Oven baked rack of lamb, with tossed rocket salad and crushed new potatoes
By 2011-3-12 14:56:30
By Marilou Marais, Avec Mari Catering
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When going green in the kitchen there are a few important tips to remember. Most important of all is to buy fresh, local and seasonal foods. If you follow that rule, you will most probably be very safe and environmentally friendly! |
| Other tips to remember is to buy sea salt instead of iodated salt, use fresh lemon juice (all year round although it is a winter fruit), avoid blended oil products. I find now days, most areas have a local market. Support those people, you will sniff out amazing veggies from local gardens, unfiltered olive oils that are so incredibly tasty and pure and instead of using supermarket carry bags, you can fill up your beautiful basket. Don’t forget it is such a lovely outing for the whole family and there is always a good bubbly on these markets, and what nicer than to start your Saturday morning with a local organic method cap classique? Autumn is around the corner. Seasonal items are: Pears, Yellow tail; beginning of the porcini season if the Western Cape has been lucky enough to get a surprise autumn rain; hanepoot grapes; crayfish season is still open, ripe figs. All year round organic items are – natural Karoo lamb, grain fed beef, organic pork from de Clapmuts farm outside Stellenbosch; fish on the green list; free range chickens and eggs and watch your avocado tree if your are lucky enough to have one! Those heavenly fruits will very soon be ready for tasty autumn salads. Don’t you just find the taste between imported “ripe and ready” avocados and the local smooth velvety fuerte is impossible to compare. The nuttiness of the soft skin holy fruit is the highlight of every salad in my book! Ingredients:
 around the rib bones, but leave the fat on the meat side (remember fat gives fragrance to the meat and if the guests do not eat fat, they can remove it after being plated). Rub the lamb with olive oil, pound coriander, chopped garlic, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary. Put enough salt on the lamb, to form a crust and ensure a crispy outside once cooked.Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. The meat will be pink and juicy in the middle. Toss the salad with olive oil and lemon juice Boil the potatoes, in salted water and add a touch of olive oil and nutmeg. Garnish the plate with home made mint pesto.*(it is very concentrated so use very little) *Mint Pesto:
Wine to pair: Waterkloof Circle of Life Red Blend 2008 |
From www.wine.co.za