Slow Cooked Lamb With Sage And Pearl Barley Food

SLOW COOKED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/fan 100C/gas ½. Put your largest lidded casserole on the hob and brown the seasoned leg of lamb on all sides - do this very thoroughly until it is a good dark brown as it will not brown during the cooking. (If you don't do it now, it will end up beige.) If the lamb sticks, add a drizzle of oil - legs of lamb differ. Allow 10 mins on a high heat and put on the cooker fan to remove the smoke. Pour away any fat that has collected in the bottom of the pan.
• Throw in the vegetables, followed by the wine and stock. Season and bring to the boil, then clap on the lid and put in the oven. Bake for 7 hrs, turning twice. After 5 hrs the meat will be cooked and offer no resistance to the knife.
• There is no need to rest the meat when cooked in this way, but to finish the sauce, transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving dish. Strain the sauce into a jug and pour or blot away the fat with kitchen paper. Pour the sauce into a pan then boil the liquid hard to reduce by a quarter, by which time it will be rich and flavoursome. Adjust seasoning, add the Armagnac if you wish, and serve alongside the lamb, which should be served with a spoon, a la cuillère as the French call it.

SLOW-COOKED LAMB WITH SAGE AND PEARL BARLEY

Steps:

• Trim the fat from 1 shoulder of young lamb. Peel, wash, and thinly slice 4 carrots and 2 stalks of celery. Peel 4 red onions and cut into small wedges.
• Cook the shoulder of lamb
• Preheat the oven to 300°F. Heat a flameproof casserole dish with a splash of olive oil and brown the shoulder on all sides. Take it out, throw away the cooking fat, wipe the casserole dish clean, and put it back on the heat with an additional splash of olive oil.
• Put in half the vegetables and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Add 3 squashed garlic cloves, 12 sage leaves, and 8 peppercorns, mix well, and return the shoulder of lamb to the casserole dish.
• Pour in 1 1/4 cups of red wine and reduce by half. Then add 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock, cover the casserole dish with a lid, and put in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, basting the shoulder from time to time.
• Take out the casserole dish. Remove the shoulder, wrap it in aluminium foil, and keep warm. Keep the casserole dish on hand.
• Prepare the pearl barley
• Shortly before the end of cooking the lamb, put 3/4 cup of pearl barley to soak for 10 minutes.
• Heat another casserole dish with a splash of olive oil, put in the rest of the vegetables, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Drain the pearl barley and add to the vegetables. Stir, season with salt, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Take a ladleful of the cooking liquid from the lamb casserole dish and pour it into the barley casserole dish. Let it swell with the liquid and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, adding more of the liquid as and when it is absorbed.
• Peel 12 fresh almonds and add them at the end of cooking with a splash of olive oil. Stir and check the seasoning.
• To finish your dish
• Cut the shoulder into large pieces and return them to their casserole dish. Add the contents of the other casserole dish and a generous twist of freshly ground black pepper and serve in the casserole dish.

CROCK POT LAMB AND BARLEY STEW

Steps:

• Place the meat, onion, turnips and carrots in the crock pot.
• Stir in the broth, beer, barley and all seasonings.
• Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
• Stir in the parsley before serving.

CROCK POT LAMB STEW WITH BARLEY

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet, or an electric frying appliance, such as in my case. Brown half of the meat in the hot oil and set aside. Add remaining meat; add onion when meat is nearly browned. After the onion is tender, two minutes or so, add the garlic to the onion/meat mixture and saute for a couple of more minutes.
• In a 3 1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker, combine the broth, undrained tomatoes, barley, wine (if using), dried dillweed (if using), salt, and black pepper. Add the meat mixture and stir.
• Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. Before serving, stir in the roasted peppers and fresh mint. If using fresh dill, stir that in as well.

SLOW COOKER LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the lamb and brown on each side for 4-5 mins. Set the slow cooker to low. Melt the butter in a saucepan until foaming, then stir through the flour. Whisk in the stock gradually until incorporated, add the wine and bring to the boil. Set aside.
• Put the onion, garlic, thyme and rosemary into your slow cooker and sit the lamb on top. Pour over the lamb gravy. Put the lid on and cook for 8 hrs or until soft and tender.
• Remove the lamb and set, covered, on a plate. Strain the liquid into a pan and simmer until slightly thickened. Serve the lamb thickly sliced or shredded (it'll be quite soft) with mashed potatoes, green veg and the gravy.