An "injustice" made right ...
Disclaimer - The reason the final photos are "limited" ... had nothing to do with the bottle of white that was opened during the process :)
In my last post I promised myself I would make a lamb shawarma the following day as I didn’t think the falafel did Mr. Ottolenghi justice … well I did and I even went one better … I made a new dish, one I had been meaning to make for a while … Feta Chips … don't listen to me about how amazing these are ... they were mentioned on twitter by none other than Miss Nigella Lawson as “Just eaten best chips ever - fat, garlicky and tossed with crumbled feta and oregano” and as one of the best things she ate in 2016! Now I’m sure myself and Nigella would have some fundamental disagreements on our approach to food and especially how I never look as good as she does when I decide to raid the fridge at midnight !!! (I do actually like her ...) however in this case … she is so right and the chips even got a “super wow” from the Greek !!! (very rare)
The Feta Chips are from Mr. Masterchef Australia, George Calombaris who also runs a number of modern Greek restaurants in "Oz".
These two dishes are very, very tasty and worth the effort … I used a shoulder for the lamb and even on the second day it was extremely moist!
Note : the lamb is even better when done on a spit on the BBQ ! (just saying ... with the weather getting better!)
Let me know if you try either or both ...
The Recipe ...
Patates Tiganites (Chips), feta, roast garlic oil
he Book (2) ... Greek (published by Pengiun Lantern) by George Calombaris
The Recipe ...
Lamb Shawarma
The Book (1) ... "Jerusalem (published by Ebury Press) by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
To Buy books ... click on photos to go to my amazon link
Lamb Shawarma
Ingredients
2 teaspoon of black peppercorns
5 cloves
½ teaspoon of cardamom pods
¼ teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
1 star anise
½ a cinnamon stick
½ a nutmeg, grated
¼ teaspoon of ground ginger
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon of sumac
¾ tablespoon of Maldon sea salt
25g of fresh ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, crushed
40g of chopped coriander, stems and leaves
60ml of lemon juice
120ml of groundnut oil (or peanut oil)
1 leg of lamb, with the bone, about 2.5–3kg (or shoulder)
What to do ...
- Put (first eight ingredients) the peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, fenugreek, fennel, cumin, star anise and cinnamon in a cast-iron pan over a medium-high heat and dry-roast them for a minute or two, until the spices begin to release their aromas. Take care not to burn them.
- Add the nutmeg, ground ginger and paprika, and toss for a few more seconds, just to heat them, then transfer to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and process until a powder.
- Transfer to a medium bowl, and stir in the remaining ingredients (sumac, salt, fresh ginger, garlic, coriander, lemon juice and oil) and stir to combine.
- Use a small sharp knife to score the leg of lamb in a few places, making half-inch-deep slits through the fat and meat.
- Put the lamb in a large roasting pan and rub the marinade all over it, using your hands to get right into the slits made in the meat.
- Turn the lamb fat-side up, cover the pan with foil and leave it on a worktop for at least a couple of hours, or ideally, leave it to rest overnight in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 150C (fan). Remove the foil, and place the lamb in the oven. Roast for approximately 4 1/2 hours (for leg) (about 3 for the shoulder), or until the meat is completely tender.
- During roasting, after 30 minutes, add about a cup of boiling water to the roasting pan, and use this liquid to baste the meat every hour or so. (Add more water, as needed, making sure there is always about half a centimetre in the bottom of the pan.)
- After 90 minutes or so, cover the lamb with foil to prevent the spices from burning.
- Once the lamb is done, remove it from the oven, and leave to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving and serving.
- Eat and Enjoy!
The reason the final photos are limited ... had nothing to do with the bottle of white that was opened during the process :)
Patates Tiganites, Feta, roast garlic oil (Feta Chips ... )
100 ml olive oil
1 tablespoon of flaked sea salt
1 tablespoon dried rigani (Greek oregano)
80g feta (preferably Dodoni - available in Delhaize Luxembourg)
Oil for deep frying (vegetable or sunflower)
Ingredients
3 large floury potatoes, cut into 2cm-thick chips (do not use waxy potatoes, Luxembourg people)
1 tablespoons of fine salt
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
What to do ...
- Cover potato chips with cold salted water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
- When the water comes to the boil, drain rinse under cold water to stop chips cooking.
- Spread the potatoes on a tray lined with a few layers of kitchen roll and put aside to dry (a few hours) or chill in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the garlic loosely in foil and roast until soft (10-15 minutes).
- Remove garlic from oven, squeeze the garlic from skins into a bowl, add olive oil and put aside.
- Mix the sea salt and rigani in a bowl
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer to 140C.
- Deep-fry chips for 3 minutes, drain on kitchen roll and set aside to cool (or place in fridge for a few minutes)
- Increase oil temperature in saucepan or fryer to 180C.
- Deep-fry the chips again until crisp and dark golden ( about 3 minute) then drain on kitchen roll.
- Toss the dried chips in garlic oil and crumble feta over them
- Season to taste with the rigani salt.
- Eat and Enjoy!
