Lamb and Prune Tagine
No messing around this week listening to me withering on.... try this...
Lamb and Prune Tagine
INGREDIENTS
• 1 TBSP OLIVE OIL (13G)
• 1KG DICED LAMB
• SALT & PEPPER (3G)
• 2 ONIONS CHOPPED (300G)
• 4 GARLIC CLOVES (12G)
• 5CM KNOB OF GINGER, PEELED AND CHOPPED (20G)
• 1 TBSP HARISSA (18G)
• 2 TSP GROUND CUMMIN (GG)
• 1 TSP GROUND CINNAMON (2G)
• 1 TSP FENNEL SEEDS (2G)
• 1 LITRE CHICKEN STOCK
• 4-6 LARGE RIPE TOMATOES, ROUGHLY CHOPPED
• 200G PRUNES
• 100G GREEN OLIVES, STONED
• 100G SHELLED PISTACHIOS
• 20G CORIANDER CHOPPED
PREPARATION
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based saucepan and brown the lamb well on all sides. Season generously. When you’ve got a good colour on the meat, after about 5 minutes of stirring and browning on a relative high heat, add the onions, garlic and ginger and cook out for another 2 minutes, until the onions start to soften and carmelise. Add the harissa and spices and mix really well. Cook for another 3 or 4 minutes so that the spices and harissa coat the meat.
Add the stock, cover with lid, turn down the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is burning at the bottom of the pan. At this stage you can let cool and leave in the fridge overnight and cook the following day, which allows the flavours to develop further but you can continue in one go. Add the tomatoes, prunes, olives and pistachios and cook, uncovered for another hour. At this stage it should have reduced to a nice consistency and the flavours should be really good. The bottom line is that the lamb need to cook for 2 hours in total which can be done in one go or split over 2 days. Garnish with the coriander and serve with rice. Yum !
Let's Nutrify! - Jemma's tips
Lamb is such a favourite of mine, both because of the delicious sweet taste but also because I know how nourishing it is. Rich in easy to digest iron, b vitamins and zinc, lamb makes the perfect winter boost if the energy levels are flagging. Lamb is also a relatively wild meat, outdoor reared and feeding naturally year round on the grasses and plants that they've always eaten. Owing to this, lamb is rich in omega 3's and also in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which has been linked with lower body mass and seems to help with weight management. The ginger, fennel seeds, and prunes contained in this recipe make it rich in antioxidants, easy to digest and a wonderful source of soluble fibre. So if you would traditionally have found that red meat slows down your digestion, you'll be pleasantly surprised by this dish! This dish freezes really well so be sure to make plenty and store some for those cold, dark nights! Serve it with some roasted root veggies or roasted cauliflower."
Shane Dineen Fitness
Super fuel recipe with fantastic flavour, well worth the effort, see nutri info below:
Per portion:
Carbs : 26g
Protein : 56.6g
Fat : 33.4g
Fibre : 10.5g
Calories : 625
Butchers wife tip.
This tagine is ideal for a large group, this recipe serves 6 people, and is great with some rice and roasted veggies. The harissa gives it heat with body rather than outright fire, but feel free to add more if you like it. Seems alot of effort but if you use the frozen pre chopped ginger and just chuck in a tin of chopped tomatoes instead of chopping that cuts out chopping time. If you don't have harrisa use some chilli flakes to add the heat... enjoy x
Summer Time! BBQ Time!
Well hello ladies.
Digging a hole
Isn't BBQ season just marvellous for us women?
Himself piped up the other day, "isn't it grand for you now that I'm doing all the cooking." I looked up expectantly. Where is he going with this one? "Well now that the good weather is here and the kids are on holidays, you don't have to do anything"? Again I gave him the eye. Say nothing and see how deep this hole he is digging will be. I don't even have to supply the shovel.
The Great Gender Divide and Primeval instinct
"Well sure we (I'm assuming he means men) do all the BBQing”. "Yes, you do BBQ." said I. "Well it makes things easier for you" said he. "That it does. All I have to do when you're BBQing is bring out the meat, the marinade, the thongs, the forks, the plate to put it all on, then make the salads and wash the spuds and then after I get to clean the grill racks." It was his turn to stay silent.
So why do men do the BBQ. It’s a 'primeval instinct’ for men to barbecue. They’re essentially hard-wired to work with meat and fire. It certainly would be weird to see himself make a salad while I BBQed and although I'm the primary caregiver and himself the main earner we live in a house that has good equality balance of roles.
Equality
Equality, in the home, to me means that we share out what needs to be done. Division of labour. I struggled initially with being “a kept woman" as it is traditionally seen. I find it strange that the care of children and investing time and effort in home life is less valued than a job. True equality is about choice. I choose to be at home. I’m lucky enough to have that choice but I did feel a little “anti-feminist” in my choice. At times I felt judged, by women more than men. But I think i was judging myself more. Was I setting a good example for my daughters? But as time went on and life threw curve balls and it was essential for someone to be at home I was grateful for the choice and was at peace in my role. I’m lucky.
Gin and Tonics with a delicious dinner with the Matriarch and the sister
Anyway back to how lucky I am to have little to do now that it’s BBQ season. The weather is just amazing. We’ve been BBQing at the beach and at home. I love the Cajun chicken kebabs. I usually add them to my salad of leaves with toasted walnuts, tomatoes and beetroot. Love love love !!!! The kids are loving the BBQ sausages and the lamb kebabs. They haven’t time to chew. The butcher enjoys the beef or lamb burgers. But at the weekend I said no more. I was being lazy about changing what I was eating. My Mam and my sister were staying over and I wanted to feed them well. So I tried the butterflied leg of lamb on the BBQ. I marinated it with lemon juice, crushed garlic and salt and pepper. Simple. It was nearly half eaten before I got it to the table. It really is delicious and quick. And a welcome change from the typical BBQ fare. I served the lamb with South East Produce New Potatoes and a simple salad of leaves with mint. So between the delicious lamb and new potatoes with melting butter, portion distortion was the order of the day. I’ve found a Jamie Oliver recipe that I’m going to try for the marinade and will share the results.
So the butcher got to try something new and I enjoyed the results immensely – He even washed the grill rack after.
True love.
Equality.
Happy wife, happy life.
The butchers’ wife xx
Contact orders@molloysbutchersardkeen.com for any special request regarding the lamb.
In other news we are still encouraging our customers to bring their clean reusable containers into us. Choose to Reuse. Plastic Free Waterford.
