Final roast of the season? A herb and garlic paste for roast lamb.

Is there a finer feast than the 'Great British Roast', I wonder? I enjoy so many different styles of food but a traditional Sunday roast delivers comfort like no other. I would be hard pushed to choose a favourite meat to roast. Would it be beef, served pink with billowing yorkshire puddings and creamy horseradish sauce? Or lamb which reminds me of my childhood (it was the family favourite) and of Spring? Perhaps chicken with bread sauce and a sage-scented stuffing - the ultimate comfort food, surely? Pork with crunchy crackling and apple sauce takes some beating too. Game, when in season, is frequently on the menu is our household too.

At this time of year though, I'm always drawn to lamb. I love to roast it with strong, woody herbs like rosemary and thyme and love it too, slightly charred, on the barbecue once the weather allows. Recently, rather than stuffing slivers of garlic and sprigs of rosemary into slits in the meat, I have been making a delicious herby paste to smear all over the lamb before roasting. I push it deep into slits in the meat to ensure the flavours really penetrate the meat. A little goes a long way and the recipe below was plenty for a sizeable half-leg of lamb. I know many who claim not to like anchovies, but I defy anyone to recognise the flavour here. They simply add a lovely salty, savoury tang which goes brilliantly with the distinctive sweet meat.

Throughout the Winter and early Spring we have a 'roast' most Sundays. Usually in the evening once Master LBG is tucked up in bed, it is our way of enjoying the very last bit of the weekend and banishing the Sunday night blues. Accompanied by a decent bottle of red, it is a tradition that we love and always insist on a 'proper' pudding afterwards. Sometimes, the feast will move to lunchtime so that our son can join in or friends can join us too. A lunchtime feast is always jolly and tends to be followed by a dog walk and an evening film with cheese on toast if we have space.

This weekend we enjoyed what I suspect may be the last 'proper' roast for a while. Mr LBG would probably like us to have a roast with all the trimmings every Sunday throughout the year but I'm afraid I simply can't bring myself to sit down to gravy and roast potatoes once the warmer weather arrives (ever hopeful). Instead we'll enjoy roast chicken with roasted vegetable couscous, butterflied leg of lamb barbecued with an array of salads or rare roast beef with a Thai-inspired salad. Mr LBG may be disappointed but I look forward to the fresher and lighter flavours of late Spring and Summer. Do you sit down to a traditional roast or special meal on Sundays? Do you adapt your Sunday feast according to the seasons or stick with the traditional accompaniments year round?

Herb and garlic paste for roast lamb

Enough for half a leg of lamb (approx 1.5kg)

4-5 decent sprigs of fresh rosemary

Small handful fresh thyme

2 medium cloves garlic

2 anchovy fillets

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1. Strip the leaves from the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Roughly chop the rosemary.

2. Roughly chop the anchovy fillets and garlic.

3. Using a pestle and mortar, grind everything together until you have a smooth-ish paste.

To prepare lamb:

Using a sharp knife, make deep slits through the fat and into the meat of the lamb. Rub the paste all over the lamb, pushing it down into the slits where possible. Roast as usual.

I am entering this herby paste into this month's Cooking with Herbs blogging challenge hosted by Karen over at the fabulous Lavender and Lovage. This month she has asked that we try to use fresh herbs in our recipes so I hope that she will approve as these herbs came straight from the pot outside my kitchen door - from pot to paste in all of five minutes. I love to grow fresh herbs but am hopeless at remembering to water them. Rosemary and thyme always seem to survive my very erratic watering habits and I therefore use them both a great deal in my cooking!

Soup and bread to soothe the soul: celeriac and blue cheese soda bread and carrot, parsnip and coriander soup

Carrot, parsnip and coriander soup with celeriac and blue cheese soda bread

When will the rain stop? A question on the lips of many at the moment. We live in close proximity to a brook which floods and it is a nerve-wracking time. We have (so far, grabbing onto the wooden table for dear life) been fortunate to remain dry unlike the many across the UK who are struggling to deal with the carnage left by the hideous conditions this year. As I type, the rain is once again falling and the wind is whipping through the village. Wheelie bins are being blown down the street, trees are bending awkwardly in the gusts with their roots clinging on for dear life. Water is bubbling out of the drains and I have one eye on the brook, keeping check on the ever-rising level of water.

This winter has been a miserable one so far. Bring me the snow and ice any time over this incessant rain and wind. Compared to many, we are very fortunate, but I have to admit that the conditions are beginning to get me down. Life with an active toddler is no fun in this weather. Yes, the buggy has a rain-cover and yes, we both have waterproofs but, to be honest, being out and about in the pouring rain whilst pushing a buggy is not a great deal of fun. So we are largely spending time at home and, whilst cosy days at home can be fun, I am starting to get a little cabin fever. Not helped by the fact that my little boy is under the weather and exceptionally clingy!

Brushing with beaten egg gives a lovely shiny crust

This sort of weather demands soup. There is simply nothing else that will do for lunch on a dreary day such as this. Almost as good as a hug, a bowl of really tasty, hot soup warms you up from within in the same way as a morning bowl of porridge. My vegetable drawer is currently heavy to celeriac. I have three. Now, I love celeriac but nobody needs three celeriac. I toyed with making a celeriac soup but then I remembered a recipe card that had come with my last veg box for a celeriac and blue cheese soda bread. Bread-making and I do not normally get on well. It is for this reason that I purchased a bread maker which does the job brilliantly. I am not sure what it is, but I am never pleased with the results and have rather consigned it to the 'things I don't do well' list. Soda bread, however, is my friend. No yeast required! Quick and simple bread that is fairly foolproof. My kind of bread-making. This recipe could hardly be easier; you simply grate some celeriac and mix with flour and Stilton, add an egg and some milk, shape the dough and bake in the oven. No proving, no kneading. 

Serve the bread warm whilst the Stilton is still oozy!

I had to add a little extra flour as my dough was very sloppy (hence my rather flat 'loaf') but overall, I was impressed with this flavoursome bread. It was a great accompaniment to the warming bowl of soup I made to go alongside. I had a huge bunch of coriander and decided to tweak my usual carrot and coriander soup recipe by adding some parsnip, which worked well. The recipe for the soda bread can be found here and here is the rough recipe for the soup...

Carrot, parsnip and coriander soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

1 plump clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp ground coriander

4 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

large handful fresh coriander

1. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan and sweat the onions until starting to soften and look translucent (5 mins). Add the garlic and coriander and cook for a further minute.

2. Add the chunks of carrot and parsnip, place the lid on the pan and cook on a low heat for five minutes or so. Add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.

3. Roughly chop the coriander and add to the soup. Remove from heat and blend to a smooth soup with a hand blender or liquidiser. Garnish with a swirl of cream and a little extra coriander, if liked.

I am entering this lovely soup into two blogging challenges. Firstly, No Croutons Required, which this month is hosted by Jacquline at Tinned Tomatoes. Entrants must make a vegetarian soup or salad in order to enter.

Secondly, I am entering this into Karen's 'Cooking with Herbs' monthly challenge over at Lavender and Lovage. This month she has asked for an Oriental theme if possible to celebrate Chinese New Year. I can't really claim that this is very oriental but I did use heaps of coriander which does lend a very Asian flavour to the soup. 

A lighter route to en croûte: salmon filo parcels

There are many items I like to have in my storecupboards, fridge and freezer 'just in case'. It is always satisfying to know that in the event of a sudden blizzard/earthquake/other apocalyptic event, I will be able to rustle up a quick pasta puttanesca. Must-have items for me include tinned tomatoes, pasta, an onion, a lemon, frozen peas, cheese and eggs. Wine and chocolate too, if I'm honest. I am also rarely to be found without readymade pastry in the freezer. Say what you like about homemade being better but, for me, ready-made and even (dare I say it?) ready rolled pastry is up there as one of man's greatest inventions. Actually, it was probably invented by a busy woman but that is beside the point.

Firstly, I don't accept that homemade is always better when it comes to pastry. I have politely eaten some absolutely dreadful pastry in my time. Some of it made by myself, some of it by others. Secondly, whilst I concur that there are occasions where homemade pastry is desirable (my mother's fabulous orange-scented mince pies, for example, where to replace the gorgeous citrussy pastry would defeat the entire object), most of the time a good quality ready-made version will do very nicely indeed. Particularly when lacking time. Or butter. Or flour. On more than one occasion, I have been complimented on my excellent pastry - I smile serenely as I push the packed of Jus-Rol further into the bin. Actually, I don't do this. I am far too honest and more likely to apologise in advance for my use of shortcuts before the tart or pie has even made it to the table.

A delicious mix of peas, broad beans, crème fraîche, dill, basil and lemon zest: this would make a great dip too!

Anyway, with a pack of puff in the freezer, I am happy in the knowledge that I am moments away from pie or tart glory. One of my current favourite recipes for when we have guests is a delicious salmon en croûte recipe from Tana Ramsay's 'I love to bake' book. The salmon is covered in a purée of frozen peas and broad beans with mint and then baked in a puff pastry case. Mint is the only herb that I really cannot bear and so I usually substitute for dill which I feel works really well. It is a great entertaining recipe as it can be made up in advance and there is no last minute fiddling.

After the excess of Christmas, Mr Greedy and I are (predictably) back on a bit of a health drive. Being greedy has its downsides and we both struggle with our weight. We have both had great success with Weight Watchers and are back to counting those points! It isn't for everyone but it works for us - allowing us to eat whatever we want within our daily allowance along with scope for the odd blowout or weekend treat. We try to stick to it 80% of the time. Thinking creatively comes with the territory and there are lots of things we do to ensure we can still enjoy our favourite foods by making small, 'healthier' tweaks. Enter stage left: filo pastry. We use it as a scrunched up topping for pies, a base for quiches and tarts and for wrapping parcels of fish! Don't get me wrong - I would choose puff over filo every single time. But it is a decent alternative if you are watching the weight. 

Here, I smothered individual salmon fillets in a purée of peas, broad beans slipped from their skins, lemon zest dill and basil. I then wrapped them up in filo pastry, brushed with a scant bit of melted butter and baked in the oven. Not very seasonal but absolutely delicious!

Herbs, glorious herbs: dill and basil

I am entering this recipe to this month's cooking with herbs blogging challenge over at Lavender and Lovage. This month, Karen has asked that we try to include citrus alongside our herbs. This recipe contains two fabulous herbs: basil and dill. Dill has a faint aniseed flavour which marries brilliantly with many kinds of fish. I also think it goes rather well with broad beans, hence I use it in this recipe. I am not really keen on aniseed but somehow I find dill rather delicious as long as it doesn't dominate a dish. Basil is a real favourite of mine - I love to crush the leaves lightly in my hand and breathe in that lovely, summery scent. A little lemon zest is a must with this fishy dish - I could never be without a lemon in the fruit bowl! What could you never be without?

On a final note, I should add that we particularly enjoyed our wine match with this dish. The Society's Exhibition Albariño, 2012 was just the ticket - peachy with a lovely limey freshness that matched well with the herby purée as well as the fish

Filo Salmon Parcels

Serves 2

Ingredients:

50g frozen peas

50g frozen broad beans

1 tbsp low fat creme fraîche

1 tbsp (small handful) chopped dill

1 tbsp chopped basil

zest of half a lemon

2 salmon fillets, skinned

2 rectangular sheets filo pastry

20g melted butter

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Make the purée: boil peas and broad beans for a couple of minutes, drain and cool under cold running water. Slip the beans from their skins. Ideally using a small food processor, blitz together the peas, beans, herbs, crème fraîche and lemon zest until you have a smoothish purée. Season generously with salt and pepper.

2. Lay out the sheets of filo and place one salmon fillet at one end, leaving an inch of pastry as a border. Smother salmon with half the purée and then tuck in the edge and sides of the pastry before rolling down the rectangle to form a parcel. Repeat with second fillet. Transfer both to a non-stick baking sheet and brush with melted butter.

3. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Serve with boiled potatoes and lots of greens.

For those following weight watchers, I calculate this recipe as 11 Propoints.