Coming Home - Recipe: Shepherd's Pie

If you've been wondering why there has been a dearth of meat dishes in the last few weeks, well, that's because my two main "customers", as my father jokingly refers to diners at my imaginary restaurant, have been away. I do like traveling myself - it's always a fascinating experience for me to take in the sights, sounds and smells of  the street life and to learn about the cuisine and the culture of foreign lands. I've noticed that I generally go through three phases when I travel: the first lasts for about 2-3 days where I am like a kid in a toy store and everything is charming and exciting and wonderful. The second phases comes at around day 5, where I realise that my paradise isn't as perfect I imagined - perhaps the people are starting to seem rude, or I get caught in the rain without an umbrella and I'm cold and miserable. The third phase is toward the end of the trip, by which point I have memorised the room service menu and I start to dream about my dog. Having eaten out for more than a week, I was glad to finally be able to potter around in the kitchen yesterday. For me, there's nothing that says "Welcome Home" better than a warm home-cooked meal. 

Shepherd's pie is real comfort food- a rich, hearty meat stew topped with a layer of buttery, fluffy mashed taters. These days I tend to dispense with the minced meat and opt for chunks of beef or lamb. There are two modifications in particular that I do -I've discovered that adding bacon and smoked sausage brings out a lovely, smoky flavour to the stew. The other is adding a glass of red wine to the dish which adds richness to the sauce.

A forkful of pie

Serves 3-4, or 2 manly men (or gals)

For the stew:

2 tbsp butter

500 g sirloin beef, cut into small cubes (Substitute with leg of lamb if desired)

4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped 

2 large smoked sausages (such as bratwurst), sliced 

1 large brown onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large or 2 medium carrots, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

200 g brown or white mushrooms, sliced thinly

A handful of fresh herbs, such as thyme and rosemary

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp plain flour

1-2 tsps Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup red wine

1 cup beef or lamb stock

Freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt to taste

In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, melt your knob of butter over medium-high heat. Add bacon and fry until lightly brown and the fat begins to render. Add sausage and fry until lightly brown. Add beef or lamb to the pan, working in batches, and fry until meat changes colour slightly. Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery and mix everything around well. Fry for about 5 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add mushrooms and herbs, several cracks of your black pepper grinder and a pinch of sea salt and fry until mushrooms have just released their liquid. Add tomato paste and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add flour and fry for an additional minute or so. Add in Worcestershire sauce, red wine and stock and bring the stew to a simmer. Adjust seasoning. Simmer, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Top up the pan with stock as necessary so that your meat has adequate liquid to simmer in. It will take about an hour for the beef to become fork tender,  or 30 minutes if using lamb. 

Pour stew into a lightly greased baking dish.

For potatoes:

600g russet potatoes

2 tbsp butter,  at room temperature

1/2 cup cream, at room temperature

Sea salt and white pepper to taste

Dash of nutmeg if desired

Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Place potatoes in a large pot of water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a low simmer. In the meantime, preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Boil for about 10 minutes. The potatoes are done if they break apart slightly when pricked with a fork. Drain and return potatoes to the pot. Add butter, nutmeg (if using), salt and pepper to taste. Don't over-mash or the potatoes will be soggy rather than light and fluffy. Add cream and mix well. Top dish with the potatoes and run fork over the top to make a pattern. 

To finish:

2 large handfuls of grated cheddar cheese

Top the dish with cheese. Pop the pie into the oven. Wait in gleeful anticipation. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the dish is bubbling and the top is brown. Stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Because Sheep Said So - Recipe: Rogan Josh

One red-hot Mutton concoction

The brother made a special request for Rogan Josh, which is a rich, mild curry dish hailing from the Kashmir region, and now popularised around the world. Interestingly, Wiki reports that one interpretation of the origins of the name of the dish is from the red colour from the chilly powder used, which is also taken to symbolise passion.

And to complement this post, I, sheepishly in Singapore, share with you the fine words of  Jonathan Swift:

Gently stir and blow the fire,
Lay the mutton down to roast,
Dress it quickly, I desire,
In the dripping put a toast,
That I hunger may remove --
Mutton is the meat I love.
On the dresser see it lie;
Oh, the charming white and red;
Finer meat ne'er met the eye,
On the sweetest grass it fed:
Let the jack go swiftly round,
Let me have it nice and brown'd.
On the table spread the cloth,
Let the knives be sharp and clean,
Pickles get and salad both,
Let them each be fresh and green.
With small beer, good ale and wine,
Oh ye gods! how I shall dine.

Har har.

Mutton @ Midnight - Recipe: Chinese-style Mutton Stew

One of the things that I have come to value as I've gotten older is the whole "the early bird gets the worm" thing. These days I try to retire before midnight, and I'm usually up around 6 or 7 a.m. I do enjoy waking up just as the sun is peeking out, with the birds singing in the trees. I do miss my early morning breakfast sessions with my father - the two of us sitting out on the veranda over coffee and crackers, reading the papers and passing articles of interest back and forth. The bro, on the other hand, is a night owl. One of the oddest things about my current living arrangement is the fact that my roommate is never awake at the same time as I am. Some days we walk past each other in the living room in the morning. He says, "Good morning," and I say, "Good night." It's not uncommon for him to only eat dinner at around midnight, hence, the title of this post.

This recipe was inspired by things that I remembered from the past. I know that the Chinese in parts of Northern China eat mutton during the winter months to keep warm.  I figured that since the brother was "burning the midnight oil" so to speak, leading up to our final exams, he could use some nourishment. I will admit that having my tee shirt, hair and hands smell like mutton for a day was not the most pleasant experience, but oh well, there are worse things in life.

Ingredients:

750 g mutton ribs, chopped into bite-sized pieces

Marinade:

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp Shao Xing wine

Pinch sugar

Pinch salt

Stew:

1 small carrot, cut into large chunks

2 medium potatoes, cut into fours

2 large cloves garlic, minced

3 inch old ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

1-1 1/2 tbsp perserved soy beans (tau cheong), mashed

2 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

6 cloves

2 tbsp oil

Seasoning:

500 ml beef or lamb stock

1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 tsp sugar

Thickening:

1 tsbp corn flour

1 tbsp water

Chopped coriander leaves to garnish (optional).

Method:

Marinade mutton for about 30 minutes to an hour. 

Heat oil a non-stick skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ginger slices, spices and stir around for about 30 seconds, followed by minced garlic. When fragrant,  add preserved soy beans, and fry for anohter minute or so. Brown mutton ribs evenly in hot oil. Add stock and seasoning ingredients, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer, over low heat for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally. (At this point you may notice that the meat has released quite a lot of oil, in which case, skim the fat off using a teaspoon). Replenish water in the pot if necessary. Add in carrots and potatoes and simmer for another 15-20 minutes, topping up water as required.

When vegetables and meat are cooked to your liking, adjust seasoning and add thickening. 

Serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander, if desired.

Welcoming Spring with a Roast Lamb Dinner

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Living in the tropics is wonderful- good weather year round, sunshine, monsoons, all that great stuff. Still I do miss greeting the coming of the seasons - whether captured in the brilliant hues of auburn and gold as trees shed their leaves in September, the sheer serenity looking out of my window in the morning with the street blanketed with snow, or catching the blooming of the cherry blossom trees during my annual trips to the Smithsonian in D.C. in the spring.

It's been a while since I've made a roast lamb dinner, as roasts are usually served only on special occasions.  But I decided on a whim, to splurge and buy a whole boneless leg of lamb from New Zealand. The key to a good roast is in the quality of the meat. Sustainably raised lamb is unbeatable, I've been told. Most lamb available here comes from either Australia or New Zealand but I am generally inclined toward the latter.

This recipe calls for you to treat the lamb in a light marinade perfumed with lemon zest and herbs. It turned out almost perfectly this time around (to be honest, between two hungry boys they ate the entire thing in one sitting!) and I hope it works for you as well. I served this with sides of roast baby potatoes and lightly sauteed mixed vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 (about 1 to 1.5 kg) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and tied with kitchen twine

Marinade:

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

A couple of drops of lemon juice from 1 small wedge of lemon

1 cup white wine

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, leaves removed, chopped

2 tsp fresh thyme, leaves removed, chopped

Zest from 1/2-1 lemon

1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

In a blender, combine marinade ingredients and give it a couple of pulses. In a large airtight tupperware, or resealable plastic bag, place your lamb and pour marinade over. Marinade for at least 3 hours or overnight, turning it once or twice to marinade evenly.

Special equipment:

1 stove-proof roasting dish with a rack

For tray:

2 onions, quartered

2 carrots, cut into large chunks

2 stalks celery, cut into large chunks

4 cloves garlic, smashed lightly

1 bay leaf

1 stick rosemary

1 tsbp olive oil

1/2 cup water

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Combine vegetables in the roasting pan, drizzle olive oil over and toss well.

Drain marinade and place lamb on chopping board. Pat lightly with paper towels. Season lamb generously on all sides with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. 

When oven is ready, place lamb on rack. Roast at 220 degrees for 20 minutes. Lower heat to 150 degrees Celsius and roast for 10-15 minutes per 500 g (In my case, the lamb was 1.25 kg so it worked out to be roughly 1 hour in total) for medium rare. You want the lamb to still have a blush of pink. You can test for doneness by cutting into the middle of the roast. Juices should be slighlty red. (Or use a meat thermometer, which should read about 55-57 degrees Celsius. Click here for a temperature converter). Wrap meat in two layers of foil and let the roast rest for about 15-30 minutes while you prepare the gravy.

Gravy:

1 heaped tsp of plain flour

1/2 cup red wine

500 ml. light stock

2 tsp chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce for colour (optional)

A pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Tilt roasting pan away from you and skim off most of the fat. Heat the pan on medium heat. Using a potato masher, squash vegetables into the pan juices and stir everything around. Add flour, cook for about 2 minutes. Add red wine, simmer over medium heat until reduced to about half the amount. Add stock, herbs and soy sauce. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes until gravy has reached desired consistency. Adjust seasoning to taste. Strain through fine mesh strainer into gravy boat. (Use the potato masher to get out as much of the goodness from the vegetables out)

Presentation:

Carve lamb into thin slices and serve with gravy, and side dishes of your choice.