Category: Lamb

Khan Lamb

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 8

Nat and I recently stayed in Ranthambore in India for two nights; part of Rajasthan, a state in the North.

Ranthambore is a massive area of jungle, famous for its tigers, something we were lucky enough to see.

The property we stayed at was incredible and at night, we sat around a huge fire being fed the most amazing food from the tandoor whilst sipping on G&Ts. They never did give me the recipe for their stuffed potatoes, though my word, we would travel back just for those alone.

One of the staff was particularly passionate about food and he shared a YouTube clip with me of a lamb leg, marinated, buried with coals and cooked for hours.

Wrapped in roti, banana leaf, foil and a wet cloth, when revealed, the lamb was eaten with the soaked roti; a dish I just had to cook with a little assistance from Nat.

So last night, NYE 2022, we catered Nat’s family an Indian feast.

And this lamb was the second dish. Absolutely classic Rajasthan cooking.

I cooked it medium rare. Wrapped in roti, a banana leaf, foil and then a wet cloth, placed in a cast iron pot and cooked in a BBQ over indirect heat until the centre reached 55c.

It was remarkable. Just remarkable.

Here is my translation of the video.

Ingredients

Leg of lamb
18 garlic, crushed (or 4 – 6 tbsp garlic paste)
4 tbsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 c softened ghee
12 Indian roti
1 banana leaf

Method

  1. Score the lamb leg all over, about two centimetres deep. Rub the garlic and Garam Masala all over and into the scores. Wrap in foil and refrigerate for a few hours or over night.
  2. Mix the softened (though not melted) ghee with the chilli powder, ground coriander, ground turmeric and salt.
  3. Lay several sheets of foil. On top, place enough banana leaf to wrap the lamb. On top, lay enough roti to wrap the lamb.
  4. Cover the lamb in the combined ghee and then tightly wrap, starting with the roti, then the banana leaf and then the foil. Wet a cloth and wrap the parcel.
  5. Heat a BBQ (or oven) to 160c. Place the lamb parcel in a heavy, cast iron pot with a lid. Cook, over an indirect heat, until the centre of the lamb reaches 55c.
  6. Set aside for 20 minutes. Remove the cloth, foil and banana leaf and serve the slice lamb with the soaked roti.

Dan Toombs’ Pakistani Dry Meat Curry

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 4

This is an incredible curry. Hall of fame sort of stuff.

It’s from Dan Toombs’ latest book – The Curry Guy Bible – recommended to me by my mate Rich and what a great book.

There is literally nothing I don’t want to try and based on this dry meat curry cooked by Nat, I am going to cook it all.

I’ve typed up a few dry curries and they are my favourite. Cooking the sauce down until you really don’t have sauce at all.

For many, I appreciate that this defeats the purpose of a curry, though just trust me.

With this particular curry, once the meat is tender and at the point of starting to breakdown, together with the spices, the fried onions and the reduced marinade, my word. Read through the method and get excited.

Add then add this dry meat curry to your cooking shortlist and prepare to be blown away.

Ingredients

900gm lamb leg meat, cut into bite sized pieces
3/4 c ghee (we used 2 tbsp to be healthy)
3 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder*
1 tbsp fenugreek leaves**
Salt, to taste
4 tbsp chopped coriander to garnish
3 limes, quartered, to serve

For the marinade

1/4 c white vinegar
1/2 c Greek yoghurt
1 1/2 tsp (chickpea) flour
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste***
8 (green) bird’s eye chillies, blended to a paste with a drop of water
2 tbsp mustard oil****

Method

  1. Whisk all the marinade ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until creamy smooth. Add the meat and mix well with your hands to ensure it is nicely coated and marinate for 3 hours or overnight – the longer the better.
  2. When ready to start cooking, bring 1 litre of water to the boil and add the lamb chunks with all the marinade and stir well. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour until the lamb is tender. You want to be left with a cup of cooking stock at the end of the step. Tip the cooked meat and remaining liquid into a bowl.
  3. Now, using the same pan, melt the ghee over a high heat and add the onions. Fry for about 15 minutes or until the onions are a deep brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer half the onions to a separate bowl.
  4. Reduce the meat to medium high and stir in the garam masala and chilli powder and return the set aside onions to the pan. Now add the meat and remaining broth to the pan and cook until the broth has almost evaporated. Turn up the heat to high and flash fry the meat until it is crispy and the ghee is starting to separate from the other ingredients.
  5. Add the fenugreek leaves by rubbing the leaves between your fingers into the pan and season with salt. When you are testing the meat for seasoning, it is very easy to continue snacking, so try not to do that too much! Garnish with coriander and serve with lime wedges.

* Much more subtle than chilli powder so hunt it out.
** Order from Herbies.
*** Blend equal parts garlic and chilli with a little water.
**** Worth the investment.

Dan Toombs’ Keema Pau Samosa

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4 as part of a meal

Dan Toombs doesn’t specifically make a Keema Pau Samosa.

Though he does make samosas. And he does make the Keema Pau.

And so I chose to bring them together and I am giving him pretty much all of the credit.

I made these as part of a bigger lunch and the boys – 13 and 10 – literally wolfed them down and asked for more to be made.

They’re not revolutionary. Keema never is.

Though they are as good as I have had.

Note, I skipped making the samosa pastry and went for store-bought shortcrust.

I also baked these samosas rather than (shallow) frying them. Hundreds of videos on how to fold samosas and so I’ll leave that for you.

Ingredients

500gm minced lamb
5 tbsp canola oil
2.5cm cinnamon stick
3 cardamom pods, bruised
500gm onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste*
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1 very generous tbsp garam masala**
Generous handful of coriander
4 birds eye chillies
1/4 c frozen baby peas
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves***
Salt, to taste
Shortcrust pastry
1 egg
Mint yoghurt to serve

Method

  1. Mix the minced lamb with 2 cups of water and break it up with your hands until the mixture is about the same consistency as porridge. (This will help achieve a smooth keema without any lumps.) Set aside.
  2. In a large pan or wok, heat the oil over a medium-high heat and when visibly hot, stir in the cinnamon and cardamom pods and let the flavours of the spices infuse in the oil for 30 seconds. Add the onion and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns light brown. Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for an additional 30 seconds and then tip in the meat/water mixture. Cook until the water is evaporated.
  3. Add the turmeric and garam masala and stir well to combine and simmer.
  4. In the meantime, blend the coriander and chillies with 1/4 cup of water until smooth and add to the pan; continue to cook, remembering that this needs to be a dry mixture. Add the peas and cook for a few minutes more.
  5. Finally, add the dried fenugreek leaves, breaking them up as you go. Continue to cook until the oil separates from the meat. Season with salt.
  6. Make an egg wash, heap a tablespoon of the mixture into the pastry and fold the samosas one by one, using the egg wash to seal. (I didn’t egg wash all over though will next time.)
  7. Bake until golden brown.

* Mince equal parts garlic and ginger with a small amount of water.

** I ended up adding at least two tbsp. Taste and go from there.

*** Order from Herbies.

Sticky Rice with Mung Beans (Kichiri Qoroot)

.Reading time 6 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

Yes I agree, sticky rice with mung beans doesn’t sound amazing.

Though trust me, it is. Just bare with me.

Over the Christmas break, I read an article in the Washington Post of the best cookbooks of 2020.

It featured an Afghani cookbook called Parwana and knowing how much Nat and I love Middle Eastern, it was promptly ordered on Amazon. (Plus the featured photo was amazing!)

What I didn’t realise is that it’s is an Australian cookbook from an Afghani family and restaurant in Adelaide, SA… called Parwana. Reading their backstory made me so happy.

Anyway, this is the first dish we had, wonderfully cooked by Nat.

We went through a bit of a Ethiopian phase a few months back and even did an Ethiopian feast and whilst the spice and flavours are unique, they’re not moorish.

Afghani food is.

It’s more honest, more homely than say Turkish. (Possibly this is a reflection of the home cooking nature of the book.)

And it’s unique in a particularly good way.

According to the book, this is traditionally a winter dish where the qoroot is a tart, reconstituted yoghurt which is something of an acquired taste; thus substituted with plain yoghurt which it is here. (There you go.)

We will cook much more from this book. I suspect many of the recipes will be typed up.

How fun.

Ingredients

4 large ripe tomatoes, quartered
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 large brown onion, finely diced
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp curry powder
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp tomato puree

For the mini kofta

1 large brown onion, coarsely chopped
1 long fresh red chilli, coarsely chopped
Small handful fresh coriander, leaves and stems coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
250gm lamb mince
250gm lean beef mince
1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the rice

1/4 cup sunflower oil
2 large brown onions, finely diced
1 large ripe tomato
2 cups medium-grain rice, rinsed
1 cup mung beans

For the toppings

3 cups Greek-style yoghurt
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
Red and green long fresh chilli, thinly sliced, dried mint and mild paprika to garnish

Method

  1. To make the kofta, finely blend the onion, chilli, coriander and garlic in a food processor. Add 1/4 cup water and blend again to form a fine paste. Place the lamb and beef in a large mixing bowl, add the blended paste with the ground coriander, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Mix to combine well with your hands for 5 minutes or until the ingredients are re fully incorporated and the mixture is slightly sticky.
  2. Shape teaspoons of the kofta mixture into balls, place them on a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to become slightly firm.
  3. Meanwhile, finely blend the tomato and garlic in a food processor. Heat the oil in a large frypan over a medium-high heat and fry the onion until golden brown. Add the blended tomato and garlic and fry for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
  4. Stir in the sugar, curry powder, vinegar and 2 tsp salt and cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste and mix well to co,nine. Add 3 cups of water to the sauce, bring to the boil and reduce the heat to medium.
  5. Add the kofta to the pan, shaking the pan gently to make sure they are al submerged. Increase the heat to high, bring to the boil then reduce the temperature to medium. Cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened and is rich in colour. (This too us more than 25 minutes of course.)
  6. While the sauce is cooking, make the rice. Add the oil to a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and fry the onion until golden brown. Add the tomato and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the tomato has softened. Add the rice and mung beats with 6 cups of water and 3 tsp salt.
  7. Bring to the boil then reduce to low and stir in 1/2 cup more water. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the rice is cooked, soft and sticky, though not mushy.
  8. To make the toppings, whisk the yoghurt, garlic and 1/2 tsp salt in a small bowl to combine. (This will be poured into the centre of the kichiri qoroot.
  9. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over a high heat to 170c. Remove from the heat and stir in the turmeric. Keep the oil hot.
  10. Before serving, ensure the mini kofta and sauce are hot. Spoon the rice out onto a large serving plater, making a well in the centre. Embed the mini kofta into the rice, drizzling some of the sauce over the rice as well. Garnish with chilli slices.
  11. Dot some yoghurt dressing around the kofta and pour it into the well in the centre of the rice. Sprinkle over the dried mint and paprika, then pour the hot turmeric oil over the yoghurt to create a sizzling centre on the plate. Serve immediately.

Lamb Curry Kofte with Ginger Pilaf and Curry-leaf oil

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Serves: 4

Don’t let anyone tell you this isn’t a great, great curry and rice.

Because it is.

So much so that even with recent meals at Sydney’s excellent Indu restaurant; Malabah and Dhakshin at Crows Nest, both institutions… you really just can’t beat an amazing home-cooked curry.

Indeed, following the Covid Crisis in Sydney, we really have changed our take on the restaurants that are worth it.

Cheap and cheerful pizza and Thai, yes, though anything in the mid-range that we can equal and beat, why do it?

Because this curry is so warm, so aromatic, you simply could not imagine a world where you had it served at any Indian restaurant in Sydney.

They could do it, though they don’t.

The curry leaves flash-fried in the ghee are just amazing.

So is the pilaf.

One of the very best I have ever had. Not exaggerating.

We have always loved a home-cooked long-lunch or a cracking dinner: three months locked up have accelerated this.

Paired with a beautifully, sublime curry like this Ajoy Joshi Chicken Curry or this Christine Mansfield 100 Almond Curry, people’s head’s will explode.

Restaurants have buzz, so pour your wine freely, turn up the music and make that same buzz.

Dining out just got a lot more homely.

P.S. Fresh turmeric can be found at any good fruit and veg shop.

Ingredients

Curry

2 tbsp ghee
2 red onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cup each (firmly packed) coriander and mint
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
1 tsp finely grated fresh turmeric
3 long green chillies, chopped
2 long green chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp finely grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
250hm thick plain Greek yoghurt
3 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp ground garam masala
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 c chicken stock
600gm minced lamb
Juice 1/2 lemon (to taste)

Ginger Pilaf

1 tbsp ghee
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp finely grated fresh turmeric
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
3 c chicken stock
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Curry-leaf oil

2 tbsp ghee
1 long green chilli, de-seeded and thinly sliced
2-3 fresh curry leaf sprigs

Method

Curry

  1. Heat ghee in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onions and sauté until soft.. Add the fennel seeds for a minute. (10 minutes.)
  2. Process the whole coriander, mint, turmeric, the chopped chillies, half the ginger and half the garlic in a food processor to a paste. Add the yoghurt and sautéed onion and process until smooth. Return to the pan with half the spices and stir until fragrant (3 mins). Add stock, bring to a simmer and cook for the flavours to infuse (8 mins).
  3. Combine the lamb mince, finely chopped coriander and finely chopped chilli, remaining ginger, garlic and spices and season. Roll into golf ball-sized balls and add to the curry mixture. Simmer, turning the meatballs, until the sauce thickens. (You want a reasonably thick sauce.) Add the lemon juice and season to taste.

Pilaf

  1. For the pilaf, heat ghee in a saucepan over a medium heat; add the onion, ginger, turmeric and garlic and sauté until tender. Add rice, stir to coat, add the stock, season to taste and bring to the boil stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook without 9for 15 minutes.

  2. Remove from the heat, remove lid, place a clean tea towel over pan a replace lid. Stand for 10 minutes, then add lemon rind and juice and fluff with a fork.

Curry-leaf oil

  1. Heat ghee in a small saucepan over a medium heat; add the chilli and cook until starting to become crisp (1 – 2 minutes). Add the curry leaves and remove from the heat.

  2. Serve the meatballs with the ginger pilaf and drizzled with curry-leaf oil.

Spicy Lamb Mince Jaffas with Labne

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

Let’s work backwards on this cracker of a toasted, late-night sandwich.

Labne.

Once you make this – and it could not be simpler – you will never do yoghurt again.

Take 500gm of Greek-style yoghurt and mix through a teaspoon of salt flakes. Pour it into a sieve lined with a muslin (or a Chux cloth) and set it over a pot. Leave it to hang over night.

Discard the liquid in the pot and store the thick Labne in a container in the fridge until needed.

Think of it like yoghurt spread.

For curries. For mince. For toast at breakfast.

A-mazing.

This toastie – which is pretty equally a-mazing – is from the cookbook Chefs Eat Toasties Too. (As someone working on a whole new category for this cooking blog titled Saturday Night Drunk, I recommend this cookbook highly. With a bit of afternoon preparation, that 11pm Saturday night “what’s in the fridge” craving will be well catered and everyone will think you are a genius.)

Either way, please give labne a go at a minimum.

It is awesome and so easy to make!

Ingredients

500gm Greek-style yoghurt
1 tsp salt flakes
1 brown onion finely diced
1 bird’s eye chilli, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
50ml light olive oil
500hm minced lamb
1 tbsp tomato paste
500ml chicken stock
50gm pine nuts, toasted
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp allspice
3 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped
80gm unsalted butter, softened
8 slices white bread

Method

  1. Make the labne a day ahead. Mix the yoghurt with the salt and pour it into a sieve lined with a muslin (cheesecloth) set over a plastic container. Leave to hang overnight to extract all of the whey. Transfer the thick labne to a plastic container and store in the refrigerator until needed. Discard the whey.
  2. In a large heavy-based saucepan, gently fry the onion, chilli and garlic in the oil for a few minutes over medium heat until translucent.
  3. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the lamb; brown it off until all the juices have evaporated. Add the tomato paste and fry for another minute or so. Add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan; reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Add the pine nuts, spices, herbs and mix well.
  4. Preheat a jaffle maker. Butter one side of each of the slices of bread. Assemble the sandwiches directly in the jaffle maker. Place a bread slice, butter-side down in the jaffle maker and add 3-4 heaped tablespoons of the lamb mixture. Spread to just inside the edges of the bread and top with a bread slice, butter-side up.
  5. Cook until the sandwiches are golden brown and sealed and serve with the labne as a spread.

300 calorie: Indian-spiced shepherd’s pie

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 

By Nat Beerworth

Not only did we cook this dish twice we cooked it thrice! Its super healthy and super delicious. Good to chuck in the freezer for a rainy day. Takes about 15 mins to prep and 50 mins to cook.

Ingredients

500g pack lean minced lamb
1 onion chopped
2 carrots diced
2 tbsp garam masala
200ml hot stock (beef or chicken)
200g frozen peas
1 can tomatoes
800g potatoes diced
1 tsp turmeric
small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
juice half lemon, plus wedges to serve

Method

  1. In a large non-stick frying pan, cook the lamb, onion and carrots, until the lamb is browned and veg is starting to soften, about 8 mins.
  2. Add the the garam masala and some seasoning and cook for a further 2 mins until fragrant. Pour in the stock, tomatos, bring to the boil, add in the peas and cook for a further 2 mins until the peas are cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated.
  3. Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a large pan of salted water until just tender, about 8 mins. Drain well, return to the pan and gently stir in turmeric and coriander – try not to break up the potatoes too much.
  4. Heat oven to 180 degrees. Transfer the mince to a baking dish and top with the turmeric potatoes. Squeeze over the lemon juice, then bake for 30-35 mins until potatoes are golden. Serve immediately with extra lemon wedges on the side.

Calories: 317

Lamb Rump with Almond, Sour Currant and Cauliflower Rice

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 4

After my birthday in June this year, we both agreed that after months and months of fine food and wine – at home and out – the time had come to reverse course.

There were a few strategies that worked.

One of them – calorie counting – was great. It helped eliminate snacking, put an end to my morning cappuccinos and made me make informed (and smarter) decisions about how much olive oil I should be drizzling on salads

(I.E. none at all.)

Another was the world of 300 calorie meals where I learnt of zoodles (zucchini noodles), squash pasta (substituting pasta for pumpkin), cauliflower pizza bases (amazing) and cooking with plenty of prawn and turkey.

Cauliflower rice is something I have previously written about as a genius alternative to rice and during our few months of lean cooking, I really dialled up Cauliflower rice and what we did with it. (After it is cooked, try toasting it in a wok: amazing.)

This dish cooked by Nat last night is excellent on quite a few levels.

Firstly, it is just plain delicious. It’s really tasty, it’s light, it’s aromatic.

Secondly, it’s healthy.

Thanks to the wonderful cauliflower rice.

I’ve learnt a long time ago that healthy eating didn’t mean compromising on flavour. More recently, I learnt that healthy eating didn’t mean smaller portions and being hungry.

Save your carbs and calories for the weekend and give this cracker a go.

Ingredients

1 tbsp garam masala
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 lamb rumps (about 200gm): we used lamb backstrap
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
Plain yoghurt and vinegar to serve

Cauliflower Rice

600gm cauliflower, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 eschallot, finely chopped
1cm piece ginger, finely grated
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 sprig fresh curry leaves
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 tsp nigella (cumin) seeds
1/3 cup currants
1/2 cup roasted almonds
1 cup coriander, coarsely chopped

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c. Combine the garam masala, garlic and half the oil in a large bowl, season to taste, add lamb and massage to coat well. Heat the remaining oil up a large frying pan over a high heat, add the lamb and fry until well browned all over. Transfer the lamb to a baking tray and roast for around 10 – 12 minutes for medium-rare. Cover loosely with foil, rest for 10 minutes and then slice.
  2. For the cauliflower rice, bring vinegar to the boil, add the currants and remove from the heat.
  3. Process the cauliflower in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in a large frying pan over a high heat, add the eschallot, ginger, garlic and curry leaves and sauté for 2 – 3 minutes until tender. Add the turmeric and nigella seeds, stir until fragrant and then add the cauliflower and stir until tender: 2 – 3 minutes.
  4. Strain the currants, add to the pan along with the roasted almonds and coriander and season to taste.
  5. Top cauliflower rice with lamb, scatter with coriander and serve with yoghurt.

Turkish-style bread topped with lamb, spices and pine nuts

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

This is really special, really easy street-food, perfect for a Saturday afternoon when friends come round.

The lamb mince can be prepared ahead of time meaning you only have the dough to do as people start walking through the door. Of course, when they see that you have made your own dough, they’ll know something clever is coming.

They’ll also think you’re a genius.

The taste – and the heat – is classic Middle Eastern.

And goes to show that the simplest things really can be the best.

Ingredients

175gm Greek feta, coarsely grated
250gm minced lamb
3 long red chillies, chilli and seeds coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 1/2 tsp cumin seed, dry-roasted and and finely ground in a mortar and pestle

Flatbreads

1/2 tsp dried yeast
2 1/2 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting

To serve

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Toasted pine nuts
Thinly sliced mint
Pickled long green chillies

Method

  1. For the flatbreads, dissolve the yeast in 300ml of lukewarm water.
  2. Combine flour and a large pinch of salt in an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and knead until a soft dough forms. Around 6 – 8 minutes.
  3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 6 balls. Place balls on a floured tray, leaving 10cm between each and set aside for 1 hour to prove.
  4. Preheat the oven to 250c. Combine the lamb, chilli, garlic and cumin in a bowl. Roll out dough to 5mm-thick rounds on a lightly floured surface, then even top with the lamb mixture, leaving a small border. Transfer to oven trays lined with baking paper, drizzle with olive oil and bake (in batches if necessary) until crisp at the edges but soft in the center. Around 15 minutes.
  5. Serve scattered with pine nuts, mint and pickled chillies at the side.

Turkish-style eggs with Tomato, Green Chilli and Mince

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Every special occasion in our house calls for a special breakfast.

And that generally means something like this number: a spiced mince cooked with eggs.

This past Mother’s Day, Nat – sensibly – opted to run to the gym before an afternoon of champagne, great food and celebration.

Breakfast was spared.

I proceeded nonetheless.

It wasn’t until Monday that Nat handed in her verdict and it was a 10/10. The breakfast we should have had on Sunday: except that you take every opportunity to get out when you have three boys and limited time on your hands and why wouldn’t you?

It’s Mother’s Day.

Well done Nat. You are the best Mum in the world.

Oh, and enjoy this amazing mince breakfast.

It is awesome.

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1 onion finely chopped
6 green peppers, deseeded, finely chopped
250gm lamb mince
3 tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 eggs
Sea salt
Toasted, buttered, Turkish Bread to serve

Method

  1. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Stir in the peppers and lamb mince, increasing the temperature, stirring, until the lamb is browned.
  2. Tip in the tomatoes, half a cup of water chilli flakes, pepper and a good pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly and simmer on a low heat for 30 – 60 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down.
  3. Push the back of a spoon into the mixture to make 4 wells and crack the eggs into the wells. Cover the pan and cook for until the eggs are just set.
  4. Serve with the Turkish Bread and ideally Champagne if you have it!