Lamb and Potato Casserole.

I know it’s technically summer over here in Australia but the days and nights have certainly not been hot. I wanted to cook something a bit more substantial for our tea on Saturday night and came upon this delightful casserole. It’s not made with many ingredients either. Forgive the lack of pictures as yet again, I forgot to take photos till half way through making it.

Serves 6
Ingredients.
50gm butter, plus extra to grease
2 leeks, white part only,thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1kg lamb leg or shoulder, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and pepper
800gm waxy potatoes,peeled and thinly sliced
300ml lamb,chicken or beef stock
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
100ml cream
3 tablespoon flat leaf parsley,chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 170C and grease an ovenproof casserole dish. Place the butter in a large frypan over heat and add the leak and onion. Cook for 5 minutes or until softened, then transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add oil to the pan and increase heat to high. When hot, add the lamb in batches and brown. Add the garlic whilst browning the lamb also.
Place half the potato slices overlapping on the base of the greased casserole dish. Layer the meat over the top and season well with salt and pepper. Next place the leek and onion mixture over the top and press down well with the back of a spoon to flatten. Top with the other half of the potatoes, overlapping them.

Pour over the stock and sprinkle on the thyme.

Cover with a lid or foil and bake for two hours in the pre heated oven. Take out of oven, remove the lid or foil and brush the potatoes with the cream. Pop back in oven for another 30 minutes or until potatoes are golden. Serve direct from dish sprinkled with parsley.

This lovely casserole reheats well and tastes even better the next day.
Enjoy 😄.

Potato and Lamb Soup

Now that the weather has decided it’s about time it was Winter in the south West of Western Australia, I felt I should share this most wonderous hearty soup that could also double as a stew it’s that thick. I call it a stoup when I make it because of it’s stew like texture. I think you could add more beef stock to thin it down or vegetable stock if that suits.

Recipe.

1 tablespoon of oil

1 kilogram of lamb shanks (about 4 shanks)

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 medium carrots (about 240gm) diced

2 sticks of celery, chopped

810gm can tomatoes, crushed

1 and a half litres of Beef stock

5 large potatoes, peeled and diced

2 medium zuchinni, diced skin on

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Half a teaspoon of sugar

Heat oil in large pot and brown the shanks all over. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery to the same pot and cook, stirring until onion softens. Return shanks to pan, add undrained crushed tomatoes and beef stock and simmer covered, for about 1 hour or until lamb is tender.

Remove the meat from the shanks and chop roughly, discard the bones. Bring soup back to the boil and add the chopped meat, potatoes, zuchinni, tomatoe paste, basil and sugar. Simmer uncovered until potatoes are tender. Serve with some crusty bread.

This tastes even better the next day.

Bon appetit!

Gozleme of Lamb,mint, fetta and spinach.

Here is the yummiest snack/meal I’ve made in recent times. As my partner is gluten intolerant, I’ve just substituted the normal Self Raising flour for Orgran brand gluten free SR Flour. Give it a try!
This recipe serves 4 depending on your hunger 😉

Ingredients 200gm plain yoghurt (natural, unsweetened)
250gm Self Raising flour (substitute for gluten free here)
1 tablespoon olive oil
150gm minced lamb
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
a pinch of ground cumin
a pinch of chilli flakes
a pinch of dried mint
4 tablespoons of tomato juice (I used Passata)
50gm baby English spinach
100gm Fetta, crumbled
8 fresh mint leaves, torn
olive oil for frying
50gm butter, melted (optional)

Beat the youghurt and a pinch of salt in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually add flour until it is a stiff dough, then knead on a lightly floured bench till it is soft and only slightly sticky. Transfer to an oiled bowl and leave, covered for 30 minutes.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the lamb with a pinch of salt and pepper until browned. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the garlic, cumin, chilli flakes and tomato juice. Cook for another minute or until dry. Turn off the heat and leave to cool, then drain if needed.
On a floured surface, split the dough into four equal sized balls. Roll each ball into a 30cm circle. Place a quarter of the spinach over half of each circle, then sprinkle with a quarter of the fetta, then add the lamb and mint leaves and season. Fold the dough over and seal the edges with a fork.
Preheat a barbecue hotplate or large frying pan. Brush one side of each Gozleme with olive oil and cook until the base is golden. Brush the top with olive oil, turn and cook until golden.
Brush with melted butter, cut into four pieces (or two 🙂 ) and serve with a pinch of sea salt and lemon wedges if liked. Would also be good with an ice cold beer if your that way inclined.

These are so yummy and for a little bit of effort, you get a huge amount of flavour and enjoyment.
Enjoy!