ThinkProof Cooking^TM
Roast Lamb and Veg: Meal Guide

A. Menu

Type	Formal/Informal Meal
Food	Roast Lamb and Veg Fruit Melba
Booze	Medium-dry white wine
Serves	Four diners; Starting 6.30pm
Sources	"Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course", Delia Smith, BBC Books, London, 1992 (a few vague ideas on vegetables) "Good Fast Food", Clare Gordon-Smith, Sainsburys, London, 1986, p64 (for pudding)
Note	You need two ovens for this one, and a skewer

B. Ingredients Checklist

Stuff to have or buy:

*Ingredient*	*Already have*	*To buy*
Onion (four; small)
Red pepper (one)
Potatoes (900g/2lb; medium-sized)
Garlic cloves (five)
Carrots (350g/12oz)
Raspberries (225g/8oz)
Peaches (four; ripe/ready-to-eat)
Mint (10 fresh leaves or 1tsp dried)
Parsley (10 fresh heads or 1tsp dried)
Rosemary (small sprig fresh or 1tsp dried)
Thyme (4 fresh sprigs or 1tsp dried)
Salt and black pepper
Vegetable stock cubes (one)
Mint sauce
Flour (1 dessertspoon (c.15g/½oz); plain)
Leg of lamb (c.1kg/2¼lb)
Ice-cream (350g/12oz; Tutti-Frutti)
Butter (90g/3oz)
Foil (large sheet)
Cooking oil (85ml/3fl. oz; e.g. sunflower)
Lemon juice (1tsp)
Icing sugar (60g/2oz)
Medium-dry white wine

C. Pre-Preparation

When?: Timeline minus c.two hours (e.g. c.3.00pm)

How long?: Pre-preparation takes about 3 minutes

Ö
	1	Put wine in fridge
	2	Purée raspberries using a food processor
	3	Stir 60g (2oz) icing sugar and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice into the raspberries to make melba sauce
	4	Set melba sauce aside in fridge

D. Preparation

When?: Timeline minus c.one-and-a-half hours (e.g. c.3.30pm)

How long?: Preparation takes about 40 minutes

Food Preparation

Ö
	1	Put 90g (3oz) butter at room temperature (10 secs in microwave if necessary to soften) into a bowl
	2	Stir in ¼ teaspoon of dried rosemary (1 teaspoon/1 sprig of chopped if fresh); 1 teaspoon of dried mint (2 tablespoons of chopped if fresh); 1 teaspoon of dried parsley (2 tablespoons/5-10 sprigs of chopped if fresh); ¼ teaspoon of dried thyme (1 teaspoon/2-3 sprigs of chopped if fresh)
	3	Peel and crush one garlic clove and mix into butter/herb mixture
	4	Grind some black pepper into the mixture then mix together into a paste with fork or fingers
	5	Core, deseed, wash and cut the pepper into quarters
	6	Wash the potatoes; Cut any larger ones in half
	7	Peel the remaining four garlic cloves
	8	Scrub carrots; Cut off both top and tail of carrots; Slice carrots into quarters (or six/eight pieces for large carrots)
	9	Peel the brown outer layers from the onions
	10	Pour 85ml (3fl. oz) cooking oil into the roasting tin for the vegetables
	11	Measure out 1 dessertspoon of plain flour

Note: Keep food fresh in containers; Any dairy/fish/meat in fridge

Timeline Preparation

Ö
	1	Get cooking implements ready:	One large roasting tin for vegetables; One roasting tin for lamb; One large saucepan for par-boiling potatoes; One medium saucepan for par-boiling carrots; One medium saucepan for gravy; Jug for stock/gravy; Spoon or spatula for turning roast vegetables; Foil; Skewer to test lamb
	2	Get serving implements ready:	One deep serving dish with cover for lamb; One large serving bowl for vegetables; One smaller serving bowl for carrots; Colander for draining vegetables; Two serving spoons
	3	Get eating implements ready:	Large plates; Serving dishes for dessert; Wine glasses; Cutlery
	4	Make sure ingredients are all to hand:	All prepared items; Lamb; Vegetable stock cube; Mint sauce
	5	Get changed for dinner

E. TimeLine Cooking^TM

Ö	*Abs*	*Rel*	*Your*
	5.00	0		Turn top oven on to 190^oC/375^oF/Gas Mark 5
	5.05	+5		Spread a large piece of foil onto a plate, and place the leg of lamb onto the foil
	5.06	+6		Stab the lamb in several places with a skewer (allows herbs to penetrate)
	5.08	+8		Rub the herb butter all over the top of the lamb; Then wrap the lamb loosely in the foil, ensuring the foil is well-sealed
	5.15	+15		Place the foiled lamb into a roasting tin; Place lamb and tin into the top oven
	5.33	+33		Put 3 pints (1½l) fresh water on to boil in saucepan
	5.54	+54		Place potatoes into boiling water in saucepan
	5.59	+59		Turn main oven on to 220^oC/425^oF/Gas Mark 7
	6.00	+60		Place vegetable roasting tray with oil into main oven
	6.08	+68		Drain potatoes in colander; Shake potatoes gently to wear down edges (this will make them crisper)
	6.09	+69		Take roasting tray from oven, and place on top of oven with at least two medium-heat rings under tray to keep oil hot
	6.10	+70		Very carefully add potatoes to hot oil, turning each one to give it a good coating of oil
	6.12	+72		Add the other vegetables to the hot oil in the roasting tray: peppers, garlic and onion (which are raw at this stage); Again, turn each one to coat it in oil
	6.13	+73		Sprinkle a little rosemary or thyme onto vegetables; Sprinkle a little salt and pepper if you wish
	6.14	+74		Put roasting tray back in oven; Turn off rings on top of oven
	6.15	+75		Remove lamb from top oven and pull foil open to allow joint to brown
	6.36	+96		Put 2 pints (1l) fresh water on to boil in second saucepan
	6.39	+99		Carefully turn over vegetables in roasting tray
	6.40	+100		Boil around 1 pint (570ml) of water in the kettle
	6.45	+105		Crumble half a vegetable stock cube into a jug and pour over ½ pint (275ml) of boiling water; Stir well to dissolve stock cube; Set aside
	6.48	+108		Place carrots to boil in second saucepan
	6.49	+109		Remove lamb from top oven; Insert skewer into joint to ensure that juices run slightly rosy-pink; If not, keep cooking and amend later timings accordingly
	6.50	+110		Place into serving dish, cover and leave to stand somewhere warm (e.g. on top of oven)
	6.51	+111		Remove foil from lamb tin, pouring any juices into the tin
	6.52	+112		Pour the juices from the tin into a saucepan and use a spoon to remove the fat floating on top of the juices. Heat the juices saucepan over a medium heat.
	6.54	+114		When juices are bubbling, remove from heat. Then sprinkle in 1 dessertspoon of flour and stir well. Replace on heat and cook for a minute
	6.55	+115		Gradually add the vegetable stock and allow to cook into a gravy
	6.57	+117		Drain carrots in colander and place into smaller serving bowl
	6.59	+119		Remove roast vegetables from oven; Place into larger serving bowl
	7.00	+120		Serve vegetables and lamb with gravy and mint sauce; Move ice-cream from freezer into fridge
				When ready for dessert, halve and stone each peach; Place two peach halves into each serving dish; Add a scoop of ice-cream onto each peach half; Pour a quarter of the melba sauce over each dish

F. Post-Serving Notes

The Meal

Not too hectic to prepare.

Variations

· Try slower-roasting the lamb – instead of c.1½ hours at 190^oC/375^oF/Gas Mark 5, make it c.3 hours at 150^oC/300^oF/Gas Mark 2 – comes out much softer; open the lamb for browning after c.2 hours in foil.

· You can roast the carrots as well but I found that a bit oily.

· If you want roast parsnips as well, put an extra ½pt (250ml) of water on to boil at +33, and add the parsnips to the potatoes in the saucepan at +62. Then roast them alongside the potatoes. You'll need around 300g/11oz of parsnips.