For Fawkes Sake

I love corny holidays. Sadly, there are so many we don't celebrate with the pomp and ceremony they deserve. I love Halloween with its pumpkins and Thanksgiving with its turkeys and Guy Fawkes Day with its fireworks. But in South Africa these holidays just don't reach their full potential.

(Without being in the least way disrespectful, South African public holidays are all pretty bloody depressing: Human Rights Day, Freedom Day, Day of Reconciliation. When you get a day off from work, that's supposed to be a good thing, right? You want to sleep in, chill out, have a braai, get a little stuffed and a lot wasted. And the truth is, most of us do. Because who wants to sit around and think about our sad depressing history on our day off? I'm not saying we should forget the past, I'm just suggesting we make it compulsory that we do it on Mondays instead of public holidays.)

One holiday that should really get more hoo-ha is Guy Fawkes Day. It marks the day when a bunch of Catholics tried to blow up a bunch of Protestants, including the King, with gunpowder. It wasn't poor Guy's idea, and the blow up failed, but he was nevertheless sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered. Which in those days included castration, disembowelment and beheading. Guy knew what his sentence meant so, as he ascended the steps to the gallows, he jumped, broke his neck and died, thereby depriving the court of all their torturous plans. 

I love that. A big old fawk you. And for that he deserves a decent celebration. I didn't want to scare the dogs so I only lit sparklers. But I did it for Fawkes sake, and so should you. 

xx

J

DEBONED LAMB WITH SPICY MARSALA ROTIS

Lamb

1.5 - 2kg Leg of lamb

350ml Greek yoghurt

3T Ground cumin

3T Ground coriander

2T Ground Cinnamon

2t Fennel seeds

2t Chilli flakes

4 Cloves garlic crushed

2 Onions quartered

1c White wine

1c Chicken stock

It's best to prepare the lamb beforehand so you only need to focus on the rotis. Debone the leg of lamb. There are loads of videos and instructions on how to do it but in this case I don't bother with technique. Find the first bone you spot. Start carving the flesh off it and keep going. It doesn't even matter if it starts resembling your ex as you've pictured him being hung drawn and quartered, pretty isn't relevant. Once all the bones are gone and you've cut off most of the gristly bits make slices all over the meat so the spices can get in everywhere. Mix together the yoghurt and herbs and pour half into a bowl. Put in the lamb and pour over the rest. Rub it in, cover with cling wrap and put in the fridge for at least an hour, but preferably overnight. The following day lightly rinse ALL the yoghurt off then wipe it down with kitchen towel until there's no yoghurt and it's dry. Season and drizzle with olive oil. Cut a few pieces of string and lay on a breadboard. Put the lamb in the middle, roll up as best you can and start tying it up. Use as much string as required to get a nice tight package. Drizzle with olive oil and roast at 400F for 20-30 minutes. Add onions, stock and wine. Wrap the baking tray in foil and roast for another 2.5-3 hours. Once done remove the lamb from the sauce and wrap in foil. Strain the contents of the pan into a wide shallow dish and place in the freezer. After about an hour the fat should be set pretty hard. Make a hole in the side and pour the sauce under the frozen fat layer into a pot. Boil down for 15 minutes or so to reduce. Thicken with maizena and check the taste. If it's too salty you can add a little milk. Slice the lamb and add sauce so it's nice and moist but not runny.
 

Rotis

1c Self raising flour

1/4t Ground coriander

1/4t Garam marsala

1/4t Mixed ground cardamom/cinnamon

1t Chilli flakes
1/2t Salt

Mix together all of the above ingredients. Add 1T veggie oil and about 90ml water. Add the water slowly and carefully and keep kneading until you've got a nice silky dough. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes. Divide into balls. I preferred mine to be ping pong ball size so I got medium rotis, but my neighbour suggested they be bigger. Up to you. Fry in a little bit of oil on medium heat until golden. Drain on kitchen towel and cover with a dish towel to keep warm. 

Salad

500ml Greek yoghurt

2 Red onions sliced

1 Cucumber sliced

1/2c Ripped mint

1/2c Ripped coriander

Take a roti, add the lamb, the salad, then the yoghurt. Tuck in the bottom so it doesn't spill out, then each side to create a wrap. Fawking awesome.