Lemon Myrtle and Kaffir Lime Leaf Risotto

One of the first risotto recipes I learnt to make was a lemongrass and lime leaf risotto that was in a small marie claire book of my mum's.

It was absolutely delicious and very unique. I should one day remember to write down the recipe when I am over at their place.

In the meantime, I have tried to make something similar using my enormous range of spices! Lemon myrtle has a very lemongrass-like flavour, and I have plenty of dried kaffir lime leaves, so it seemed logical to have a go using these.

So here is my creation, and if I do say so myself, it is not too bad...

Ingredients (serves 2)

4 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2cm grated fresh ginger

1 cup arborio rice

1 chicken breast trimmed

1 teaspoon lemon myrtle

1 teaspoon dried kaffir lime leaf

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon butter

Small handful fresh mint

Method

Heat the chicken stock in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently. Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and cook for a minute or so. Add the rice and cook stirring until translucent. Use a soup ladle to add the chicken stock one ladle full at a time, stirring well, and adding more stock once the previous ladle full has been absorbed.

After all the stock has been absorbed, add the lemon myrtle, kaffir lime leaves, fish stock, butter and mint and stir well. Serve immediately.

Very Slow and Very Tender Lamb

As anyone reading this blog will have picked up lately, I have been experimenting with slow cooked lamb. Often I try to combine a crunchy top, and a tender core. But this time I decided not to try and make any part of the lamb crunchy and go for a true slow cooked, fall of the bone, lamb (as opposed to part slow cooked and slow roasted, which are different). I used half a leg for just the two of us, but you could probably cook a whole leg in the same amount of time.

And this dish turned out exactly how I wanted it to (it received a 'very good' from Mark)!

And it was so easy to make. It does require a bit of forward planning (ie remembering to put it in the oven) but once it is in, you can just forget about it.

What more could you ask for really?

Ingredients

1/2 leg of lamb

Flour for dusting

Olive oil for frying

1 head garlic, cloves peeled and left whole

2 onions peeled and quartered

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 cups beef stock

400g tin tomatoes

1/2 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

4 bay leaves

A few sprigs thyme and sage

Freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 120 degrees. Dust the lamb in flour. Heat oil in a dish that can go on the stove and in the oven (or use a fry pan and transfer to a casserole dish). Brown lamb on each side. Add the vinegar, stock, tomatoes, basil, oregano, bay leaves, thyme, sage and pepper. Cover and cook for 8 hours. Serve with rice or mash and veges.

Creamy Chicken, Thyme and Sage Casserole

On the particular evening that I made this dish, I was babysitting for my gorgeous God son Otis. I wanted to make something that I could feed him at about 5.30 and then reheat again later for Mark and me once we had put Otis to bed. So a casserole seemed like the perfect choice.

And then I saw a creamy looking casserole on http://www.taste.com.au/ that looked delicious (what perfect timing!) so I decided to create a creamy casserole of my own.

Otis seemed to enjoy this dish, and Mark and I definitely did. There was probably far too much liquid, so I have only specified below a portion of what I added. If it looks too dry, add extra.

I served it with roasted garlic mash (see post from 14 June 2009) and some veges.

I used chicken breasts, but you could use whatever you like. I let the dish sit for a few hours after cooking and then reheated it, and the meat was wonderfully tender. I think the resting contributed to this.

Ingredients

Butter to fry

900g chicken breast or thigh cut into large pieces

6 rashes short cut rindless bacon

2 leeks, pale section only cut into quarters length ways and then cut into 3 cm pieces

5 cloves garlic bruised but left whole

2 tablespoons plain flour

3/4 cup chicken consomme

3/4 cup white wine

1 bunch thyme

1 bunch sage

1/2 cup thickened cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Heat the butter oil in a dish that can be used both on the stove and in the oven (or use a fry pan and then transfer to a casserole dish). Cook the chicken in batches until browned. Remove from pan.

Melt extra butter and then add and cook until well browned. Then add leeks and garlic and saute. Add the flour and cook for a few minutes. Add the wine and stock and bring to the boil.

Return chicken to the pan with 1/2 the thyme and 1/2 the sage. Cover and place in the oven and cook for an hour.

After an hour, return pan to the stove top and add cream and remaining thyme and sage. Cook, stirring for a few minutes until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with mash and vegetables.

Lemony Greens

You would be aware of how much I love spinach - I have withdrawals if I don't eat it for a few days. I also love green beans and lemon. So combining these into one dish just seemed logical. I also like to serve at least something green with each and every meal.

The lemon adds just enough tang to make these greens just a little extra special. I served this to Scott and Mark along with the roast chicken and roasted garlic mashed potato.

Ingredients (serves 3)

3 handfuls green beans

Drizzle olive oil / knob of butter (whichever you prefer)

200g spinach washed and dried

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the olive oil or butter in a fry pan. Cook the beans until cooked through, but still crunchy. Add spinach and saute until wilted. Add the lemon juice and zest and serve immediately.