February 15 is officially NZ National Lamb Day, marking the date that the first shipment of mutton set sail from Port Chalmers in Otago on the ship called Dunedin, bound for London. This venture was the first important step in establishing the sheep and beef export industry that now contributes $8.5 billion a year to the New Zealand economy.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand is encouraging Kiwis to celebrate National Lamb Day by enjoying lamb with friends and family.

In our house a roast leg of lamb is a regular meal,  while there are varying opinions on cooking methods, my personal favourite is to cook it first at 180 C for 45 minutes and then drop the temperature to about 130 C and leave it to slowly cook for around 4 hours.  The result is meltingly tender lamb, just how I like it.

Regardless of your preferred method of cooking lamb we have a fabulous selection of recipes that are sure to inspire!

Balsamic Glazed Lamb Salad, is as pretty as it is delicious, while asparagus may not be available at this time of year, instead use fresh green beans.

Char-grilled lamb rump with tomato & feta salad uses the best of summer produce with fresh vine ripened tomatoes and basil leaves.  So tasty and so very easy.

Lamb cutlets with quinoa crust have loads and flavour and also some crunch with the quinoa and crumb coating.  Basil pesto and lamb are of course a match made in heaven!

Marinated roast lamb with fresh mint topping is a lovely fresh take on the traditional. This spin on roast lamb is perfect for summer entertaining.

Turkish lamb pizza, who needs ham and cheese on a pizza when you can pile it with spiced lamb and herbs.  I would be inclined to add some dollops of hummus as well, what about you?

Summer recipes by Kathy Patherson

Pulled pomegranate and mint lamb is a crowd favourite.  Slowly cooked leg of lamb is so very tender and delicious when cooked with pomegranate molasses and mint.

Lamb Koftas take meatballs to another flavour dimension.  Quick and easy to make they are sure to be a family favourite.

What are some of your favourite lamb recipes?

Autumn is an ideal time to get together with friends or family and enjoy the luxury of a roast chicken dinner.  The weather is starting to cool a little and it is time to dust off the roasting dish and settle in for a good long lunch (or dinner).
We have your whole meal covered, the roasted bird, vegetables and a delicious quince tart for dessert!   If you lucky you could not only win your chicken but also a gorgeous new roasting pan and carving set, just enter into our prize draw below.

Selecting your bird
Running out of food is every cook’s nightmare so we suggest being generous with your quantities, who doesn’t love leftovers?
A size 16 chicken serves around 5 people, a size 18 around 7.
For a large group you can either cook two chickens side by side.

To prepare your chicken

Take the chicken out of the fridge at the same time as you turn the oven on to 180°C (bake setting).  Remove the chicken from its bag (this is best done over the sink), pat it dry with paper towels and then place the chicken breast side up in a roasting dish and rub all over with olive oil.  Stuff the chicken with the prepared stuffing (see our recipe for prosciutto, thyme and lemon stuffing) or alternatively pop a wedge of lemon and a few cloves of sliced garlic into the cavity. Season the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

To cook your chicken

When the oven is heated, sit the roasting dish (with chicken) onto the middle shelf or slightly lower and cook for 1 ½ hours (for a size 16, adjust time according to size) or until juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part of the thigh.
Once the chicken has been in the oven for 45 minutes, peel and chop potatoes, rinse them and pat dry. Place the potatoes around the chicken and continue to cook.
Peel and chop the kumara and chop pumpkin into wedges. Halve or quarter onions, chop garlic bulbs in half and de-seed and slice some red pepper.
Give the potatoes 15 minutes head start before adding the rest of the vegetables to the pan as well.  Make sure the vegetables are in a single layer and turn them a couple of times during cooking.  If your pan is over crowded then you may want to cook vegetables on a different shelf or even bring out the electric frying pan!

To rest your chicken

Once the chicken is cooked, transfer it to a serving plate cover loosely with foil and allow to sit for 10 minutes before carving.  Let the roasting vegetables continue to cook or if they are already tender then transfer them to an oven proof dish, turn the oven off and let the vegetables sit in the oven for a few minutes until you are ready (pop the dinner plates into the oven at the same time to warm them).

Vegetables and Gravy

Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and cook beans or any other greens for a few minutes until almost tender, drain vegetable cooking water into a jug.

Pour the juices from the roasting pan into a heat proof jug (pyrex is ideal for this).  Scoop fat off as it rises and discard (adding an ice cube to the liquid can help to quickly solidify the fat and remove).

Place the pan on the stove top on low heat and pour in the skimmed pan juices along with 2 tablespoons of flour per cup of gravy required.  Using a metal spoon stir until the mixture thickens and then slowly pour in vegetable cooking water (1 cup per 2 tablespoons of flour) while continuously stirring to avoid lumps, until the gravy boils and thickens.  Taste gravy and season as needed, pour into a jug to serve.

Serving

Slice the breast meat from the chicken and carve off the legs and wings.  Serve meat with a spoonful of stuffing, a selection of vegetables and a generous drizzle of gravy.

Quince Tart
In recent years this beautifully fragrant fruit has truly become the fruit of autumn.  The fluffy yellow orbs hang off trees looking nothing like the ruby red fruit that long slow cooking develops.  This tart is easy to make and while lusciously creamy it is not too rich allowing room for the possible chocolate egg….
Quince Ricotta Tart

Party season is here and be it 15 or 50, chances are you will need to host drinks for friends and families some time over the next few months.

With that in mind we have grouped some of our favourite finger food recipes here in one place with tips on what to buy and what to make.

Some blini topping suggestions include
* Prawn, Asparagus and Dill
* Smoked salmon, creme fraiche, dill and lemon
* Chicken tossed in hoisin sauce and topped with slivers of spring onion

People at parties like eating food and generally the more the better.  While it also needs to be stylish there are some great options for making it easy on yourself.
Caterers of course are the easiest option but come with a price tag that can make a party price prohibitive.

Instead, I suggest you minimise your varieties and stick to 4-5 different options.  Start off with something that looks fabulous but is completely easy to make and then gradually progress in both portion size and quantity so people really feel genuinely satiated.  Bowls of spicy nut mixes or
and dips such as guacomole or hummus are popular and can be placed strategically around the room.
A cheeseboard with a couple of large wedges of cheese can look spectacular, pile sliced baguette or gourmet crackers alongside with some walnuts and perhaps a chunk of quince paste.

Oat biscuits, blue cheese and quince paste is a favourite combination and can be presented as an easy canape.

Evenings generally evolve to the obligatory glazed ham or beef with rolls but you can also crank up the barbecue and get some interesting burger combinations rolling.
Sliders have been hugely popular over the past year or so and are great for parties.  Pulled pork can be cooked earlier in the day and then presented with a bowl of coleslaw or lettuce leaves and a mountain of buns for self assembly.

There are loads of great finger food recipes on foodlovers but here are some of my absolute favourites as well as some good party tips.

* Allow 3 glasses per person (of actual glasses not liquid) – this means you shouldn’t have to start washing glasses half way through the evening.

* Ensure you have a refreshing non alcoholic drink available.  My all time favourite is pineapple juice with l&p and lots of mint – it sounds ho hum but I assure you it is delicious and not too sweet.

* When menu planning try not to have too many of the same protein – eg if you have chicken sandwiches then don’t do chicken pies or chicken kebabs.

* Puff pastry makes a great base for a variety of toppings – if you cut the pastry into squares then you won’t have any waste.
Suggested toppings include:
caramelised onion, goats cheese and chopped rosemary
pesto, prosciutto or ham and cherry tomato
caramelised onion, blue cheese and rosemary
caramelised onion, olive, thyme and anchovy

* While toasted bread – crostini, also makes a good base for toppings, just be careful they are not so brittle so as to snap in half at a bite. Mini poppadoms can be found at Indian spice shops and sometimes in supermarkets and are ideal as a base for toppings such as this one for hoisin pork, coriander and sprouts.

Wontons also make a great base for toppings such as this one with prawns, lime and chili.

 * Sandwiches are quick to make and while not the most glamourous of offerings, they are popular and they do fill a gap.

Some suggested fillings are:
chicken and celery
 chicken, pistachio and avocado
smoked salmon, cream cheese and lemon
smoked salmon, cucumber and dill

* Balls such as meatballs are great as they can generally be cooked ahead of time and reheated in the oven prior to serving.
I really like these chicken, ginger and coriander balls but you can make regular beef meatballs with beef mince, breadcrumbs, finely chopped onion, fresh chopped herbs and an egg to bind.
These prawn and coconut balls are absolutely gorgeous and a real party hit.
Another prawn favourite is these coconut prawns with mango and chilli salsa.

Smoked salmon is an obvious choice for finger food, it is luxurious and is able to be used in varied ways.  Aside from the obvious smoked salmon blinis check out these Indonesian style fish cakes and corn fritters with goats cheese, smoked salmon and strawberries.

We all love party pies and once again they can be chilled and then heated to serve.

Beef, guinness and mushroom makes a delicious filling as does chicken and leek, these beer braised beef pies with kumara topping from Dawson’s catering are amazine.
You can make and freeze them ahead of time, mini muffin tins work well.

Shortcrust pastry is an ideal base with puff on the top.
Also quiche and little freeze well and are popular – these gruyere and leek tarts are delicious.
When making quiche the ratio of 1 egg to 100ml of cream is good to work on and then add other ingredients such as bacon, pesto, tomato, mushroom, to suit your taste.

Whatever you decide to make do ensure that you have time to enjoy your own party and often hiring some staff to do the “dirty work” will ensure that you can catch up with your guests as you should!

What are some of your favourite finger food ideas?
 

Over the last month I had the opportunity to cook (in front of a camera) in the most fabulous kitchen that has now left me with serious kitchen envy.  We were shooting some new videos for foodlovers tv – watch this space, they will be popping up over the next few months with the first one being this standing rib roast of beef.

The kitchen has enough bench space to host a party and the appliances are all the latest releases from the F&P stable.

The double door French style fridge that makes, water, ice, instantly chills wine etc… has been on my wish list for some years but now the New Generation 2 oven has joined it.  Cooking functions include removing steam from the oven (great for pavs and meringues) and also a roast function, where steam is added, ensuring beautiful moist meat.

There are many more functions of course such as self clean and the fact that they are black sleek glass that aesthetically blends in with the rest of the F&P family.

Onto cooking, spring is here and it is so exciting to see asparagus appearing in stores and my broad beans going from strength to strength in the garden.
My strawberries are all in fruit (despite the fact that I broke the rules and didn’t pull them up at the end of last season).
The mint that takes over in summer and disappears in winter is adding a lovely burst of freshness to many dishes and gradually the rest of the herb garden is waking up.
This spring my recipes are using a lot more mint, it is one of those herbs that is easy to look over yet it is indispensible in raw energy salad, courgete fritters,

The whitebait season has opened and I look forward to fat puffy patties sandwiched in Artisan white bread with a spread of good butter and a squeeze of lemon.

The highlight though of spring must belong to asparagus, I am sure I am not alone in my pacing of the greengrocer store, waiting for the price to become realistic so we can start throwing asparagus into just about everything.  This pizza of asparagus, lemon, courgette and goats’ cheese is probably a month away from being the right price but I made it anyway – in the name of photography and recipe testing!

Another new favourite for this spring is asparagus, broad bean and farro risotto.  Farro is such an interesting grain that gives great texture and flavour to risottos, salads and soups.  The broad beans are not quite out of my garden yet but in a month or so I will be feeling very virtuous with lovely pods of spray free fresh beans,

And for something a little more decadent then asparagus with bacon and hollandaise sauce is a delicious brunch treat.

Of course it is not all just about vegetables and this spring for me is going to be more fabulously well slow roasted legs of lamb and of the standing rib roast of beef.  Arm yourself with meat thermometer for the beef, follow our video instructions and make sure your cook your lamb long and slow. It always surprises me how complicated some people can try and make a roasted leg of lamb,  I don’t brown or do anything special yet it comes out perfect time after time.

While the strawberries are not yet in huge supply, lemons are everywhere, so for now my dessert pick is an elegant slice of lemon tart.

I leave you now to go and measure up my kitchen to check the possibility of housing a F&P refrigerator drawer that has settings for everything.  It can chill enough to keep frozen solid, look after meat or be mild enough to keep those summer strawberries looking perfect – love it!

See our exciting new prize on offer from F&P here – anyone need a new fridge?