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After the best party I've been to in a long time thrown be the hostess with the mostest, who guarantees me side splitting laughter (thanks again Suzanne), and syled so stunningly by her oh so enviable friend Trudy who looks unashamedly gorgeous after 3 hours sleep and a hangover, I am writing hastily (while I can still remember) to give Trudy an old treasure of a recipe for melt-in-the-mouth lamb.
Traditional dish from Périgord called 'Gigot d'Agneau à la Couronne d'Ail' (to us, a leg of lamb with a ridiculous amount of garlic...) which renders the lamb into a state that can only be compared to confit of duck - falling away from the bone and so unbelievably rich that you need little more than a salad to go with it. I love it, but it gives me chronic indegestion, have your Rennies at the ready just in case.
Leg of Lamb with a Crazy Amount of Garlic
2kg leg of lamb
2 tbsp goose fat
50-60 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp brandy
300ml Sauternes (or similar)
large sprig rosemary
salt, pepper
Find yourself a deep pan or pot preferably with a lid, flameproof for the top of the stove - I use a fish steamer I've got as it's perfect for a leg. Brown the leg all over in the goose fat then add the garlic around it. Heat the brandy in a ladle, set alight and pour over the lamb (Alfie will like to watch this..) add wine, rosemary and seasoning and bring to a simmer. Cover tightly and cook at the lowest heat for 5 hours, turn it every so often, maybe every 45 minutes or so. It is now done. Skim excess fat from the surface of the sauce, check seasoning, garlic will turn to purée on your tongue, lamb will be so so tender. You will have bad breath for a week - only joking.
Look forward to seeing you all again soon, best weekend I've had in a long time. And it sure did beat Christmas and New Year by a mile.
Continuing with fruit - following my earlier preoccupation with fish and fish soup - I wanted to brighten up the blog with a helping of citrus flavours and colours. Fantastic flavour bursts to excite the palette for us poor folks in the N hemisphere who have exhausted their winter apple and pear repertoires. Also good to eat after fish or fish soup..
So, keeping it very short as usual, as I have little or no time to dedicate to this or many other of the things I love, I shall proceed with an exceedingly good recipe suggestion, light and tangy, lovely and luscious...
Lemon and Lime Soufflé with Orange Custard
60g butter
125g caster sugar
grated zest/juice 2 lemons
grated zest/juice 1 lime
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites
for the orange sauce:
250ml fresh orange juice
50g sugar
2 -3 egg yolks
Butter 6 individual ramekins and dust them with sugar so that the sides are coated. Discard excess sugar. This coating will prevent the soufflé from sticking to the ramekin. Pre heat the oven to 180°C
Whisk half sugar & yolks, add zest & juice, whisk over bain marie until it begins to thicken then add butter in dice a little at a time and continue to whisk until you have a delicious lemon and lime curd. Remove from the bain marie and allow to cool slightly as you whisk together the egg whites until they thicken - now add the rest of the sugar to the egg whites and whisk again until you have fluffy white peaks of meringue. Fold the lemon and lime curd into the egg whites carefully so as not to lose too much of the precious air.
Fill the ramekins with soufflé mix and scrape the surface flat with a palette knife (or not if you like them irregular) and sit on a tray. Transfer to the oven for 8-12 minutes or until beautifully risen and golden.
While the exciting stuff goes on in the oven, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy, add the orange juice and whisk that in, then transfer to a saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring continuously until the custard thicken. Don't overcook or the yolks will curdle.
The custard should be ready to greet the soufflé. As you take the ramekins from the oven, break the soufflé crust and pour some orange custard into the depths (this will cause the soufflé to float upwards and look even more impressive). Dust with icing sugar to make it look devastatingly good and run for the table - you have only seconds before it begins to collapse.
Thankfully it still tastes fantastic even if it does collapse...
After the best party I've been to in a long time thrown be the hostess with the mostest, who guarantees me side splitting laughter (thanks again Suzanne), and syled so stunningly by her oh so enviable friend Trudy who looks unashamedly gorgeous after 3 hours sleep and a hangover, I am writing hastily (while I can still remember) to give Trudy an old treasure of a recipe for melt-in-the-mouth lamb.
