Friday night roast - Rolled Lamb Brisket

Driving home on a Friday evening after what had been a busy week for both of us, it was great to think there was little planned for the weekend, except maybe some relax time, a quiet drink or two and a bite to eat.

This line of thinking starts me thinking about dinner, and I feel like something tasty, yet something a little different, finding it too hard to come up with an idea, I take a small detour past the Main Street shops and call into the local butcher shop.

Tony, the butcher was just pushing his trolley full of meats back to the cool-room as I walked in, he saw the disappointment on my face at the empty display fridge, but was quick to suggest he would accommodate what ever it was I desired, he is a good bloke!

Not wanting to put him to too much trouble I asked what he had on the trolley and said I wasn't sure what I wanted, but it had to be tasty and relatively easy to prepare, he immediately asked what about one of these as he held up a rolled lamb brisket? I have enjoyed the roast meats Tony prepares in this way many times, but never a rolled lamb brisket before.  He explained it would cook in 45 minutes, but to let it rest a further 20 minutes for best results.

I am thinking bung this thing in the oven for 45 minutes, open a coldy and have a relax whilst it cooks, prepare a sauce while it rests and dinner is virtually on the table, he had me sold on the idea pretty quick.

I had decided on the way home to keep the veg to the minimum, just a few potatoes and a couple of carrots for colour, some green beans, I also added a half dozen cloves of garlic and a few shallots in the baking tray for a bit more flavour.

We arrived home at six, had the meal in the oven fifteen minutes later and cracked a Corona around the same time, or maybe that was the second?  Thing was the weekend had started, it was time to kick back and relax and we have wasted no time doing just that.

There was a point in the evening though, when Jo had some concerns, that being, when it came time to my making a sauce to complete this meal.  Having taken the meat out of the oven, I placed the roasting dish on the hot plate, sprinkled some plain flour over the juices and formed a paste, I then picked up Jo's bottle of red and started pouring into the tray, a look of disbelief crossed her face and an exclamation of "What are yo doing?", the distressed looked turned to one of pleasure when she finally tasted the result.

Rolled lamb brisket with roast veg and a red wine sauce, mmm that was good, must do that again!

2 Minute Noodles – Tom Yum Gai or Goong

A couple of months back I introduced Jo to "Tridents Hot and Spicy 2 Minute Noodles", once she tried them she was hooked.  They are without doubt one of the best  quick snacks available and the flavours are pretty authentic.
Jo likes them so much, she now has them a couple of times a week for lunch and when she shops for them, they come home by the box full!

I have taken to using them when I feel a little lazy and just want to get something tasty on the table with minimum fuss, for this they are perfect.
To start the dish I roughly chop an onion and stir-fry it until tender in my wok along with a teaspoon of grated ginger, a crushed clove of garlic, finely sliced lemongrass and a finely sliced red chilli. 
I then add a julienned carrot, a couple of kiffer lime leaves, 2 cups of chicken stock and season with a little fish sauce.

I bring this to the boil then add a chicken breast, let it come back to the boil then lower to a simmer and allow it to cook for 10 – 15 minutes or until the breast is cooked through.

Now add the flavour satchels that come with the noodles and mix well, I use the chilli flakes sparingly as they are HOT, and you can add them in later if you wish to spice it up a bit more.

Once the chicken is cooked, take it out and cut or strip into bite sized pieces, then put back into the broth along with a cup of bean shoots, tomato pieces, some chopped up Chinese vegetables such as Choy Sum or Bok Choy, add in a cup of prawns if you have some, add the noodle bricks and cook for a few minutes, then serve up in a large soup bowl with some torn coriander leaves and Thai basil, absolutely delicious! 

Pot Roast Chicken ala Rasa Malaysia

I found this recipe on Rasa Malaysia’s web page and the photograph of the chicken sitting in a rich orange coloured sauce looked amazing, then on reading the recipe and it reminded me of how I do my Pot Roast Beef, so I had to try it out for myself.  

Mt Barker - Free Range Chicken, pot roasted

The other appealing thing about this recipe was the ease at putting it all together; it really is a very easy meal to prepare and having done so , it made a delicious meal.  

I added a stick of celery to the pot, as I had some I wanted to use up and served the chicken up with some steamed rice and crusty bread and as I said earlier it was delicious.
The chicken was so moist and tender and the sauce was yum yum, so much so that after I had a full belly I still went back to the pot for more sauce and another slice of bread, just a perfect meal for the rain night we had!