BBQ Lamb Steak Burger with Mint Dressing

A couple of weeks ago we were promised an Easter heatwave. As I type this the hailstones are battering the window and the letterbox is banging in the wind, as it always does when it's blowing a gale. Last night I got completely drenched at bootcamp and my legs were red with cold when I peeled my soggy clothes off to get in the hot shower to warm up. Last March I was driving with my roof down on an almost daily basis. This month I find myself putting the heated seats on for the morning school run. Come on sunshine, show your face and give us all the Spring that we've been waiting so patiently for.

In anticipation of the warmer weather we put the cushions out on the garden furniture and uncovered the barbecue and cleaned it up. We managed a brief sit on the chairs last weekend before we covered them again and weighted the covers down to stop them from blowing away. I was not going to be beaten though, and braved the cold to cook some lamb steaks on the barbecue in a bid to bring some sunshine into our lives once again with Lindeman's.

I love the taste of meat cooked on the barbecue, and as we have a gas one it's really convenient to use, and I have been known to cook dinner on it in the pouring rain with an umbrella to avoid messing up my oven. Whilst (in my opinion) lamb steaks are best cooked on a barbecue you could also fry them on a griddle pan on your hob if you don't fancy braving the cold.

BBQ Lamb Steak Burger with Mint Dressing - serves 2

2 lamb leg steaks 

marinade

2 tbsp Lindeman's Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon 

1 tsp garlic granules (or clove of fresh garlic)

handful of fresh mint

dressing

75g Greek yogurt

fresh mint leaves

for serving

fresh bread rolls 

salad leaves

red onion slices

• Make the marinade by adding the ingredients to a pestle and grind with the pestle
• Place the steaks in a closeable bag and pour in the dressing
• Seal the bag and squeeze to coat the lamb
• Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight
• Make the dressing by ripping the mint leaves and mixing them into the yogurt
• Cook the lamb on a very hot bbq for a few minutes each side - my tip is to have your bbq as hot as you can and cook the steaks as quickly as you can to avoid them drying out. This way they are lovely and crispy on the outside, yet lovely and juicy on the inside
• Serve the steaks in fresh bread rolls with salad leaves, sliced red onion and yogurt & mint dressing

Accompany the burgers with a large glass of Lindeman's Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon - a perfect pairing this Easter.

I'm once again working with Lindeman's as an Ambassador - keep your eye out for future recipes, news and giveaways.

This post has been commissioned by Lindeman's

Mini Lamb Keema Pasties

We've been eating quite a bit of Indian food recently, but one dish I've never tried making is Keema. To be honest, the only time I've heard of Keema is in a Keema Naan, as it's the husband's favourite naan bread. Keema is a dish made from minced lamb, which is cooked using different spices, with peas added towards the end of cooking. I've teamed up with Simply Beef & Lamb to show you how easy it is to cook, and share my recipe for serving it to my family.

I decided to cook up a double batch of Keema and use some of it for these tasty mini pasties, and put the rest in the freezer ready for a quick pasta dinner another day. My recipe for the Keema has been adapted slightly from the original recipe that can be found here. I chose not to add any fresh chillies as I felt it was spicy enough for the family as it was.

You could use puff or shortcrust pastry for these, but I opted to use my favourite cream cheese pastry, as it's not only really easy to make and roll out, but it's also really light and flaky. The pasties can be eaten as part of a main meal, or as a lunch or snack - or even taken in the school lunchbox.

Mini Lamb Keema Pasties - makes approx 15

Lamb Keema

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled & chopped

1 tsp garlic & ginger paste

2 tsp ground cumin

3 tbsp garam masala

450g lean lamb mince

4 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp tomato puree

100g frozen peas

Pastry

250g plain flour

150g butter

150g full fat cream cheese

1 egg, beaten

• Heat the olive oil in a large pan
• Add the onion and fry for approx 10 minutes
• Add the garlic & ginger, cumin & garam masala and cook for 1-2 minutes
• Add the lamb and fry until mostly browned
• Add the tomatoes and puree
• Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and cook uncovered for approx 20-25 minutes, adding the peas for the last 5 minutes of cooking 
• In the bowl of a stand mixer add the flour, butter and cream cheese
• Mix on a low speed until it becomes like breadcrumbs and then starts to come together
• Squeeze together into a ball and wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for around 30 minutes
• Roll the pastry out to approx 5mm thick and cut circles with a large round cutter or cut around a glass
• Brush beaten egg onto one half of the pastry disc and then a spoonful of Keema onto the other
• Fold one half of the pastry over the filling and press the edges together, and then crimp
• Lay the pasties onto a lined baking sheet and brush with beaten egg
• Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and crispy

Serve with a light salad of sliced cucumber, sliced red onion and a dash of tamarind paste, along with a spoonful of yogurt

I was provided with ingredients to make the Keema

Minced Lamb & Ale Hotpot

Wow, what's happened to the weather recently? Suddenly it feels like we've been transported into full blown winter, and the heating has started coming on in the morning despite the thermostat being set very low.

It's definitely time for soups and stews now so I decided to christen my new casserole dish with a warming minced lamb hotpot, using a few products provided by Unilever.

Minced Lamb & Ale Hotpot

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
Knorr beef stock cube
Knorr Paprika pot
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
500g minced lamb
2 tbsp plain flour
350ml Ale
4 potatoes
2 parsnips
2 tbsp Flora Buttery, melted
salt & pepper

• Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish
• Add the onion and fry for 3-4 minutes, until softened
• Add the stock cube, paprika pot and garlic
• Mix well and fry for 1 minute
• Add the mince and fry until browned
• Add the flour and fry for a further minute whilst stirring all the time
• Add the ale and bring to the boil
• Simmer whilst preparing the potatoes and parsnips
• Slice the potatoes and parsnips about 1/2cm thick - no need to peel them
• Lay slices of potato and parsnip onto the mince and brush with melted butter & season with salt & pepper
• Place a lid on and bake in a 170C oven for 45 minutes
• Remove the lid and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are lightly browned

Serve with crispy baked Kale.

I was provided with a hamper of Unilever ingredients for use in this recipe

Moroccan Lamb and Rhubarb with Lemon & Coriander Cous Cous

After failing to get my hands on any rhubarb via my allotment friends I resorted to the supermarket - £2 for 3 skinny sticks of rhubarb is outrageous! However, after my eldest went to his best friend's house for a sleepover at the weekend he returned with tales of rhubarb and apple crumbles (it's all about the food with him), "erm rhubarb you say? they have rhubarb growing in their garden?", "yep, loads of it". I considered donning a balaclava under the cover of darkness & scaling the fence (or 2) that divided our house from the best friend's to get my hands on the much sought after rhubarb, but instead opted for the safer option of sending my son around armed with a bagful of spiced lemon cookies as a trade.

Low and behold, the next day appeared a big bag of fresh & tasty rhubarb

Time to get on and rustle up the next for entry into the Swallow Charity Recipes For Life Challenge for May, which you can read more about here.

I have no idea if they even grow rhubarb in Morocco but I figured that the cinnamon and dried fruit made this dish Moroccan even if the rhubarb didn't. The rhubarb creates a really rich tangy sauce which I think would be great in a chilli too.  There's not much to this recipe, just a case of throwing the ingredients in & leaving it to do it's thing.

 

Moroccan Lamb and Rhubarb - serves 3/4

3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp plain flour
2 lamb leg steaks, diced
Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 tsp chilli flakes

180g rhubarb

1 tbsp sugar

400g Can of tomatoes

100ml water or stock

50g dried Apricots, chopped
50g juicy raisins

Lemon & Coriander Cous Cous


200g dried cous cous
grated zest of 1 lemon
Handful coriander, chopped
250ml boiling water

• Mix the cinnamon, coriander and cumin with the flour
• Toss the lamb into the flour & spices & coat well
• Heat the oil in a heavy based lidded pan 
• Add the garlic & chilli & fry for 2 mins
• Add lamb & flour and fry for 5 mins until browned on all sides
• Add rhubarb & sugar & cook for 2 mins 
• Add tomatoes and water (or stock)
• Stir, place lid on & simmer for 30 mins stirring occasionally
• Stir in the apricots and raisins, place the lid on & cook for a further 15 minutes, until the lamb is tender
• Add the cous cous to a bowl
• Add the lemon zest & coriander
• Pour over the boiling water and stir
• Place a lid or plate over the bowl and leave for 5 minutes
• Fluff up with a fork and serve

Garnish with sliced or ground almonds & fresh coriander (optional)

Minted Lamb & Vegetable Pie

Did you know that next week is British Pie Week. To get in the mood I've been baking a few pies recently, mostly using the nice & easy ready rolled puff pastry. Unfortunately I'd forgotten to take a pack out of the freezer in time to top this pie so I made a quick scone type crust which, when rolled out thinly, resembled a light shortcrust.

Minted Lamb & Vegetable Pie

320g Diced Lamb leg
1 tbsp plain flour seasoned with black pepper
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 courgette, diced
2 potatoes, diced
1/2 butternut squash, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 beef stock cube
1 tbsp tomato puree
50ml Port
100ml water
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves

'Pastry' crust
175g SR Flour
40g Butter
60ml milk
tsp finely chopped mint
pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten

• Toss the lamb in the flour until coated
• Heat the oil in a casserole pan
• Add the lamb to the pan and brown
• Remove the lamb from the pan & set aside
• Add the onion, courgette, potatoes, garlic & squash along with the worcestershire sauce, stock cube, tomato puree, port, water & 1 tbsp of the mint
• Mix well, place the lid on and cook for 5-10 minutes
• Add the lamb and place in a 140 C oven for 1 hour, until the lamb is tender
• Stir in the rest of the chopped mint
• Meanwhile make the crust by rubbing the butter into the flour
• Add the chopped mint and salt and mix before adding the milk & bringing together to a dough
• Roll out the crust until it's slightly larger than the pie dish you're using (I used a 25cm x 19cm Mermaid pie dish)
• Add the pie filling to the dish
• Grease around the edges of the dish & lay the crust over and trim the edges
• Crimp the edges with a fork before brushing all over with beaten egg
• Bake in a 200 C oven for 15-20 minutes until crust is browned

The Mermaid Pie Dish is made from hard anodised aluminium, which is perfect for use with metal utensils - is scratch resistant and will never peel or blister. It is oven safe up to 240 C and twice as hard as stainless steel.

I was sent the pie dish for the purpose of review, the recipe is my own