Lamb stew with gremolata

THIS IS A SIMPLE ITALIAN-INSPIRED DISH. THE CLASSIC INGREDIENTS OF ONION, CARROT, CELERY, LEEK, TOMATO, GARLIC, HERBS AND RED WINE ALL COOK TO A THICK STEW STUDDED WITH PIECES OF LAMB. THE STEW IS THICKENED WITH A GRATED POTATO. IT IS ALL LIGHTENED AND LIVENED UP WITH THE ADDITION OF ZESTY GREMOLATA, AND IS PERFECT WITH PARSNIP MASH OR WHITE-BEAN PUREE.

Heat half a tablespoon of the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium–high heat. Add half the lamb and cook for 2–3 minutes, until the meat is browned all over. Remove to a plate, then brown the remaining lamb in another half a tablespoon of oil, and remove to the plate.

Reduce the heat of the pan to medium and add the remaining oil. Fry the onion, carrot, celery and leek for 4–5 minutes, until just softening. Return the lamb to the pan with the tomato, garlic, sage, rosemary, water and wine and bring to the boil. Add the potato, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 11.2 hours, or until the lamb is tender and the sauce is thick.

Scatter with gremolata and serve.

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

800 g lamb shoulder or leg meat, trimmed of fat and cut into 3 cm cubes

3 onions, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 celery stalks, sliced

1 leek, sliced

800 g vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 sage leaves, finely chopped

sprig of rosemary

750 ml water

125 ml red wine

1 potato, peeled and grated

Gremolata

Seven-hour lamb

THIS FRENCH DISH MAY TAKE SEVEN HOURS TO COOK, BUT IT ONLY TAKES TWENTY MINUTES OF PREPARATION, AND THE MEAT BECOMES SO SOFT YOU CAN SERVE IT WITH A SPOON. THE LAMB IS POT-ROASTED, AND THE POT IS SEALED WITH DOUGH TO MAKE SURE ALL THE JUICES STAY IN. YOU PUT THE POT IN THE OVEN AT, SAY, 11 AM IN THE MORNING, THEN ENJOY THE AROMAS FROM THE OVEN ALL DAY.

I LIKE TO BREAK THE DOUGH SEAL AT THE TABLE WHEN EVERYONE IS SEATED, AND I THINK PARSNIP MASH AND SAUTÉED BUTTON MUSHROOMS TOSSED IN A LITTLE OIL AND THYME MAKE GREAT ACCOMPANIMENTS. THIS IS A GREAT DISH FOR WINTER ENTERTAINING.

Preheat the oven to 125°C. Roughly chop the pancetta, then add 4 of the garlic cloves and the rosemary and chop together until fine. Pour the olive oil onto the leg of lamb and season well with salt and pepper. Massage the oil, salt and pepper in with your hands.

Use a small, sharp knife to cut 16 small incisions across the surface of the leg of lamb. Stuff a teaspoon of the pancetta mixture into each incision.

Put the lamb, remaining garlic cloves, carrot, spring onions, leek, bouquet garni and wine in a heavy ovenproof pot or casserole dish and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Place the pot on top of an oven tray.

Mix the flour and water in a small mixing bowl and use your hands to press the dough around the join of the pot and lid. The dough will set in the oven and ensure the pot is well sealed. The tray should catch any drips of dough.

Bake for 7 hours, then break the seal at the table and serve the lamb and vegetables with a spoon.

Serves 6–8

150 g pancetta

20 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon rosemary leaves

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 kg leg of lamb

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

4 carrots, cut into 3 cm chunks

2 bunches swollen spring onions (white part only), trimmed

2 leeks, finely sliced

1 bouquet garni made of 1 bay leaf, 4 parsley stalks and 2 thyme sprigs tied with string

250 ml white wine

150 g (1 cup) plain flour

185 ml water

DRINKING ALCOHOL

I USE WINE AND SPIRITS AS FLAVOURINGS IN MY COOKING, KNOWING THAT MOST OF THE ALCOHOL THEY CONTAIN BURNS OFF WHEN I COOK THEM. DRINKING ALCOHOL IS SOMETHING I CONSIDER A LITTLE MORE CAREFULLY, HOWEVER. I THINK THAT IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A GLASS OF WINE WITH DINNER, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO RULE OUT DESSERT, AS BOTH ARE VERY HIGH IN SUGAR AND SHOULD BE SEEN AS TREATS, NOT EVERYDAY MEAL ACCOMPANIMENTS.

Lamb steaks with herbs and harissa

THIS DISH IS EXTREMELY QUICK AND EASY – ALL THE PREPARATION LIES IN THE MARINADE. I HONESTLY DON’T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT HARISSA, AS IT MAKES EVERYTHING TASTE FANTASTIC. I LIKE TO SERVE THESE STEAKS WITH A ROCKET SALAD.

Combine the ingredients other than the lamb in a medium bowl and mix well. Add the lamb and coat thoroughly. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Heat a barbecue grill to medium. Wipe the excess marinade from the steaks and cook for 4 minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking.

Serves 6

¼ cup mint leaves, finely chopped

¼ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Harissa

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

6 lamb-leg steaks (about 700 g)

Zucchini and capsicum with spiced lamb stuffing

THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO INTRODUCE FUSSY EATERS OR PEOPLE WHO ARE ANTI-VEGETABLES TO JUST HOW GOOD VEGETABLES CAN TASTE. THERE IS MEAT TO FLAVOUR THE VEGETABLES, BUT STILL A GOOD VARIETY OF VEGETABLES IN THE MEAL.

Put the tomato sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken a little more. Remove from the heat and stir through the chopped tomato. Pour into a large baking dish.

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and use a teaspoon to hollow out the halves, creating some room for the stuffing. Set the scraped-out flesh aside for another recipe. Cut the capsicums in half through the core and remove the seeds. Set the zucchini and capsicum aside.

To make the filling, heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 2–3 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and ground spices and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes. The mixture should be fragrant. Add the minced lamb and stir to break up any large lumps, then add the parsley and mint and cook for 10 minutes. Add the ground brown rice and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure the mixture doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spoon the mince into the capsicum halves. Place on top of the tomato sauce in the baking dish, and cover with the sliced tomatoes.

Spoon more mince into 6 of the zucchini halves, and top with the other halves as lids. Secure the lids to the bases using toothpicks. Put the stuffed zucchini in the dish with the capsicums. Drizzle the vegetables with a little extra oil and cover with foil. Bake in the oven for 45–50 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Serves 4–6

500 ml Tomato Sauce

6 tomatoes, 4 chopped and 2 sliced

6 medium zucchini

2 red capsicums

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

2 red onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

600 g lean minced lamb

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon dried mint

cup brown rice, ground (i.e. in a spice grinder)

The ground brown rice in this stuffing helps to absorb liquid in the same way that breadcrumbs would. As the vegetables cook, they release water, so this is a great way to soak up their nutrients and flavours and reduce the liquid in the dish.

Red lamb backstraps with chilli coleslaw

WITH THIS DISH I WANTED TO REINVENT THE TYPICAL COLESLAW THAT WE ALL KNOW, MINUS THE MAYONNAISE, AND ADD SOME THAI INFLUENCES. IT WORKS REALLY WELL WITH THE LAMB MARINATED IN RED CURRY PASTE. THIS MEAL IS QUICK TO COOK, SUPER HEALTHY AND PERFECT FOR THE BARBECUE.

Marinate the lamb in the curry paste and sesame oil for 2–4 hours.

To make the coleslaw dressing, combine the lime juice, nahm jim, fish sauce, palm sugar, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and pour over the dressing. Mix until well combined.

Preheat a large frying pan or barbecue grill to medium–high. Wipe the excess marinade from the backstraps and cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking. Rest the backstraps for 10 minutes, then slice thickly and serve with the coleslaw.

Serves 4

3 x 200 g lamb backstraps

2 tablespoons Red Curry Paste

1 tablespoon sesame oil

CHILLI COLESLAW

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons Nahm Jim

1 tablespoon fish sauce

3 teaspoons grated palm sugar

2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

2 lemongrass stalks (white part only), finely chopped

½ red cabbage (about 300 g), shredded

1 bunch radishes, grated

2 carrots, grated

90 g (1 cup) bean sprouts, trimmed

1 cup coriander leaves

½ cup vietnamese mint leaves, roughly chopped

Yoghurt soup with minted meatballs

THIS IS A TURKISH DISH THAT I FIRST TRIED IN TANZANIA, OF ALL PLACES. I WAS VISITING A SCHOOL THAT IS FUNDED OUT OF TURKEY AND WAS THERE FOR DIGNITY DAY. ALL THE CHILDREN HAD TO DEFINE WHAT DIGNITY WAS TO THEM, AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE TO REALISE WHAT A UNIVERSAL CONCEPT IT IS. I THINK IT IS HARD TO DEFINE, BUT EASIER IF YOU THINK OF AN EXPERIENCE WHERE DIGNITY IS TAKEN AWAY.

AS FOR THIS SOUP, I REALLY LIKED IT. EVERYONE HAS TRIED LAMB WITH TZATZIKI, SO THE DISH ISN’T REALLY THAT BIZARRE, JUST A NEW WAY OF SERVING IT.

Preheat the oven to 200°C and line an oven tray with baking paper.

Combine the minced lamb, pine nuts, onion, egg, dried mint, spices and lemon zest in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Roll into 24 balls and place on the prepared tray. Bake in the oven for 10–12 minutes, or until well browned.

Combine the stock and garlic in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 8–10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then pour into a food processor along with the yoghurt and blend until smooth.

Spoon the warm soup into 4 bowls and add 6 meatballs to each. Garnish with mint leaves and dollops of harissa.

Serves 4

500 g minced lamb

½ cup pine nuts, toasted and roughly chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons dried mint

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 litre Chicken Stock

6 garlic cloves, bruised

1 litre natural yoghurt

fresh mint leaves to serve

Harissa to serve

It is important to have good homemade stock for this soup, as well as some tasty harissa, as they both make a big difference to the finished dish.

COOKING TO HAVE LEFTOVERS

IT’S GREAT TO BE PREPARED FOR TIMES WHEN YOU’RE TOO TIRED OR TOO BUSY TO MAKE A MEAL. DURING TIMES WHEN YOU COOK A LOT, DIVIDE YOUR LEFTOVERS INTO INDIVIDUAL PORTIONS AND THROW THEM IN THE FREEZER. LEFTOVERS CAN ALSO INSPIRE NEW DISHES.

YOU CAN ALSO BE A BIT MORE SYSTEMATIC ABOUT IT AND COOK EXTRA FOOD ON PURPOSE, SUCH AS MAKING A BIG QUANTITY ON SUNDAY WHEN YOU KNOW YOU’VE GOT A BUSY WEEK COMING UP. SUNDAY IS USUALLY MY COOKING DAY. I MAKE A LOT OF MESS BUT SET MYSELF UP FOR THE WEEK, IT’S SO MUCH BETTER THAN RESORTING TO TAKE-AWAY.

Moroccan lamb in tomato jam

IN THIS DISH THE STOVE REALLY DOES ALL THE WORK, GENTLY COOKING THE TOMATOES DOWN TO AN AMAZING THICK, RICH SAUCE, AND RENDERING THE PIECES OF LAMB BEAUTIFULLY TENDER. THE DISH IS SCATTERED WITH ALMONDS FRIED IN JUST A LITTLE BUTTER. I LIKE TO SERVE IT WITH VEGETABLES OR A GREEN SALAD AND A LITTLE COUSCOUS, OR WITH QUINOA WITH SILVERBEET.

Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze them over a bowl to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds and finely chop the flesh. Set aside.

Heat a little oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium–high heat and fry one-third of the lamb for 2–3 minutes, until browned all over. Remove to a plate and continue to brown the remaining lamb in two more batches with a little extra oil each time. Remove all the lamb to the plate.

Reduce the heat of the pan to medium and add the onion. Fry for 2–3 minutes, until starting to soften. Add the garlic, ground ginger, cinnamon stick, saffron and pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes. Return the lamb to the pan along with the tomatoes and season with salt. Cover with a lid and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Remove the lid and cook for a final 15–20 minutes uncovered, or until the sauce is very thick.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the almonds and fry for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until golden brown.

Remove the cinnamon stick from the lamb, and stir in the honey and ground cinnamon. Serve scattered with the fried almonds.

Serves 4

1.5 kg tomatoes

1–2 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 kg trimmed lamb shoulder or leg meat, cut into 3 cm cubes

3 onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 cinnamon stick

pinch of saffron threads

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

sea salt

1 tablespoon butter

cup blanched almonds

1½ tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In this dish I use both a cinnamon stick and ground cinnamon – the stick is added at the beginning to impart its subtle flavours, while the ground cinnamon is stirred in at the end to add a more prominent cinnamon taste.

I’ve only recently rediscovered pork after an unfortunate pork crackling experience when I was younger. One Christmas, I completely over-indulged on crackling to the point where I made myself sick. It took me years to be able to stomach pork again.

I now know that pork is a delicious and lean meat – some cuts are just as lean as skinless chicken breasts – that is very versatile. All meats are an excellent source of protein, iron, zinc, B vitamins and other nutrients, but pork is particularly rich in the B vitamin thiamin, which helps the body convert carbohydrates to energy, among other functions. I prefer free-range pork as the pigs are treated far more humanely, and the meat – like grass-fed beef – is more nutritious, but I still skip the crackling, as I’d prefer to avoid the large dose of fat.

One of the interesting things I’ve learnt during my travels to Japan is that the people of the Okinawa Islands have what is thought to be the highest life expectancy in the world – and they live the healthiest lives. Japan gets high marks in this regard too, but it is thought that one of the factors putting the Okinawans ahead of the rest of the country is their particular diet. They have a nutrient-rich diet very high in vegetables including seaweed, and low in calories, and also featuring tofu, a small amount of fish and – wait for it – pork! Pork is the main meat they consume.

I’ll admit that it probably isn’t the pork itself that makes the Okinawans live long lives, but rather the fact that everything is in good balance in their diets. It just goes to show that healthy eating can still include the things you love.