Dinner with the Girls

Great conversation, lamb cutlets and berries drizzled with white chocolate… what more could a girl ask for?

While I enjoy baking biscuits and desserts, I don’t really consider myself much of a main meal cook. Saturday night, much to my delight, was an exception. Two fellow teacher-friends came over for a catch-up and I spent the afternoon preparing ingredients for the meal so that I could cook it when they arrived. I don’t think I will ever be a Masterchef Australia contender, so my main reason for blogging about this meal is that the girls  wanted the recipe. Be aware that it was more appealing to eat than the photo suggests!

So here goes… after a “healthy” snack of red seedless grapes and crackers with spinach dip we ate our main meal of Rosemary Lamb Cutlets with chorizo and tomato couscous.

Lamb Cutlets with Rosemary

(courtesy of Donna Hay’s 10-minute meals, p60 – which NEVER take me 10 minutes! I altered this recipe slightly to feed 3, not 2 people)

• 1 Tbs chopped rosemary leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• [4 anchovy fillets, chopped… which I left out]
• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• Cracked black pepper
• 9 lamb cutlets(far too many for us)

Preheat a barbeque or char-grill (I used my George Foreman) to medium-high. Combine the rosemary, garlic, anchovies, vinegar, sugar, oil and pepper and brush over the lamb. Cook for 2-3 minutes each side or until cooked to your liking (altered to accommodate the George Foreman).

Chorizo and Tomato cous cous

(Serves 4. Unsure where I found this recipe – Coles magazine I think! Prep 10 min, Cook 15 min)

• 1 Tbs oil
• 2 chorizo sausages, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs Moroccan seasoning mix (I added a little extra for a stronger flavour)
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock (I used extra because I like my cous cous more moist than dry)
• 250g Frozen Broccoli florets
• 1 ½ cups cous cous
• 1 cup flat leaf parsley

Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium. Cook chorizo for 1-2 min each side, until golden. Remove from pan (rest on paper towels to drain oil – my addition). Cook onion in same pan for 3-5 mins, until soft. Add seasoning mix and stir until fragrant. Add tomatoes, stock and broccoli. Bring to boil and sprinkle over couscous. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5 mins, until liquid has been mostly absorbed. Stir through parsley and chorizo using a fork.

This meal was really nice. My advice? Three lamb cutlets with the cous cous was too large a meal for the three of us girls – two cutlets would have been plenty.

Dessert… Berries with white chocolate sauce

(Serves 3. Again, unsure where I heard about this)

• 175g quality white chocolate
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (I used essence)
• 30mL fresh cream
• 250g unthawed mixed berries (I also added some chopped fresh strawberries)

Melt the chocolate, vanilla and cream in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering hot water. When melted, stir to combine. Put berries in three glasses or bowls and drizzle the sauce over the top. Serve with a biscuit such as biscotti (I had baked some chocolate-studded honey biscuits earlier from Donna Hay’s Chocolate Simple Essentials recipe book.

I can assure you, the ladies left well-fed and satisfied.

A lovely, relaxed evening.

Advertisement