Rio Johnnys Sunday Soccer Roast
BRECON BEACONS STYLE Roast Lamb Rhost Oen Brycheiniog
Lamb Recipe feeds 4 rugger players or her and me Sunday and leftovers to nuke as needs,I love cold roast potatoes for brekky with cabbage and bacon a kind of instant cawl,scouse or colcanon !
Of course if lamb absolutely unavailable top mutton but slice sear then oven or pork,goat beef etc.I'd sooner pork/beef than mutton for roast.
With soccer an unpredicatble joy decided to make some posh nosh
Basically the lovely Sunday Lunch an old Welsh butcher well known to Can123 used to serve up as a kid,Pop Bowen opened the claret and Scotch with Dad while a bevvy of Aunties slaved over steamimg pots from after church until about 330pm when the gents returned from the RED COW (no not a brothel a bar).My role was open little blue bags of Salt as Walees had not invented the salted Crisp in 1960s! I'd sit ovelooking the taff fechan sipping a strange lemonda my dad called Drambuie Shandy (later said it was lemonade with a dash of Portwine explains a lot)
Working at the butchers as a lad and enjoying fresh lamb worldwide I can assure organc Welsh Mountain lamb is top notch.Mutton fine for curry but lamb for roast.Loire Valley,Tuscany,Basque Irish and Canterbury Lambs and those of the Romney Marshes and East Anglia were there are a few in Norfolk and Lincolnshire Wolds have a more tender toothsome flavour than their mountain cousins whose shoulder and offal are fine for other uses.
Lamb 250-450grams just under a pound of lamb on the bone ,half leg best.If in Bangkok etc you can get a rack which while delicious id fiddly expensive and needs more attention.You only need a 40 baht chop if broke but a nice half leg is best.
Herein Slam of course frozen N Zealand but top quality as for us 2 only difference between 200 to 400 baht extra its really worth it.
Other ingredients
2 pounds 1kg potatoes
A pound half kg/pound large carrots to be honey glazed batons
2medium onion,2 tiny red shallots clove 2 cloves big bulbous white garlic.
One in the oven will be smashed to cream another for the sauce
Seasoning Fresh cracked green or black pepper,rosemary ,oregano or wild marjoram is sold dried in Big C Makro etc,or fresh garden mint we grow
You may want a seasonal green veg I choose mangetout for colour.It seems odd with Squash,mangoes or avocados but these all work,Red Cabbage good
If you have access to other marinades you enjoy but remeber the lamb is a subtle soft taste so spices chilis will mask and to my mind spoil.Greeks go the yoghurt,olive route which i love in Oz and may serve with pitta or Rice but not my 'idea' of Sunday roast but equally lovely.
I use also shop bought Lime cordial a tsp, atsp of any sweet wine elederflower good inUK sherry port or rioja leftover?
Sadly there is NEVER any leftover wine in Siam ,the Chinese cooking sherry and ALL thai spirits wines will impair your tatse vsion and poss inside.
One exception satle beer,stregth is irrelaevant so a cup of LeoSigha or Federbrau in the gravy?
Industrial chemical like Chang Archa etc may be used to clean the dishes,not for internal use!
Mint sauce in vinegar 3tsps
Last of my Waitrose cranvberry in burgandy sauce (From C Mai Carrefour,I bought lot before it closed ,but I see Tops and malay stores stock pricey but quality waitrose M+S provisions).Failing that a tsp of good jams here STute r Bonne mama Black Cherry or Morello if you like it sweet
method night before or as early as poss
Wash meat,score next to any bones to release juices ,ease cutting and allow marinade in.I use a A$199 Santoku for everything but no better than a wood handle knife my wife bought for 300 baht.
Apart form hygiene important sharp,a blunt blade is dangerous when pissed
Add marinade liquids
Mint sauce slpash
Red wine'sheryy/port etc spalsh if beer only half a cup
tsp groundpepper salt (rock salt crushed is best )
If in a village and hard to come by a dash of soy,chinese cooking sherry and ground brown pepper will do just.
Herbs Srig Rosemary Thyme for me,Holy basil TOO STRONG so are anise or chilli
Place in Fridge
Peel Potatoes Long Maris piper peel then
its JJ Heston method
Choose Long baton shaped spuds in Mkt Oval cut of ends
Now got a log stand on end halve
Now have two half logs very easy tomake trangle wedges
These allow max exposure,sit well,don't roll and crisp outer sofrer inner.
Parboil(boil for only 10mins in preheated salted water) ,then drain cover the pan with cloth to retain steam
Oven on.It is poss do all this on a ship or BBQ I have done bet best in Oven.
In Siam can do all on 2 rings or bar roasted spuds in a slo-cook crockpot or rice cooker yes,it'll need some scouring and wife may go nuts if uits her best or a slo cooker
Oven Method
pre heat 200
Once hot place spuds and half Onion and garlic (unpeeled on flat tray )
Splash with extra virgin olive oil oil,if get spray oil canola or olive works fine less calories.Do not use corn or nut oils with flavour,soy is fine
After 30 mins turn and place Lamb on top
Cook another 30-40 minutes check after 30 and turn remove any tiddler spuds that maybe fully cooked ,try one!
At this point boil carrots, any other vegs cabbage,fresh peas etc.
With careful timimg can all be done in one pot or rack of bamboo dim sum steamers .
If cook carrots seperate can then honey glaze pan fry
Sauce/Gravy make while meat rest and lady plating
We all have own preference I always inc 2 tbsps of good wine
I like juice if sufficeint from meat and carrots,red wine salt and promite or vecon
can use Oxo Bisto Bonox Marmite aad a little cornflour,stir vigourously.
Easiest made in the meat tray ,helps clean it as my mum explained.
Seve potatoes veg lamb on side so each person serves gravy (mopping bread grain mustard to taste)
Wine Berri at 279 baht best value I could find or any merlot
Tescos sometimes habe Berberana at 329 Crianza or aroun 500 reserva which again is good value
Crust bown cob bread and butter
Desssert we had fresh lincees from garden but syllabub,fool or possett or if have time apple and blackberry pie that I garnered in the beacons would have been the Autum norm with custard or clotted cream in Cornwall.
Enjoy ,sorry no pix we just ate it
Cost Wine 269
Spare stock sea salt dried herbs 11
Lamb 220
Veg and herbs electric,oil approx 100
600 baht approx for plus electric time etc but for 100 baht a head for food and same for drinks
Well worth the effort and will tates different but equally delicious for next game at 3am
Other Lamb recipes
Lamb Recipes - Allrecipes.com
