Jewels of New York

I love this website and I say website because I've never been fortunate enough to eat their food.  Colaborating in 2009 these two lovely ladies set up Jewels of New York to uncover the hidden gems of New York, combining home cooking with the beauty of everyday things.

They claim to provide, what they describe as good, seasonal, everyday home cooking.  If I could turn out everyday, home cooking like this, i'd be a very happy lady.

The styling is awesome, simple but pretty and makes every dish look super appetising.  I won't say anymore and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Spring Breakfast Tart

Creamy Sunchoke Soup

Spring Garden Salad

Pickled Ramps and Ramps Butter

White Asparagus Bruschetta

Check them out at Jewels of New York
All photos from Jewels of New York website.

I love lamb!

I'm not going to lie but I bought it because it was cheap.  Breast of lamb, what does one do with such a cut and on my google investigation found that recipes were a bit thin on the ground.  Not a wonder either as I later found out, this is the bit the butchers (quite literally) give away.  Oh well!  Cue Hugh and his trusty meat bible, I came across this recipe for Breast of Lamb Ste Menehould. It takes a while and a bit of organisation but god damn it, it's worth it.  This was a double whammy!  First time I made Tartare Sauce too.

Serves 4

1 breast of lamb
2 carrots, sliced
2 onions, sliced
A sprig of rosemary or thyme, or both
1 glass of white wine (I used red)
1 glass of water
Salt and Pepper
Dijon or English mustard
2 eggs, beaten
Dried breadcrumbs
100g butter, melted

First bit....

Place breast of lamb in a casserole dish, with the carrots, onions and herbs scattered in and around it.  Pour the wine and the water over, season and cover with lid.  Bake in low oven (140C/Gas Mark 1) for 2.5-3hrs basting several times during, until the meat in tender.

Raw Breast of Lamb

With Veg and Wine

Remove from the oven and cool till able to handle.  Place the meat between 2 chopping boards with weights on top, I used cans of chopped tomatoes.  Leave in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

Cut into goujon size pieces, brush with mustard of choice (I quite like the English for the heat), dip in the beaten egg and cover completely with breadcrumbs.

Lamb with a bit of English

Arrange on a wire rack and brush with the melted butter, place in the oven at (180C/Gas Mark 4) for 15mins....turns the grill on and grill each side until you start to get wee black burnt bits.  And you're done, that's it!  We had this for dinner so had with a bit of mash and the aforementioned Tartare.

The Tartare

The Finale

They're amazing, while a bit time consuming and a bit fiddly, they're probably the best, fancy goujons i've ever had, melt in the mouth but with a crispy tartness that's just ace!

Recipe from Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall's, The River Cottage Meat Book