Braised Lamb Fillets with a Creamy Risotto

This is a wonderful recipe, the lamb comes out moist and juicy and the risotto is a wonderful accompaniment, that is full of flavour and lovely and creamy. It is my son's favourite risotto recipe and he always asking me to make it.


Ingredients

Lamb

Olive Oil
4 Lamb Fillets (you could also use one large fillet of about 600g if that is all you can get.)
1 Small leek, finely diced
3 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 Small carrot, finely diced
300ml Water
2 Teaspoons beef stock granules
200ml Dry red wine
25g Butter
50ml Balsamic vinegar
21/2 Teaspoons cornflour
Truffle oil
2 Tablespoons shaved parmesan (extra)


Risotto

30g Butter
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 Cup risotto rice
21/2 Cups water
1/2 Cup dry white wine
1 Tablespoon thyme leaves
11/2 Teaspoons chicken stock granules
20g Parsley, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
11/2 Tablespoon mascarpone cheese
Pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat some olive oil in a large pan, add lamb fillets and sear to brown both sides.

2. Add leek, carrot and garlic stirring a couple minutes to soften leek, do not allow vegetables to brown.

3. Pour in water and wine, add stock, balsamic vinegar and butter, stir to combine.

4. Cook over a very low heat for 45 min's to 1 hour, until lamb is tender. Turn lamb a couple of times during cooking. (If using a whole lamb fillet cooking time will be longer becuase of the weight.)

5. Remove lamb and keep warm, turn the heat back up, mix a little water with the cornflour and pour into pan, stir until sauce thickens. ( I use this more just to drizzle a little over the meat, rather than as a sauce, as it is already full of flavour, as is the risotto.)

Serve meat over risotto, drizzle a small amount of pan sauce over, top with shaved parmesan ans drizzle with truffle oil.


Risotto

1. Melt butter in a pan, add onion and garlic stir until onion softens, add rice and stir to coat in butter.

2. Pour in water and wine, stir, add chicken stock and bring to the boil, turn heat down and simmer over a low heat until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked about 20 min's.

3. Just before all the liquid has been absorbed add herbs, stir to combine.

4. Once it is cooked remove from heat and add cheeses and pepper to taste, stir gently until cheese has melted.


To Serve: Place risotto in the centre of a plate, slice lamb fillets into thin slices, drizzle a very small amount of reserved pan juice, top with parmesan shavings and drizzle with truffle oil.

All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.

Braised Steak with Buttery Mushrooms

This is another easy recipe to do, it is another great one for winter. The best thing about this recipe is, it is one of those recipes you can make for 4 people or 10, all the ingredients just get thrown in together and cooked.

Ingredients

Olive oil
1kg Rolled beef topside
1 Onion, sliced
4 Cloves garlic, crushed
4 Sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh oregano
2 Bay leaves
1/2 Cup dry red wine
11/2 Cups water
1 Teaspoon beef stock (concentrated, I use quite a dense paste, so you may want to use more if using powder, just adjust for taste.)
1/4 Cup dry red wine, extra
21/2 Teaspoons cornflour



Mixed Buttery mushrooms
500-600g mixed mushrooms (Whatever is in season Swiss brown, button, shitake, oyster, chanterelles etc..)
70g Butter
1 Tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped



Method

1. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, add beef and cook, turning until browned all over. Remove beef from pan and set aside, wipe pan clean add about a tablespoon more of oil, add onions and garlic and cooked until onions are soft.

2. Add herbs, red wine, water and stock, stir, return beef to pan cook covered, turning beef once for two hours or until beef is tender.

3. Discard herbs, strain liquid into sauce pan, keep onions to one side. Turn heat up to medium high, add extra wine, mix a little water to cornflour and pour into sauce. Stir until sauce boils and thickens.


Buttery Mushrooms

I cut the mushrooms in different ways for presentation at the end. For example Button mushrooms-halved, Swiss brown quartered, Shitake-sliced, oyster-halved, chanterelles-chopped. So adjust for what you can buy at the time.

1. Heat butter in a pan, add mushrooms, stir until tender, stir in herbs.

To serve slice beef and place on serving platter with mushrooms and reserved onions.

I made this just for 2 and I bought a half a kilo of beef we are quite piggy with steak. This recipe will serve 4-5 depending on appetites. I also bought beef fillet as it is not expensive where I live, so the photo does look different, as it is thinner round than rolled topside.

All photo's taken by me unless otherwise stated.