Tomato Bredie
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 ½ Stewing lamb/mutton in chunks (good quality)
- 2 Large Onions
- 1 Cup flour
- 8 Large ripe tomatoes
- 1 Tin good quality Tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons salt
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Chutney
- 2 Teaspoons White pepper
- 6 Garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup chopped parsley for garnishing
- 2 Tablespoons finely grated fresh lemon rind
- Olive Oil for frying.
- Heat oil in large saucepan just enough to cover the bottom of saucepans. Peel onions and slice thinly. Add to oil, stir fry until soft but don't let them burn.
- While the onions are softening, roll the lamb/mutton pieces in the flour, and add them in batches to the pot to brown. They must be well covered with flour which helps the sauce thicken as you proceed. I took some onions out before I added the meat, and then with every batch meat I put some soft onions with it.
- Add more oil if necessary and don't crowd the meat, take out the browned pieces and onions with a slotted spoon and keep on a plate, and then you do the rest of the meat in the same manner.
- When all the meat has been browned, pour off all extra fat and oil.
- Put the browned meat and onions back in the saucepan.
- Make sure your tomatoes are ripe enough. If your tomatoes are small you'll need considerably more tomatoes. The most important thing is they must be full of flavour.
- Skin the tomatoes by simply putting them in a large pot. (You can cut out the core on both sides, from the top to the bottom make 4 lashes, 1/4's). Cover them with boiling water for a minute or two, rinse with cold water and you will see the skin removes very easily.
- Cut them in the saucepan on medium heat, juices and all and the tin tomatoes. Add the Salt, Worcestershire sauces, Chutney, Sugar and Pepper.
- Now watch the pot for a while. The tomatoes should provide enough liquid – do NOT ever add water to this dish rather add extra tomatoes.
- Turn down the heat, put lid on at angle to allow steam to escape and simmer gently for about 1 hour.
- Add the garlic. You can add peeled potatoes if you wish.
- Simmer gently until potatoes are tender.
- Your finished dish should be deep reddish brown and the tomatoes should have reduced to a thick sauce. There must not be a lot of liquid, if there is, turn up die heat, stir well, and let the extra liquid evaporate.
- Grate the lemon rind and sprinkle the parsley over the dish. Served with brown or white rice, fresh vegetable and green salad.
- It is important to taste it before serving, by adding more sugar to the finished dish is very important, the dish should not be acidic.
Tarzan Roast
This recipe serves 10 – 12
You will need
about a 3 ½ kg fatty leg of lamb, with the shank intact – very important
a sprig of rosemary
a couple of whole chillies as hot as you can handle
10-15 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut in half
3-4 bunches of spring onions
¼ cup oyster sauce
a handful of dried oregano
2 onions, sliced
the juice of 2 to 3 lemons
the juice of 1 orange
. . . as well as . . .
a baking tray
about half a metre of galvanised wire
2-3 metres of rope
a forked stick
a basting brush
a sharp knife
a small stool
a wheelbarrow
orange wood – any hard fruit wood will do, but do not use ordinary firewood
a tree that has a good strong branch that sticks out and is not too close to your house
Lay the leg of lamb on its side in the baking tray and, using a small sharp knife, cut slits 3-5 cm deep at a 45 degree angle all over the lamb. Force rosemary sprigs, chilli and garlic slivers into the slits, then dip the spring onions in the oyster sauce and force them in as well – the green leaves will jut out.
Mix together the oregano, the balance of the oyster sauce, the onions and the juice from the lemons and orange, and pour this all over the leg of lamb. Leave to marinate while you make the fire.
Cooking method
The meat actually cooks by radiated heat and is gently smoked at the same time. I usually use orange or apple wood because of their aromatic properties and I make the fire in a wheelbarrow. This is useful because the cooking time is somewhere between 4 and 6 hours and in a wheelbarrow you can adjust the position of the fire and take full advantage of the prevailing wind.
Ready to cook
First, slip the wire through the shank and twist it so there’s no chance of the meat falling into the fire. Attach the wire to the rope with a slipknot.
The tree / tripod
Once the leg is attached to the wire and the rope / chain you need to find a nice strong branch in a tall tree from which to hang your meat. Again using a slipknot attach the rope to the branch and then, between the wire and the tree, make a sheepshank knot in the rope – this way, you can adjust the height of the lamb as required or if using a chain put a nut & bolt though a couple of links.
Balance the baking tray with the left over marinade on a stool and position this directly under the joint.
Wheel the fire in next to the stool and place it so that the prevailing wind is blowing towards the lamb.
You should be able to hold your hand between the fire and meat for just a few seconds without burning it. If it’s not hot enough, put extra charcoal / wood on the fire to really get the heat going.
You can use the forked stick to push the leg closer or further from the heat.
For the next 4 to 6 hours, you need to keep basting the lamb with marinade and the fatty juices that drip into the tray.
Every 10 to 15 minutes turn the meat about 45 degrees and secure its position with the forked stick.
Very important: keep testing the heat and adding to when necessary. Or else you could be there all night.
After 4 hours or so, poke a skewer into the thickest section of the joint to see if it’s cooked. If the juices ooze out red, it’s still raw and needs more cooking; pink juices mean the meat is perfectly medium rare. When it is cooked, raise the leg or remove the heat and let it rest for ten minutes.
Serving suggestions:
I normally carve the meat while it is still hanging up – that way, if it’s a bit too rare closer to the bone, you can just drop the roast back near the heat and cook it for a bit longer.
First option:
Grab pita bread. Slice open to make a pocket. Stuff with shredded lettuce, roughly chopped tomato, fresh basil, medium rare lamb and a good dollop of Greek yoghurt. Or what ever takes your fancy.
Second option:
Start preparing at about the 3-hour mark. Chop all the vegetables into pieces about the same size so that they will all be ready at the same time.
Use:
baby potatoes
beetroot
parsnips
carrots
sprigs of rosemary
olive oil
Garlic, whole bulb skin on cut across the middle
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Blanch the vegetables separately in salted water for 10 minutes. Place on a baking tray, add the rosemary and garlic drizzle with olive oil. Slow roast for between 40 minutes and 1 hour, turning occasionally. Once they’re cooked, reduce the heat of the oven to its lowest setting to keep them warm.
While the roast is resting make a sauce by pouring all the drippings and scraps of lamb in the baking tray into a pan, mix a teaspoon of cornflour in a cup of milk and add this to the pan. Keep stirring on low heat for between 5 to 10 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. To serve, place vegetables and slivers of roast lamb on a platter and drizzle the sauce over the meat.
Lamb Kebabs
Ingredients
- 450 g (15.9oz) Leg of lamb cut into 3cm dice
- 24 Medium shallots peeled
- 8 Bay leaves
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil for cooking
- 2 Large oranges, rind grated and then juiced – For the Marinade
- 1 Lime, rind grated and then juiced – For the Marinade
- 2 tbsp Sweet chilli sauce – For the Marinade
- 2 tbsp Dark soy sauce – For the Marinade
- 3 tbsp Hoisin sauce – For the Marinade
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil – For the Marinade
- 1 tbsp Tomato ketchup – For the Marinade
- 8 Whole star anise – For the Marinade
- 2 Garlic cloves peeled and crushed into a paste – For the Marinade
- 1 Pinch of freshly ground black pepper – For the Marinade
- 1 Red chilli diced finely without the seeds – For the Dipping sauce
- 1 Handful of coriander finely chopped – For the Dipping sauce
- 1 tbsp Runny honey – For the Dipping sauce
- 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce – For the Dipping sauce
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce – For the Dipping sauce
- 1 Dash of sesame seed oil – For the Dipping sauce
- 2 Limes - juiced – For the Dipping sauce
- Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade stirring well.
- Thread a bay leaf onto the first skewer and then alternate the shallots and the lamb onto the wooden skewer and repeat with all skewers. Lay the kebabs in a shallow dish and then pour over the marinade and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours, if possible overnight, in a fridge.
- Drizzle with the oil, heat well then place the kebabs on the braai and cook on medium heat for 3 - 4 minutes on each side brushing the kebabs with remaining marinade throughout the cooking process. Take care not to have the heat too high or you will burn the marinade.
- Meanwhile for the dipping sauce mix all the ingredients together.
- Serve with a green salad, basmati rice and little pots of the dipping sauce.
Lamb Cutlets with Creole Mojo Sauce
Ingredients:
- 8 lean lamb cutlets or 4 lamb loin chops
- For the Creole Garlic Marinade (Mojo Criollo):
- 60ml/4tbsp olive or vegetable oil
- Grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt
- 10ml/2tsp ground cumin
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 15ml/1tbsp hot pepper sauce
- To prepare the marinade; in a large shallow non-metallic dish mix all the ingredients together. Place the cutlets or chops in the marinade mixture and coat well on both sides. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, or if time allows overnight.
- Remove the cutlets or chops from the marinade (reserve the marinade) and cook on a prepared braai. Meanwhile, heat the marinade in a small pan until piping hot and pour over the chops before serving.
Brown Sugar Glazed Lamb
Ingredients
- 55 g brown sugar
- 4 g ground ginger
- 3 g dried tarragon
- 2 g ground cinnamon
- 2 g ground black pepper
- 3 g garlic powder
- 3 g salt
- 380 g lamb chops
- In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, ginger, tarragon, cinnamon, pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Rub lamb chops with the seasonings, and place on a plate. Cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Braai on a high heat.
- Brush grill grate lightly with oil, and arrange lamb chops on grill. Cook 5 minutes on each side, or to desired doneness.
Lamb Sosaties
Ingredients
- 500g Lamb (boned shoulder or leg of lamb)
- 2 large onions
- 50ml olive oil
- 4 cloves of gralic
- 1 tablespoon of curry powder
- tumeric 1 x teaspoon
- brown sugar 1 x tablespoon
- 4 crushed bay leaves
- 1 x tablespoon of lemon juice
- 2 x lemons cut into small wedges
- 120ml meat stock
- 125g dried apricots
- 1 x green pepper cut into bite size pieces to fit onto the kebab
- butter
Method;
Cut the lamb up ito 25mm cubes, slice one onion into wedges (for the skewer – you could use shalotts) and the other chop finely, peel and crush the garlic. Heat the butter in a saucepan and sauté the chopped onion, garlic and curry powder for a few minutes. Add the tumeric, lemon and meat stock, bring to the boil.
The put the meat in a non-metal bowl with the bay leaves at the bottom. As soon as the marinade comes to the boil, pour it over your meat mixture and then allow it to cool and place in the fridge to marinade overnight.
The next day skewer the meat, apricots, green pepper and onion wedges (shallots) onto the sticks.
For the sauce, pour the leftover marinade into a saucepan, add some butter and salt and pepper to taste, bring to the boil and serve warm with the sosaties and lemon wedges.
Cook over a hot braai
Or if you want to, try adding crushed chillies, more garlic and some peri-peri to the marinade.
Lamb Ball Skewers
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 500g lamb mince
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 75g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and cubed
- Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a pan. Fry the onion and garlic over a low heat for 5 minutes until softened but not browned.
- Place the lamb mince in a mixing bowl then add the mustard, breadcrumbs, beaten egg and cooked onion and garlic mixture. Mix together well then roll into 12 balls.
- Braai on a medium heat.
- Thread the lamb balls onto skewers (if using wooden ones, make sure you soak them before use), alternating with pepper cubes. Brush with the remaining olive oil and grill for 13 to 15 minutes