...a last minute dash to indulge in the richness of winter cooking has bought together some of my joys. Chatting to Mr Malouf recently about his next book on the cuisine of Iran provoked a return to
Turquoise. Sultan's delight (a robust Turkish lamb stew on creamy cheesy eggplant puree) seemed perfect for a chilly Sunday. Of course, getting up early enough to get the lamb from the local farmers’ market was always going to be a struggle - the price for my sleep in, the choice of cuts, so home I came with way too many kilos of beautiful lamb shoulder nicely rolled for a Sunday roast. Some for the Sultan and perhaps an Aussie roast to keep the child happy! Well the roast turned a tad Mediterranean, studded with garlic, rubbed with olive oil and slow cooked to melt in the mouth deliciousness and teamed with lemony potatoes (and steamed greens!)- the child was happy even though it wasn’t what she expected. But the Sultan's delight was magic, the combination of lamb, red onions, red pepper paste, oregano, garlic, honey, tomatoes and stock was just glorious, the left over sauce was rapturously mopped up with fresh bread the next day. And what great lamb; worth getting up for. An excellent marriage with the eggplant (yes, the same one I served with the koftas back in June). Yum.
Turquoise – A chef’s travels in Turkey by Greg and Lucy Malouf (Sultan’s delight recipe p.174)
Killara Rise Lamb http://www.killararise.com.au/
Although I am not really a fan of lamb, there is something about the picture of the dish that somehow makes me interested. Its like the dish is somehow calling out to me and saying "try it and you'll like it". What i vaguely remember about my first encounter with lamb was that it had this somehow "fishy" scent and taste. My question is, was that just because it was medium rare or lamb meat is really like that?
ReplyDeleteHi Francesca, lamb has an 'amonia' aroma similar to fish or even a washed rind cheese. This is often what people can find off putting about lamb and will be evident regarless of to what degree the meat is cooked. Perhaps try slow cooking veal or beef. Cheers and happy culinary adventures, Rumbaba
ReplyDelete@Rumbaba: Thank you so much for this information! Up until now, I still am a bit hesitant to eat lamb meat, as I said because of the smell. Anyway, there are other kinds of meat. But would you know of any recipe or maybe a type of cooking so that the meat will not smell as fishy? Or do you know of any particular ingredient I can put to lessen the fishy smell? Again, thanks!
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