Chargrilled Lamb with Lime and Mint

Happy religious greetings! Whether that’s Easter or Passover or just an excuse for chocolate...

I am fortunate that I have access to fresh herbs growing in the communal garden of our apartment. Amongst the flowers and vegetables, there is mint in many varieties- peppermint, spearmint, regular mint and Vietnamese mint (rua ram), which is not really a mint. My original idea was Salsa Verde, but the different types of mints on hand allowed me to produce something new. The result was a mix of English Mint Sauce, Italian Salsa Verde and a South East Asian combo of Lime and Vietnamese Mint. A fabulous threesome.

It will make life easier if you ask your butcher to bone and butterfly the leg of lamb. Of course, if you have those skills then you may prefer to do this task yourself.
Quantities for this dish will be dependant on the size of the lambs leg and the amount of people you are feeding.

Ingedients
1 leg of lamb, boned and butterflied

For the marinade
Garlic, finely chopped
Lime zest, julienned
Parsley, chopped
Mint, chopped
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil.

For the sauce
Spinach
Spring onion (or scallion, if you are American)
Mint
Parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Pinch of sugar
Sea salt

Method
Remove the fat and sinew from the boned leg of lamb. Cut the lamb into 3, 4 or 5 equal pieces, depending on the size of the leg. Use a rolling pin to bash the lamb pieces into uniform thickness, to allow similar cooking times.
Combine all the marinade ingredients to taste and rub all over the lamb pieces. Cover and leave to marinate for as long as you wish.
Preheat the chargrill to very hot.
Scrape off most of the marinade from the lamb.
Grill the lamb, turning them once, until cooked to your liking.
Whilst the lamb is cooking, prepare the mint sauce. Wilt a handful of spinach in saucepan with a few drops of water, over a high heat. Allow to drain in a sieve. When cool, chop finely. The spinach is used to soften the flavour of the mint- allow your tastebuds to guide you. Combine all the marinade ingredients to taste and set aside.
You can prepare the sauce ahead of time, if that suits. I like to make it at the last minute to preserve the fresh flavours of the lime and mint.
When the lamb is cooked and ready, remove to a wooden board and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Cut the lamb into slices 1cm thick.
Serve with the lamb with the Lime and Mint Sauce and a platter of roasted veggies -Beetroot, carrot, fennel, pumpkin and potatoes in Autumn.
If you are reading this and it is Spring in your part of the world, a dish of Vignarola would go perfectly alongside.

Grilled Seafood Skewers

This one is easy (like me) and takes minutes to cook. So it is good for hot days when you do not wish to be slaving over a stove. Make sure you use a firm fish. Delicate fish will cook too quickly, dry out and fall off the skewer
I like to serve this with a rocket salad and lemon wedges.

Ingredients
200g scallops
200g firm fish fillet (boneless)
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Fresh black pepper

Method
Cut the fish fillets into as many pieces as you have scallops. Make sure they are of an even size, so everything cooks evenly.
Put the scallops and fish into a bowl and combine with all the other ingredients. You won’t need salt, because the anchovy will provide this. Cover, refrigerate and allow to marinate for as long as you like.
When you are ready to cook, make sure your grill is beyond hot.
Thread your scallop and fish cubes onto metal skewers (forget about bamboo skewers, they look ugly, are too small and can burn).
Grill on each side for about 3 minutes or until just cooked.
Makes 4 skewers or enough for 2 people.

Squab Pigeon

I cooked these little birds yesterday and they were really tasty. I think they are nicer than quail and superior to chicken (which I have grown really tired of lately), and I am going to cook these pigeons on Christmas day instead of turkey. These birds are best served with the breast meat still pink and juicy, they are not very nice when well done. I think a lot of people are nervous when it comes to eating underdone fowl. I think that is because they are so used to eating chicken well done. Squab Pigeons (not to be confused with street pigeons, these are another species) have nothing to do with chicken and need to be prepared differently. They have a rich flavoured flesh that is more like red meat than white, and one bird per person is plenty.
They are usually sold with the head still attached- just chop it off and use it to make stock with the usual aromatics. Squab pigeon is available from game suppliers.

Grilled Squab Pigeons with Garlic and Anchovy Marinade

Ingredients per person
1 squab pigeon
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Lots of fresh black pepper

Method
You need to “spatchcock” the bird first.

Chop off the head. Using kitchen scissors, cut down both sides of the back bone (reserve the head and back bone for stock).

Lay the bird out flat, skin side upwards. Using the palm of your hands, apply pressure to bird and flatten it out a bit. You will here the bones cracking. I know this sounds barbaric but it has to be done for it to cook evenly.

Rinse the bird under water and dry with a paper towel or a tea towel.

To marinate:

Mix together the garlic, anchovy, oil and pepper. No salt is needed (the anchovy will provide this).

Rub this mix all over the bird. Store in the fridge, covered for 24 hours.

To grill:

Remove the bird from the fridge 1 hour before you are ready to cook.

Preheat your grill to high. I do this a good ½ hour before I am ready to cook, to allow the grill to become really hot. The trick to cooking these birds is to apply a really hot temperature and cook quickly. This way they will brown well and seal in all the juiciness. So, grill them skin side up for 8 minutes and then turn them over to complete the cooking for another 2 minutes. You can give them another 2 minutes if you want but no more.

Allow them to rest for about 5 minutes on a plate, covered with foil before eating. Do not be afraid to use your hands to eat (that is the whole point really).

Some Like It Hot!!

During the summer time, I like to marinate sweet red peppers with olive oil, capers and garlic. The following dish is a variation of this by substituting long, red chilli peppers. I served this with grilled scallops and puy lentils last night. It would also go well with grilled beef, chicken or fish. It could also be tossed with pasta or noodles (yet to try). Be warned- those with a sensitive palate should keep far away from these chillies. They are HOT!

Marinated Chilli Peppers

Ingredients
500g long, red chilli peppers
1 tsp ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, crushed, peeled but whole
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp white sugar
1 lime, the zest finely chopped and the juice reserved
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Lots of coarsely chopped coriander

Method
Grill the peppers whole, under a hot grill. Turn them often, so they cook evenly. They are ready when their skins are blistered and blackened. The peppers will also have softened considerably.
Place them into a bowl as they become ready. Cover the bowl with cling wrap.
Leave them for about 10 minutes. They will continue steaming from the residual heat. Tear off the skins (which should now be loose, if not just cook them longer).
Slice away the tops and open them out flat. Scrape away the seeds and pith. Discard the skins and seeds. You should now have several chilli pepper “fillets”
Cut these into strips 1cm wide. Place them into a bowl.
Toss with the sugar, spices, garlic and zest. Season with salt. You can go heavier than usual here, the heat of the chillies will balance it.
Toss with plenty of olive oil and leave until you are ready to serve. At the last minute, toss with lime juice and plenty of coriander. Serve in small amounts as suggested above. Note-Squeeze and only add lime juice to the amount of chillies you think you are going to consume. The flavour of lime juice changes quickly. Store the rest of the chillies in the fridge.