Kama Sutra (Sorta)

It's hard to let go of the simple and the familiar. I'm the first one to untick the "Quick and Easy" section of recipe websites. And then when I read the hard and unusual ones my heart beats faster, my breath hitches, the blood rushes to my head... But then I chicken out and make a stew.

It's a little like reading the Kama Sutra. (Which, for the record, does NOT have a "Quick and Easy" section). I mean, how can you read it and not have your heart beating faster, your breath hitching, the blood rushing to, uhm. You get my drift. But at the end of the day you chicken out and do the Missionary. I mean, you can add boots (rosemary), you can speed it up (425F), you can even yell out the name of a god (Escoffier). But face it (excuse the pun), it's still the Missionary.

Boring be damned, I want to try some different things, some different ingredients. And while beetroot and roast garlic and green tea ice cream aren't exactly equivalent to doing The Monkey, give me a break. It's a start.      

As for the real Kama Sutra, when I start doing that you can read about it on my other blog - thewhoohoohoohooker.

xx

J

GRILLED ROSEMARY AND CHILLI RACK OF LAMB

6-Chop rack of lamb
4 Sprigs of rosemary
1 Clove garlic crushed
1T Dried chilli
1T Coriander seeds toasted

Bash together all the herbs and moisten with olive oil. Rub all over the lamb and marinade for a couple of hours. I suck at timing and my grill is 45 years old so timing is fluid. Also, some people like their lamb medium rare and I don't. Depending on how you like it I suggest 20 - 30 minutes at 425F on a highish rack.

MUSTARD SEED POTATOES, ROAST GARLIC, SHALLOTS, PEARS AND BEETROOT

3 Potatoes 

1t Turmeric 

1t Mustard seeds 

1 Whole garlic 

4 Shallots halved

1 Pear cored and sliced
1/2T Treacle sugar
1T Dried thyme 

3 Whole beetroot

Boil the potatoes in water with the turmeric until done. Fry the mustard seeds in a little oil until they start popping. Toss together with the potatoes.

 
For the beetroot all I could find were the ones with leaves. Eeek. You mean they don't come out of the ground in crinkle cut?! So after exhaustive research I discovered what you have to do is cut off the leaves 5cm or so from the beetroot, then cover with water and cook for 1-2 hours, depending on size. Apparently you can do something with the leaves. I've done something with them. It involved the bin. The awesome thing is they say you'll know the beetroot is done when the skin rubs off. And they do. SO deadly. To serve, quarter, season and toss with olive oil. 

As for the garlic? I thought cooking a whole head is a bit of an overkill. As it turns out, it was a little like having a cool condiment on your plate. And not half as stinky as you'd think. Or as garlicky. You think you'll scream but you'll only moan. To cook cut the garlic heads in half and put in a baking dish together with the shallots and pears. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with the sugar and thyme and season. Roast on a rack below the lamb.

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND GREEN TEA ICE CREAM

250ml Milk

625ml Cream

1 Vanilla pod

3 Bags green tea

100g White chocolate

2 Drops green food colouring

9 Egg yolks

145g Castor sugar

Cut the pod in two lengthwise and bring to the boil with the milk and cream. Add the teabags and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and scrape out the vanilla. Throw away the teabags. Stir in the chocolate and add the food colouring. Beat the eggs and sugar together until creamy. Over medium heat whisk in with the cream and stir until it thickens a bit. Cover and put in the fridge until it's cold enough to freeze. Freeze until the edges are hard but it's still soft in the centre, then whisk to break down the ice crystals. Do this at least 4 times to ensure it's silky.