There are no photos for this, I apologise, but there weren't any for the last recipe (but I am sending pictures for fish of the day - more on that later), so whatever. I'm normally actually cooking rather than thinking about taking photos of food (unless I'm going to instagram it OF COURSE). This week, a classic: Lamb steak with saute potatoes and leek
INGREDIENTS
Leg of Lamb steak New or Baby Potatoes Half a Leek (the white half)
4-5 rashers of smoked bacon Dried Herbs: Rosemary, Sage and Oregano Salt and Pepper
METHOD
First of all, prep everything. I chuck stuff into bowls so it's all ready to go rather than leave it lying around on the board (because I only have the one chopping board anyway), so get the veg ready to go. I cube the potatoes really quite small, like less than a half inch, maybe a centimetre (whatever that is) cubed for this. I'd say it'll work with any size but the larger the cubes the longer it'll take to cook. I slice mine into thirds to get the right size here, but it's really up to you. I go for 3 or 4 potatoes, you want enough to cover the frying pan you'll be using. Cut the root end off the leek and then halve that again, so you have two semicircular bits, and slice them up. Then chop the bacon rashers down into little strips - Lardons will also work here, but I had some leftover from another meal I prepared. With all these ready, set them aside and get a heavy bottomed frying pan on medium to high heat with some olive oil in.
Spread some olive oil on the board and lay the lamb steaks on top. I bought some prepacked nonsense from the Co-Op because it was reduced to mere pennies, but never forget your local butcher is far more likely to know more and be extremely helpful with this kind of thing. Don't get anything too thin, we're not frying featherblades here. Cut diagonally across the surface of the meat on both sides, and don't be afraid to cut either through the fat on the side or too deep (well, not too deep). Rub in the dried herbs and the salt and pepper - my learned colleague Petrus Humanus once waxed lyrical about the virtues of sage and he is not wrong my friends, it is excellent.
Place the steaks into the frying pan with the fatty side touching the edge. Now, I like my lamb pretty rare, but something like 3 minutes on one side and then two minutes on the other should be perfect. Set them aside on a plate and get the bacon in the pan. If you need to, put a drop more olive oil in to make sure it doesn't stick too much. Once the bacon is merrily sizzling, add in the potato and the leek, and turn the heat down a little, and add a pinch of salt to the proceedings. I'll be honest here - I don't really keep my eye on the time for this, but stir occasionally and look out for the corners of the potato cubes to colour for how near it is to be ready. Once their getting a little crisp, reintroduce the lam to the pan and pour in any juices from the plate they sat on. Shake the pan to ensure that everything gets covered in all the juices and stuff and let it cook out for 2-3 minutes. Take off the heat and get the saute onto the plate and place the steaks on top. Service!
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This kind of meat and potatoes schtick is a tale as old as time (a song as old as rhyme?) and you can pretty much apply it to anything. I chose the leek to accompany lamb with its slightly more subtle flavour; if I was pan frying chicken with this, I'd use a red onion. Anyway, this is an easy supper for one that shouldn't take more than a half hour start to finish.
Next week: Fish of the Day - a guest appearance somewhere else! Hopefully. When I actually write it.
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