For a little bit of red meat inspiration we’re grilling up some lamb this evening. I purchased these lean leg steaks at Waitrose. I used to always buy the lamb chops I became so accustomed to while braiing (barbecuing ) in South Africa, but they are really too fatty to be part of the dieting days menu. Plus lamb chops can be a little like potato chips – they are so little and bite size that before you know it you’ve eaten 4 (or 10, if you’re Kevin).
Tonight I used my basic marinade – a whole lemon, a splash of olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic, malden sea salt and cracked pepper. I marinated them in the morning so it was good and soaked in. If I have fresh rosemary around that would go in too, but I didn’t. I know, I know, that makes me sad, too.
The asparagus ‘fries’ are something I’ve been making for years. I think I stole the idea from David Levy’s wife at a barbecue outside of Boston years ago. But I’ve been cooking them so long that I’m sure I’ve deviated by now. Everyone loves these, even people who don’t like asparagus.
This is the exact right time to be eating asparagus – I never understood why it was such an early spring crop, but it is, so it sort of marks the opening of the summer fresh veggie season. I look for thinner spears for the fries. I then coat them in olive oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and finally finely shred parmesan over the whole lot. I throw all this under the broiler (Andy tells me this is called the grill in the UK) – i.e. the top element of the oven on super hot. And when they are good and crisp I turn them over. Kind of like toasting pecans you go from not-at-all-ready to burned-beyond-recognition very fast, so keep a watchful eye. You were warned.
Should we take a moment and discuss the, umm, aftereffects of the asparagus as a warning to those of you who don’t eat it on a regular basis? I strongly advise bringing a nice smelling candle into the bathroom with you as your pee smells very strange. Some people say they aren’t affected. But there was this scientific study that proved that actually the chemical reaction happens to everyone but only half the population can smell the difference. I picture those poor poor research subjects who had to take part in this pee smelling study. I hope they were paid well.
To finish off the meal, and please my carb loving other half, I made a batch of Ainsley Harriot’s Citrus Kick couscous. It isn’t the best, but it’s passable and easy, plus I’m trying to work our way through years of accumulated pantry staples that have gotten lost in the back of the shelves. I bet you all have stuff like that in your cupboards – why don’t you join me and get one out of the stock yourselves? We’ll call it the ‘Global Pantry Raid’ day.
WeightWatchers points: Lamb 9 points (for 180 grams, but you can see this is a large serving which could be cut down), Asparagus 1.5 per serving (cheese and oil), couscous 3 (more if you add a pat of butter and/or sprinkle of pine nuts to jazz it up)
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