board. Slice and serve with roasted potatoes and lamb's lettuce or red cabbage salad.

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Arugula Spiced Spelt Soda Bread

Saturday, March 06, 2021

Soda bread is so easy because it requires no yeast, extensive kneading or proving. It’s best eaten within a couple of days, or you can slice and freeze it to toast later. Instead of kefir, you can use buttermilk or yoghurt. It is delicious dunked into a bowl of homemade soup, or served with cheese or simply with butter and a hot cuppa.

Why did bread turn red?

Turmeric has two pigments known as xanthophylls, which lends the yellow colour to it and carotene, which is reddish orange in colour. When it's exposed to alkaline materials (baking soda, and kefir) and heated, it reacts and the yellow pigment is neutralised. As a result, the yellow xanthophyll is suppressed and the orange-red carotene pigment becomes more prominent, so the baked goods turn red.

2 tsp Cumin seeds
225 g White spelt flour, plus extra for dusting
225 g Wholegrain spelt flour
2 tsp Ground turmeric
1/4 tsp Black pepper powder
10 g Baking soda
1 tsp Black salt (or regular fine sea salt)
25 g Butter, diced and chilled
75g Rolled oats
40 g Arugula, chopped
375 ml Kefir

Heat the oven to 200C/400F. Toast the cumin seeds in a small pan for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, then lightly crush using a pestle and mortar. Set aside to cool slightly.
Mix together the flours, turmeric, black pepper, baking soda and black salt in a large mixing bowl. Use your fingers to rub in the diced butter until only small crumbs remain.
Stir in the oats, arugula, and crushed cumin seeds. Pour the kefir over and use a wooden spoon to quickly mix in. Tip everything out onto a lightly floured worksurface and use your hands to gently knead into a smooth-ish dough.
Shape into a 20cm round loaf with a flat top, and transfer to baking tray lined with a parchment paper. Dust some flour over the dough. Use a small, sharp knife to score a deep cross into the top.
Bake for 40 minutes or until crusty and the base of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack slightly. Serve with salted butter.

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Spinach Fruit Salad with Macadamia Nuts and Feta

Wednesday, March 03, 2021

This is a wonderfully healthy, delicious and power-packed spinach salad for you and your family with a lot of options as to pairing and mixing. Blood orange and kiwi are added not only for the colour, but also an explosion of flavour. Any seasonal fruit is great though. I love macadamias for extra crunch and flavour, but pecans, hazelnuts or pistachios are just as lovely. The combination of sweet fruit and salty feta cheese makes this salad a winner and the perfect compliment to any meal.

Salad	Dressing
100 g Spinach 2 Blood oranges, cut into wedges and peeled 2 Kiwi, peeled and sliced 1 Small red onion, thinly sliced, optional 50 g Macadamia nuts 50 g Feta, crumbled	3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil 1/2 tsp Honey 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar 1/2 tbsp Lemon juice Sea salt and freshly milled black pepper

Divide spinach, sliced fruit and red onion if using, on two plates. Top with macadamia nuts and crumbled Feta cheese.
Mix together olive oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. You also can make this in a jar. Just place everything in the jar and secure lid. Shake to combine. Pour over salad and serve immediately.

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Indian Spiced Meatballs in Curry Sauce

Monday, March 01, 2021

This yummilicious Indian spiced meatball curry combines tender, flavourful beef meatballs with a rich creamy curry sauce. It is wonderful to serve over cauliflower rice if you're doing low-carbs, noodles or with flatbread. With its irresistible blend of spices and sweet coconut milk, this has become one of my our favourite warming meals for a chilly night.

Meatballs	Curry Sauce
500 g Ground beef 2 Spring onions, green parts only, finely chopped 2 tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped (or flat parsley) 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp Ground cloves 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp Nutmeg 1/2 tsp Red chilli pepper flakes 1 tbsp Ground cumin 1 tbsp Ground coriander 1 tbsp Garam masala 2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 tsp Ginger paste 1/2 tsp Sea salt 1/2 tsp Freshly milled black pepper 1 tbsp Coconut oil for frying the meatballs	2 tbsp Coconut oil 3 Shallots, finely chopped 1 Spring onion, chopped 1 tsp Dried red chilli pepper flakes 50 g Butter 2 Garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp Ginger paste 2 tbsp Curry powder 1 tsp Cumin 1 tsp Ground coriander Salt and pepper to taste 240 ml Homemade stock 500 ml Passata (Uncooked tomato puree) 240 ml Light coconut milk Spring onions, chopped, to serve (or cilantro, flat parsley leaves)

Meatballs

Curry Sauce

500 g Ground beef
2 Spring onions, green parts only, finely chopped
2 tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped (or flat parsley)
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp Ground cloves
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Red chilli pepper flakes
1 tbsp Ground cumin
1 tbsp Ground coriander
1 tbsp Garam masala
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger paste
1/2 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp Freshly milled black pepper
1 tbsp Coconut oil for frying the meatballs

2 tbsp Coconut oil
3 Shallots, finely chopped
1 Spring onion, chopped
1 tsp Dried red chilli pepper flakes
50 g Butter
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Ginger paste
2 tbsp Curry powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Ground coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
240 ml Homemade stock
500 ml Passata (Uncooked tomato puree)
240 ml Light coconut milk
Spring onions, chopped, to serve (or cilantro, flat parsley leaves)

To make the meatballs, combine the ground meat with the spring onion, coriander, spices, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands until everything is combined. Roll the mixture into golfball-sized meatballs.
Heat a large frypan over medium heat and with coconut oil, fry the meatballs for a few minutes until they’re brown all over.
To make the sauce, in a large, deep pan over medium heat, heat coconut oil and add the shallots, spring onions, chilli flakes, butter, garlic and ginger and stir until butter melted. Add the curry powder, cumin and ground coriander and salt and pepper to taste. Sweat the mixture off for about 5 minutes, then pour in the stock, passata and coconut milk. Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to cook for about 10 minutes.
Place the browned meatballs into the curry sauce and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Once the sauce has thickened and reduced and the meatballs are cooked through, turn off the heat. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the chopped herbs sprinkled on top.

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Hummus Bowls with Spiced Ground Beef and Grape Tomatoes

Friday, February 26, 2021

A bed of extra creamy hummus topped with well spiced ground beef and a fresh grape tomato salad served with crisp crackers (or bread of your choice). It makes a simple and tasty weeknight dinner. You can easily use chicken, pork or lamb (tofu if you want to go mealess) in place of the beef or try other seasonal vegetables on top. The hummus can also be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator.


1 tbsp Olive oil 450 g Ground beef 1 tsp Ground coriander 1/2 tsp Freshly milled black pepper 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon 2 tsp Sea salt, divided 250 g Grape tomatoes, halved 1 cup Fresh herbs, coarsely chopped (I used parsley, thyme and mint) 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice 2 batch Chickpea hummus Extra-virgin olive oil, lemon wedges, Aleppo-style chilli pepper flakes, and crackers for serving, optional

Heat oil in a large heavy bottom skillet over high. Pat beef dry with paper towels, then press into an even layer in skillet with a spatula. Season with coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook, undisturbed, until a brown crust begins to form underneath, about 6 minutes. Turn, break beef into pieces, and continue to cook, stirring, until just cooked through, about 1 minute.
Meanwhile, toss tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
Divide hummus among shallow bowls. Using the back of a spoon to create a shallow well in the center. Spoon spiced beef and tomato mixture over, then drizzle with oil and sprinkle with pepper flakes. Serve with lemon wedges and crackers alongside, if using.

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Easy Herb Spelt Blini

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Traditional Russian blini call for a yeast-raised batter that's again lightened with beaten egg white to make them light and airy. They symbolize the sun and mark the end of the winter and beginning of brighter days.
Today they come in all shapes and sizes, thin, thick, with only white wheat flour, cornmeal, sweet, savoury, with yeast, baking powder, you name it. I like this quick easy version made with baking powder and flavoured with a mix of fresh herbs. These are a perfect appetizer, an ideal party nibble, but would also be fantastic served with some seasonal fruit for the breakfast. They can be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container.

20 g Fresh herbs (I used a mix of basil, parsley and cilantro)
1 Large egg
100 ml Almond milk (or regular milk)
110 g White spelt flour
7 g Baking powder
Sea salt and white pepper powder
Bacon fat for frying (or olive oil)
100 g Sour cream
50 g Rainbow trout caviar
Fennel fronds or herbs of your choice, to serve

Blend fresh herbs, egg and almond milk together with an immersion blender until smooth.
Sieve the spelt flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl, then season with salt and pepper. Make a well in the middle, pour in the milk mixture, using a whisk or wooden spoon, mix everything until a smooth batter forms.
Lightly grease a non-stick frying pan with bacon fat and warm over moderate heat. Add a tablespoon of the batter and cook for 2 minutes or until you see bubbles on the surface and it’s golden underneath. Flip over and continue to fry for another minute. Repeat until all the batter is used up. The batter yields 9 blini.
Spread each blin with a little sour cream and top with rainbow trout caviar and fennel frond.

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Easy Bread Machine Bread

Sunday, February 21, 2021

This simple bread machine sandwich loaf recipe, inspired and adapted from here, results in a soft bread with a pleasant, chewy texture with perfect crust. It's delicious toasted for breakfast or used to make sandwiches. You can easily spice up the bread by adding your favourite seasonings, like Italian herbs, ranch dressing mix, cardamom, or garlic powder. Also, instead of milk or water, use carrot juice, beet juice or beer for natural colour and extra flavours. It takes less than 5 minutes to gather and prepare all the ingredients, the rest will be taken care of by your bread machine.

140 ml Milk, lukewarm
140 ml Water, lukewarm
4 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
320 g Bread flour
50 g Whole-grain flour
2 tbsp Coconut sugar
1 tsp Black salt (or regular sea salt)
2 tsp Active dried yeast

Add all of the ingredients to your bread machine pan in the order recommended by your bread machine manufacturer. (usually liquid first, then dry ingredients) Select Basic cycle with dark crust setting.
Press start. Check on the dough after 5 minutes of kneading. It should form a smooth dough ball. If it’s too dry add liquid a teaspoon at a time. If it is too wet, add bread flour a tablespoon at a time until you have a right consistency. My machine takes 3 hours to make this loaf.
Once ready, turn the bread out onto a wire rack to cool. Slice and enjoy.