… i’ve decided that February is the grumpy month. I can’t help myself. I just get into a funk that I can’t shake until some point in March. It may be to do with the endless grind that is food blogging or it may be because the planets aren’t quite aligned but if I had the opportunity to lock myself away in a bunker for 29 days without the need for surfacing for food or water then I would. What i’ve realised is that it’s the food blogging cycle that gets me down… it was only just Christmas and now we’re talking about pancakes and Valentines and then we’ll be talking about Easter and soon it will be picnics and pickles and then before we know it it’ll be Christmas again. I guess it’s the blogging that highlights these dates for me but it makes me wonder how many recipes for pancakes are there that anyone out there really cares about? Why do we need 10 top tips for the alternative Valentines. I know. I shouldn’t be cannibalising my own foot but I must have slapped my forehead about a thousand times this week is exasperation. I think i’m going to try my hardest to concentrate on good, old-fashioned seasonal cooking and not worry too much about trying to find the ultimate recipe for tree-sap, griddle boiled pancakes… saying that, I did make some wonderful garlic mushroom crepes on Tuesday, so I should perhaps crawl back into my box…
one-pot oven baked lamb and leek risotto450g diced Welsh lamb – roughly cut into chunks
1 medium onion – chopped
5 garlic cloves – unpeeled
2 medium leeks – chopped
a handful of carrots – roughly chopped
1 litre good quality lamb or vegetable stock
1 glass white wine
200g Arborio risotto rice – you may want to increase or decrease this weight depending on the size of your dish
fresh herbs to taste
salt and pepper
pre-heat a large, heavy bottomed pan and using a little olive oil brown the lamb all over and then set aside.
place all the vegetables and seasoning in a large oven-proof dish, drizzle well with olive oil. Lay the lamb pieces on top, cover with foil and bake in the oven on 180C (160C fan) for 30 mins.
take it out of the oven, take off the foil and pop it back into the oven for 10 minutes for everything to brown a little. Then take it out once more and stir it all together, add the rice, two thirds of the stock and the white wine. Stir together, cover with the foil and pop it back into the oven for another 30-40 mins until the rice is cooked… you may need the final third of the stock depending on how well the rice is cooked. I like mine with a bit of bite but add more as you see fit.
i’m linking this dish to the brilliant Cooking with Herbs link-up hosted by Lavender and Lovage
Flipping heck but that looks and sounds wonderful! Lamb and leeks – a marriage made in heaven. 🙂 Now, about the blogging cycle – its exactly that, that had me deciding to not pay any attention to highlighting the cycle in my posts, but to just post what I considered to be good food, as and when it happened. Only that is true, honest, blogging – and that's what I have endeavoured to adhere to as I've gone along. Well, except for a few strategic departures that were just too much fun to resist. 😀 Relax and enjoy sharing your great meals, Dom. Don't let yourself be pressurised. 😀
It's interesting to see that you put unpeeled garlic in the dish. biting into one of those amongst your lamb and rice would be a nice surprise!
Thinking of you amongst the elebs and glitterati in Hello Magazine made me chuckle……..not that I don't think you deserve to be there, of course!
February is a dire month. Most years even the snowdrops can't cheer me up, I'm just biding my time until March, which is Spring in my book. Valentine's Day is a good day as it means only two more weeks of February left!
The risotto looks lovely, we love leeks in this house and with a Welsh visitor coming for dinner this week it's just perfect.
…….celebs…….oops, sorry……
thanks Jenny… i'm being myself as much as I can!
I adore the un peeled garlic…it infuses it's flavour and becomes so mild and glorious. My favourite thing!
no worries… I am such a lush!
Looks yummy! I've been eating a lot of leeks too – definitely best while they're in season.
Woohoo! You know you've made it when you hit Hello magazine! (Actually, I've never looked through a copy, but I may just make the exception and flick through the pages to see what you've been up to!)
I've really enjoyed your leek series…… there's been some lovely recipes and this is no exception. It looks and sounds delicious and the fact that it is 'one pot' makes it all the more appealing! x
Oh Dom, I have struggled with blogging of late … and have gotten to the point of posting when I feel like it, when there is an exceptional something that I want to share and that's it! I do notice that some folks are falling by the wayside because I'm not consistent, but I'm feeling rather, “Oh well…” about it. I get what you're saying . I do!
I love the one pan dishes! And a magazine feature – good for you! That is fantastic! What fun you have – congratulations 🙂
This sounds like an absolute winner and perfect for this time of year. I've always felt that February is a difficult month – the month when I can't look another root veg in the face and I'm longing for spring. But then my wife tells me (frequently) that I'm a miserable old git. As for the endless cycle of yearly events – well, I've been largely ignoring them for years and I feel much better for it. If I ever blog about the top 10 tips for Valentines then feel free to lock me up until I apologise. As for going into a bunker for February, I've often thought that would be a good idea but I can never decide who I want in there with me.
Oh HELLO Dom – will you still be speaking to me when you are even more famous than you are now! FAB recipe for this time of the year and although I agree with you about the seasonal blog schedule – yes it IS boring – I DID sell my soul this year and shared some VALENTINE'S day recipes for paid work!! Thanks darlink for adding this to my herby challenge, see you soon I hope, as I am in London next week working! Karen