Showing posts with label lamb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lamb. Show all posts
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Shawarma time - homemade and very lekker
I'm so late this week and apologizing for the delay. We have winter holidays and the kindergarten is closed; after almost 2 weeks at home, my three year old is missing her friends and is noticeably bored. I just hear her calling me all day and she wants to be carried around all day long. I'm so thankful for my husband being home and helping out, but both our patience is spent.
That's the best time for takeaways, but if it comes to takeaways here in Windhoek, the choice is very poor, beside the unsatisfying taste.
We have lots of different chicken and burger takeaways, Italian and Chinese and that's mostly it. There is a new place, that just opened a few weeks ago and is actually selling Döner Kebabs, but the last time we were there to try it out, the whole shop was full of smoke. I'm sure, we will give it an other try, but for now we decided on homemade.
This are moments, I really miss Berlin or Cape Town and the fabulous takeaway places, where you can get Döner, Shawarma and Co.
Berlin of course, as the hometown of the famous Döner Kebab, had the most amazing places you can imagine. Additionally I was living in Tiergarten Moabit, a suburb with mainly Turkish and Arabic population, so needless to say I was sitting at the source. From greengrocer, baker to the butcher, I had the best culinary experience from the Middle-east world right on my doorstep.
But that's far away now and I decided to try it myself. I'm not sure I can call them Shawarmas though, but let say it's my take.
We had them actually twice that week, once with lamb and once with beef.
Lamb was definitely the big winner. Even though I took lamb chops, not the best cut for that purpose, but it was more than delicious. And the dogs were happy about the leftovers hanging on the bones.
The beef was o k a y, but somehow it wasn't as satisfying as the lamb. I don't know, if the meat seasoning didn't work that well, or maybe I've cut the meat to thick, somehow we were missing something.
The pita bread was the second time head and shoulders better, for one thing because I managed to overbake them the first time by not sticking to the recommended backing time, for another thing the dough was resting for four days in the fridge and the flour had enough time to develop.
We'll definitely have that dish more often and next time, I will try to stick more to the original ingredients like tabbouleh and hummus (chickpeas are already bought).
But for now, we were more than happy about the outcome of my first homemade Shawarmas.
That's the best time for takeaways, but if it comes to takeaways here in Windhoek, the choice is very poor, beside the unsatisfying taste.
We have lots of different chicken and burger takeaways, Italian and Chinese and that's mostly it. There is a new place, that just opened a few weeks ago and is actually selling Döner Kebabs, but the last time we were there to try it out, the whole shop was full of smoke. I'm sure, we will give it an other try, but for now we decided on homemade.
This are moments, I really miss Berlin or Cape Town and the fabulous takeaway places, where you can get Döner, Shawarma and Co.
Berlin of course, as the hometown of the famous Döner Kebab, had the most amazing places you can imagine. Additionally I was living in Tiergarten Moabit, a suburb with mainly Turkish and Arabic population, so needless to say I was sitting at the source. From greengrocer, baker to the butcher, I had the best culinary experience from the Middle-east world right on my doorstep.
But that's far away now and I decided to try it myself. I'm not sure I can call them Shawarmas though, but let say it's my take.
We had them actually twice that week, once with lamb and once with beef.
Lamb was definitely the big winner. Even though I took lamb chops, not the best cut for that purpose, but it was more than delicious. And the dogs were happy about the leftovers hanging on the bones.
The beef was o k a y, but somehow it wasn't as satisfying as the lamb. I don't know, if the meat seasoning didn't work that well, or maybe I've cut the meat to thick, somehow we were missing something.
The pita bread was the second time head and shoulders better, for one thing because I managed to overbake them the first time by not sticking to the recommended backing time, for another thing the dough was resting for four days in the fridge and the flour had enough time to develop.
We'll definitely have that dish more often and next time, I will try to stick more to the original ingredients like tabbouleh and hummus (chickpeas are already bought).
But for now, we were more than happy about the outcome of my first homemade Shawarmas.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Crusted back of lamb with thyme potatoes and green beans
There are a few things, that are difficult to get in Namibia, especially if it comes to meat. It's not that we don't have a wide selection of different meats, we definitely do, it's more to get meats I'm used to or love to eat.
We managed now to get veal on regular basis, which is really good, but last time I was so adventures to ask for veal cheek and heart and earned only a look of disbelieve. So I guess no chance there.
Or quail for example, no chance either or at least our butcher can't help us.
The other day we asked at an other butchery for rib eye and got minute steak instead. Sometimes I get the feeling, that I'm overwhelming the people with my inquiries.
Why am I telling you that, because it's the same story with the rack of lamb. I'm telling the butcher, I want a rack of lamb, so the ribs of a lamb. He's immediately correcting me, trying to convince me, it's the back. Well, I didn't want to fight, I asked him, if I could at least get the back in french cut. Two days later I picked up a very badly butchered back of lamb. It took me half an hour to clean the piece of meat half decent, so we could eat it more or less easily. Don't get me wrong, they are very obliging, cut in the bones a bit, to make it easier for us to eat, but they have no idea, what I'm going to do with the meat, that makes it difficult to get it prepared the right way.
After I discovered a beautiful Namibian food/travel blog, The Curious Kitchen, and their post about a crusted rack of lamb, I decided on crusting my back of lamb too. But my way.
And I discovered, that I definitely need to work on my pictures. Does anybody know of a food photography course in Windhoek? And what butcher is he using? Dear Christi, if you read this, please give me a shout.
But now back to my back of lamb; I finally found use for my almond butter and it made my crust heavenly.
I struggled a bit with the cooking time of the lamb. By the time the picture was taken, the lamb was still raw inside, so it had to go into the oven for an other period of time. I was so afraid to overcook it, that in the end I undercooked it. Or at least my piece. But in the end we were so hungry, that we didn't want to wait any longer. The cooking time in my recipe is not the one I took, obviously, but the one I'm sure it'll work perfectly. Sometimes I should just trust my guts.
After I discovered a beautiful Namibian food/travel blog, The Curious Kitchen, and their post about a crusted rack of lamb, I decided on crusting my back of lamb too. But my way.
And I discovered, that I definitely need to work on my pictures. Does anybody know of a food photography course in Windhoek? And what butcher is he using? Dear Christi, if you read this, please give me a shout.
But now back to my back of lamb; I finally found use for my almond butter and it made my crust heavenly.
I struggled a bit with the cooking time of the lamb. By the time the picture was taken, the lamb was still raw inside, so it had to go into the oven for an other period of time. I was so afraid to overcook it, that in the end I undercooked it. Or at least my piece. But in the end we were so hungry, that we didn't want to wait any longer. The cooking time in my recipe is not the one I took, obviously, but the one I'm sure it'll work perfectly. Sometimes I should just trust my guts.
Nonetheless the dish was very successful, all the flavors worked really well together and as already mentioned, the crust was just yummy.
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