Spring Sustenance

Slow-Cooked Roast Lamb

John Porteous John.Porteous@aspen-waite.co.uk

This is a favourite of mine. Get it prepped, slam it in the oven, go for a nice long walk and it’ll be ready when you get back!

Ingredients

1 large leg of lamb 4 cloves of garlic 2 tbsp thyme leaves (chopped) 1 tbsp sea salt 2 tbsp cumin 4 red onions, peeled and quartered 2 sticks thyme Olive oil Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 bottle red wine

Method

1

2

3 Preheat the oven to 200c/400f/gas mark 6

Trim the lamb, peel the garlic cloves and cut them into slivers. Cut small slashes into the lamb and stud it with the garlic slivers. Mix together the thyme, sea salt and cumin, pressing half of it over the top of the lamb

Put the onions and thyme sticks into the bottom of a roasting tin. Place the lamb on top and drizzle over some olive oil. Season with pepper. Cook for 45 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 150c/300f/gas mark 2 4

5

6 Turn the lamb over and press the remaining cumin, salt and thyme mix over the lamb. Pour over the wine and cook for a further 41/2 hours, basting occasionally. Turn the lamb over again for the last 1/2 hour of cooking time

Place the lamb on a dish, skim the meat juices from the pan and make a nice gravy with what’s left in the pan

Serve with new potatoes and a green salad (or some nice French beans)

Cornish Saffron Loaf

John Porteous John.Porteous@aspen-waite.co.uk

This is just yummy! You can eat it with butter - fresh or toasted, or break it up and put it in an ice cream sundae.

Ingredients

A generous pinch of saffron threads 3 tbsp boiling water 500g strong plain white flour 100g sugar 1 tbsp dried yeast

Method

1

2

3 Put the saffron in the boiling water and leave to infuse overnight

Mix 100g of the flour, a pinch of sugar, the yeast and the tepid water, and leave for about 30 minutes until it is frothy

Rub the butter in to the remaining flour. Add the salt, sugar and egg, the yeast mixture and the saffron water. Mix to a dough, adding a little more tepid water if necessary. Knead well, place in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour. Knock back and knead in the fruit and peel. Place in a greased loaf tin and prove for about an hour

Bake in a preheated oven at 220c/425f/gas mark 7 for 40 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on a wire rack.

100ml tepid water 100g butter 1 tbsp salt 1 egg, beaten 250g currants 30g candied peel, chopped

4

5

Elderflower Champagne

John Porteous John.Porteous@aspen-waite.co.uk

I make this every year - it’s gorgeous!

Ingredients

1/2 pint of flower heads (2 flower heads is usually sufficient 1 1/2 lb sugar

Method

1 tbsp citric acid 1/4 pint strong tea Yeast and nutrient

1

2 Prepare the flower heads – cut the flowers from their stems so that as little green stem as possible is left. Pour ½ gallon boiling water over the flowers and leave, well covered, to soak for 24 hours

Bring to boiling point and strain on to the sugar in your fermentation vessel (a plastic bucket with a tight fitting lid is fine). Stir well to dissolve the sugar. When cool, add ½ gallon cold water, the citric acid, tea, yeast and nutrient. Cover well (I usually tie a tea towel over the top of the bucket) and leave to ferment for seven days 3 Siphon off from the sediment into screw top bottles and keep for 14-21 days, after which it is ready to drink

4 When opening the bottles pour off into a glass (half pint or so) then, without righting the bottle, pour the remainder into another screw top bottle, so ensuring the maximum of clear brew

Note: Do not exceed the quantity of blooms or sugar stated, as it will impair the flavour

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