8 HOUR CHERMOULA LAMB SHOULDER

Our fondness for slow cooked lamb shoulder on the bone is no secret. Put it on at lunch time and forget about it until dinner time. It’s also perfect for cooking the day before and reheating.

This recipe uses a dry spice blend called chermoula (A North African spice blend) which is a mix of cumin, paprika, onion, turmeric, cayenne, garlic, parsley, coriander, salt & pepper.

We use Herbie’s chermoula (see picture) as we sell it at Meat at Billy’s. I sprinkle this stuff on almost everything – especially lamb, chicken or fish. It’s great mixed through mince, butterflied chooks or legs of lamb, lamb cutlets and whole roast chickens too.

I like to marinate the shoulder the day before if I remember. It’s still good if you just rub in right before cooking too though.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 x 2kg lamb shoulder bone in, shank attached
1 x 50g Herbie’s Chermoula Spice Mix
3 large brown onions sliced thickly
6 garlic cloves skin on
2 cups water
Salt & pepper

Method

24 hours before cooking - rub half a packet of the chermoula spice all over the lamb, top & bottom. Cover and place back in fridge until ready to cook.

Preheat oven to 150°C.

Place onions and garlic on the bottom of a heavy, deep roasting tin that’s big enough to easily fit the lamb shoulder. Pour in 2 cups of water & sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Place lamb on top of the onions & cover the tin tightly with foil. Place in the oven and roast for 2 hours. Turn the oven temperature down to 110°C and cook for a further 6 hours. Check it every so often and if the water has evaporated, add a little more water. Remove the foil for the last hour of roasting to crisp up the skin.

By this stage you’ll be left with a lovely oniony lamb jus. Pour the jus into a container and skim off the most of the excess fat as there’s usually quite a lot.

The meat will basically fall away from the bone. You should be able to serve with 2 spoons. Place the lamb on a serving platter and pull the meat from the bone at the table and serve with jus. Serve with a few lemon wedges and salt.

Serve with a mix of the following:

a)      couscous with roasted carrots & goat cheese
b)      a mix of roasted pumpkin, capsicum, zucchini & mushrooms.
c)       natural yoghurt mixed with parsley & lime zest.
d)      Chickpea, spinach & avocado salad

VEAL OSSO BUCCO

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 x 350-400g pieces of osso buco

Extra virgin olive oil
100g plain flour or corn flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
1 large white or brown onion
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
500g fresh borlotti bean pods (optional)
2 anchovy fillets
1 cup dry white wine
500ml tomato passata
1 cup veal or beef stock
2 large sprigs of fresh thyme
2 large sprigs of fresh sage
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary
1 fresh bay leaf
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste  



For the dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced to a paste
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

2 tbsp finely chopped good quality anchovies 

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

METHOD
Preheat oven to 160°C. 



Dust the veal with the seasoned flour. Heat half the olive oil in a large pot and brown the veal osso buco pieces evenly on all sides. The veal should be well coloured but be careful not to burn the meat. This should take about 10 minutes. Once browned on all sides, remove from the pot and set them aside on a plate or in a baking tray.

Add the remaining oil to the same pot to which you browned the veal and then add the diced onion, garlic, anchovy and herbs and sauté slowly for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Turn heat up and then add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook until the wine is almost completely reduced before adding the borlotti, passata and veal stock. Bring to a simmer and place the veal pieces back into the pot. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Transfer to oven. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the cut but will take somewhere between 2.5 to 4 hours. The veal should be fork tender, meaning the meat easily separates from the bone when you touch it. Do not remove until meat is falling off the bone!  




To make the purée, combine the garlic, anchovy, parsley, lemon zest & juice. Serve veal pieces with equal portions of either - mashed potato, polenta or saffron risotto and spoon over sauce. Add a dollop of the dressing just before serving.
 
Tip – cook extra & make an easy 2nd meal. For the 2nd meal option, save some sauce and meat aside & break up the meat with a fork into small, shredded pieces. Heat and stir through freshly cooked pasta – I like linguini. Be sure to add a drizzle of olive oil, lots of chopped fresh parsley and grated parmesan.

LAMB, CHORIZO & BEAN STIR-FRY

This dish is best cooked in a wok, or large non-stick frypan. 

Tip: oil the lamb rather than adding oil to the wok our pan, you will use less oil, and the lamb will brown well.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
500g lamb strips
1 tbsp oil
2 chorizo sausages cut into thin slices
1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
400 g can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
200 g green beans, trimmed and cooked until tender
juice of one lemon
baby spinach leaves

Method
1. Combine the lamb strips with half of the oil.
2. Heat the wok, ensure it is hot. Stir-fry the lamb strips in 3 batches, reserving each cooked batch to rest in a warm bowl. Reheat wok between each batch.
3. Reheat the wok, add remaining oil and heat. Add the sliced chorizo and cook until well browned, remove and reserve with the lamb. Add the onion and capsicum to wok, stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the cannellini and green beans and lemon juice, toss to combine.
4. Return the lamb and chorizo to wok, toss to combine. Serve immediately on top of baby spinach.

Essential Tips
1.When you stir-fry meat cook it in batches and set it aside.
2.Return the meat to the pan with sauces once the vegetables are cooked.
3. Stir-fry only to combine – do not reheat meat for too long or it will toughen.
4. Best lamb cuts for stir-frying - lamb stir-fry strips or prepare your own from eye of loin/backstrap, tenderloin/fillet, round or topside leg steaks.

PORK SCHNITZEL WITH SAGE & PARMESAN CRUST

Ingredients:
*4 pork leg schnitzels
*50g plain flour
*Salt and pepper
*2 Eggs
*½ cup water
*200g Panko crumbs
*10 sage leaves, finely chopped
*¼ cup continental parsley, finely chopped
*¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
*Oil for shallow frying

To serve:
Coleslaw, lemon wedges & fresh rocket


Cooking Instructions:
1. Flatten pork leg steaks with a meat mallet or rolling pin *you can ask your friendly butcher to do this for you (-:
2. Dust pork schnitzels with seasoned flour and shake off excess.
3. Dip each schnitzel into beaten egg and water.
4. Press schnitzel firmly into the combined crumbs, herbs and parmesan cheese.
5. Heat oil over a medium heat for 2 - 3 minutes and shallow fry each schnitzel until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.
6. Serve hot with coleslaw, lemon wedges & fresh rocket