Sometimes Home Cooking is the best
We have been eating out a fair amount recently and as much as this is something I really enjoy, I do love to cook.
There was a great offer on lamb chops from Tesco and that formed the basis of the meal. Some new potatoes, some home grown mint and rosemary we were on our way.
So I attempted what I believed was a port reduction and although winging it a bit it turned out really well. So basically reduced by half about half a glass of port added some vegetable stock and then my guaranteed secret ingredient for lamb lots of ground black pepper and some honey. I learned this from a French restaurant in London I went to years ago. The strong pepper and the slight sweetness from the honey just makes the lamb taste wonderful. Even if you are just making a lamb gravy for your Sunday roast try this addition.
I think without such a strong passion to make food I would probably not be writing this blog.
On the point of home grown herbs I am attempting to turn our front garden into a herb garden.
Prior to the recent 'monsoon' season I had planted rosemary, mint and thyme. The main motivation for this was I have made several attempts to weed this area and have now figured if it is going to grow wild then it may as be with nice things to eat or smell.
I really like the idea of people coming to visit and taking some herbs with them. Even if it is someone delivering something I would be happy for them with care to take a sprig of rosemary on their way out.
Having said that the only plant to really survive is the rosemary which has flourished in the current weather. The thyme is still just about there and again it is naturally a hard hillside plant. This one was actually brought back from a trip to Provence, so if it can survive the mistral it should be find in a English garden.
So what did I do with the ingredients? I wanted the chops to render down and crisp up so I put them bone side down on a big sprig of rosemary a bit of salt and pepper and then into the oven until done.
Potatoes were simply boiled to be finished with a bit of butter seasoning and fresh mint.This was to be served with some fresh green beans, again simply boiled.
That all seemed really nice but at that point the voice of Michel Roux Junior entered my head "It needs a sauce".
I finished off the chops in a pan for a bit of extra crispness and after removing the fat added the juices from the roasting dish into the sauce.
As it turned out the voice of Michel Roux Junior deserved to be heard as the sauce made the dish and took it from being something really tasty to something genuinely delicious. I would have been very happy to have been served this is any good restaurant and would be happily blogging their praises. So yes I am very much blowing my own trumpet on this one.
Many thanks to all those reading my blog and following me on Twitter @eatingindorset. More Dorset reviews coming soon.
All the best
Adam
