Roast Leg of Lamb, Parmesan & Truffle Mash and Slow Cooked Artichokes w Sweet Cherry Tomatoes

Before I discuss this weeks recipes, I wanted to let you know about a decision I made. I know I've mentioned in past posts that most of Jamie's recipes in his first cookbook, The Naked Chef, are a bit hard to follow. I don't think that he quite figured out exactly how to explain recipes just yet. A few of them are not very detailed and some of them don't give exact cooking temperatures or times (do you all remember the bread baking fiasco?!). I've also been thinking a lot about just how picky an eater my wife is and how there are a few foods that I will not touch with a 10 foot pole, so because of these facts, it definitely makes it hard to do every one of the recipes in this book. In the end, I have decided to pick and choose recipes throughout his first three cookbooks. The Naked Chef, The Naked Chef Takes Off and Happy Days with The Naked Chef. To me, all three of them represent his humble beginnings, back when he was still known as The Naked Chef. So although this is not my original plan, I think that it will not only make it a bit easier for me to find foods that we will eat, but it might possibly keep this experiment going even longer! 

 

This past weekend was Easter, and although we had dinner plans for that Sunday night, I still had to figure out which recipes I wanted to delve into for Saturday. My wife and I planned a movie & wine night with my sister-in-law, so I decided to take advantage of the fact that someone with a much less picky palate was going be around and make something other than chicken or pasta. I figured that lamb was fitting, it being so close to Easter and all. I've never actually made lamb. I've eaten it a ton of times, and I am definitely a fan, but the thought of cooking it myself was a bit daunting. Jamie recommended a 4 or 5 lb leg, but because it was only going to be my sister-in-law and I (with leftovers for my mother-in-law of course), my wife got the butcher to cut one down until it was almost 3 lbs.  

I have to say, that all of the fear was definitely in my head. And this recipe was written out pretty matter factly. Slice holes randomly into meat, stuff the holes with garlic and other seasonings, tie rosemary (although I substituted with thyme… I was really just getting sick of rosemary) onto the lamb using kitchen string, and then bake for 10 minutes per pound plus an extra 20 minutes. Easy peasy! It was probably the most delicious cut of meat I have ever made, and cannot wait for an excuse to do it again.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic & Thyme

The last time I made artichokes, The process of cutting them down and removing all of the leaves was probably one of the more difficult food tasks I've had to do. The end result was amazing though, so I really wanted to try again. And Jamie Oliver did promise that the more often you made artichokes, the easier the process became. Well I am here to say, that is absolutely not true!! Once again, I started off with four artichokes, and ended with only three. And no matter how much lemon juice I rubbed on them, the first one, once again, turned a lovely shade of brown. They truly are delicious though, so I am really going to have to conquer this process!

This time around, instead of saturating the artichokes with lemon and butter, they were just sautéed in olive oil & garlic, and then tossed in with some roasted cherry tomatoes. Very, very yummy. They were the first recipe I tackled though and I think because I still had Lamb anxiety at that point, I got a little distracted and burnt them a bit. According to my sister in law though, it added texture and made them even more delicious. Thanks Sis!

Slow Cooked Artichokes with Sweet Cherry Tomatoes

 

This entire meal was actually far out of my comfort zone. Not only had I never made lamb before, but I've only ever tried making mashed potatoes once before, and let's just say that there was a blender involved.  This time around I tried to pay very close attention to the recipes and kept my fingers crossed that Jamie's words made sense. Making them into truffle mashed potatoes just happened to work out. I made an impulse buy of a $22 bottle of truffle oil a few weeks before and desperately wanted to use it. Luckily it worked out that Jamie had the perfect recipe for me, hidden within the pages of the vegetable section.

In the end, I have to say that I am very proud of myself. This was the best pre Easter meal ever!