Bea's Fruity take on Nigella's Anglo-Asian Lamb Salad

I'm pretty new to blogging, both reading and writing, and a week or two ago I came across Maison Cupcake, a lovely, warm, honest blog I'm now following. I saw the Blogging Event, Forever Nigella (click here for more details), and this month Belleau Kitchen chose the theme of 'Salad Days'.  I just had to take part for two reasons; I LOVE Nigella (who doesn't!?) and my garden is being taken over by lettuce and mint that needs eating!  

Me and Nigella at her signing.
Yes, she looks, and is, beautiful? Me? I look like an idiot, all excitable.
Picture was taken on my mobile by my mum, hence the quality!

I met Nigella, once upon a time, at a book signing for Nigella Express, so I chose a recipe from MY SIGNED COPY, (that I've tried so hard to keep pristene but is now covered in food - Nigella would be proud) that I've adapted to suit my taste, cupboard and garden.  Anglo-Asian Lamb Salad has lots of lovely greenery, perfect for my lettuce overflow and also allowed me to use the chilli's from my chilli plant. Instead of the lamb loin suggested by Nigella, I spoke to my butcher who had a lovely piece of leg fillet that looked so tasty, I brought that home with me and sliced it in the middle to make it a little thinner. 

To make the salad more summery, I added some blanched sugar snap peas (a favourite of Nigellas) and some fresh raspberries; I love fruit in a salad and the market didn't have my original choice of pomegranate, but now I'm rather pleased; the raspberries worked a treat. Finally, I played with the dressing, making it fresher by using lime instead of rice vinegar.  I didn't have any fish sauce, so used a tablespoon of soy sauce instead of the teaspoon Nigella uses.   

I was nervous about changing Nigellas recipe for this feature in case everyone hated it; perhaps it'd be too much change? But I have to say, I loved it; the raspberries made it really fresh and took some of the spice of the chilli away and the sugar snap peas gave it some crunch. GORGEOUS.

Bea's Fruity take on Nigella's Anglo-Asian Lamb Salad!

Not a great picture (the storm outside was
against me, light-wise!) but look at those colours!

For the Salad

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 lamb leg fillet, approx. 250g, about 1 inch thick (or slice a large fillet in two)
• 2-3 large handfuls of mixed salad leaves
• 3 x 15ml tablespoons chopped mint
• 150g Sugar Snap Peas
• 100g raspberries

For the dressing

• 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• Juice of two limes
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced

1. Heat the oil in a heavy based pan and pan fry the lamb for 5 minutes on one side and two minutes on the other.  Remove from the pan and place the lamb on a piece of foil and make a loose parcel, allowing the meat to rest.  This will give you nice pink meat.

2. Whilst the meat is resting, boil the peas for 1 minute then drain and rinse in cold water.

3. In a large bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients.

4. Prepare your plates with the salad leaves.

5. Open the lamb parcel and add the juices from the meat to the dressing.  Slice the meat, toss it in the dressing and then place the lamb on top of the salad leaves. 

(Nigella's tip - if you want your lamb more well done, leave in the dressing for longer.  The acid in the dressing will cook the meat.  My dressing is very acidic with the lime juice and cooks it very quickly, hence why I cook the lamb for 6 minutes and Nigella cooks it for 7 and a half).

6. Top with sugar snap peas then drizzle with the remaining dressing.

7. Finally, scatter the raspberries over the salad.

You can find the original Nigella recipe here.

Enjoy!

Perfect Roast Lamb

Mother's Day in my house calls for a perfectly roast leg of lamb, my mums favourite. Of course, there was something white and dry for me, cooks privilege!


You can't go wrong with a traditional Sunday lunch, unless, of course, you go wrong! Lamb was the order of the day and a full leg, organically reared, was sat waiting in my fridge. To give the lamb extra flavour, I pierced the meat all over and filled each hole I made with a small sprig of rosemary. I'd usually add a slither of garlic too, but my dad really doesn't like it. Make sure you take the meat out of the fridge for at least an hour before it goes in the oven.


To ensure your lamb is cooked to perfection, just follow the timings guide below (all temperatures are degrees centigrade).


220 for 20 mins plus:

• For rare meat, 190, for 30 mins per kilo (internal temperature of 52 when cooked)
• For medium meat, 190 fr 40 mins per kilo (internal temperature of 60 when cooked)
• For well done meat, 190 fr 50 mins per kilo (internal temperature of 70 when cooked)

These timings also apply to veal, beef and venison.


Following these instructions will mean you end up with something looking as delicious as this:

Be sure to cover with foil and leave the meat to rest for at least 20 minutes before you carve.


Science Warning :-) You must the allow the meat to rest to ensure it is juicy and tender when you serve it. The muscles and fibres in the meat tense when hit with heat so by allowing it to rest, the muscles relax making the meat more tender. You'll also notice that when the meat is transferred to rest, a lot of juice will be released. When you look again, after 20 minutes, the meat will have re-absorbed all those lovely juices, making it more juicy when you serve.


This gorgeous piece of meat was served with all the trimmings - cauliflower cheese (secret ingredient - a little mustard powder in your cheese sauce goes a long way!), carrots, long stemmed broccoli, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes (roasted in goose fat) and honey roasted parsnips... not forgetting the mint sauce!


This will also be perfect for Easter Sunday - enjoy!