Review: Wine and cheese tasting at Fairview Wine Estate

Review: Wine and cheese tasting at Fairview Wine Estate

Note: for today’s post I am taking over from my fiancé that is ill in bed. It’s her birthday but she is too sick to do the planned review of our visit to Fairview wine estate in the Western Cape. Any vet worth his salt will tell me it will be quicker and easier just to put her down.

During my life I have eaten some cheeses made at Fairview, so it was nice to finally be at the place where the magic happens. ‘Magic’, being the act of letting sour milk rot until fungus grows all over it. I wonder, who was the bright spark that had the idea to let milk rot up to the point that it becomes a solid block and then eat it?

That said, my fiancé and I, like most people, love cheese. Gouda, Feta, Brie, Camembert, Cream Cheese, etc. All the stuff Weight Watchers say you have to stay away from. Fairview produces a whole line of artisanal* cheeses at their cheesery**.

Located close to the idyllic town of Paarl in the Western Cape, Fairview is a dream come true for people coming from Mordor (Gauteng). Lush green fields and vineyards set a dramatic contrast to the Gauteng landscape of burning cars and police officers soliciting bribes from the people burning in the cars.

Driving into Fairview you are greeted by their iconic goat castle. A tall tower structure that only goats have the dexterity to climb. Cows will just fall off and roll into the parking lot.

Lounge in the wine tasting area.

 

Walk past the tower and into the wine tasting area. The wine tasting area is divided into two tasting areas – the casual tasting area and the exclusive tasting area. We headed straight for the exclusive area since you not only get to taste wine, but every wine is paired with a cheese that compliments the wine’s flavour. As a palate cleanser, you are served Ciabatta bread with olive oil produced locally at Fairview.

The waiters serving you are very knowledgeable in not only the wine making techniques used on the farm but also the cheese making process. Question them about anything regarding wine tasting and they will be able to tell you. Skin contact, maturing, oak barrel aging versus something something, honestly, thinking back, I can’t remember much. I assume the wine tasting was a great success.

Oak barrels used to age wine, next to the wine tasting area.

 

Stumbling out of Fairview I reflected how great it is to be in South Africa. The natural beauty, the people and the food makes this one of the greatest countries in the world.

*New word I just learned.

**Another new word I just learned. In fact, not even MS Word spell check knows what a cheesery is.

Restaurant review: Doppio Zero Southdowns

Restaurant review: Doppio Zero Southdowns

Doppio Zero at the Southdowns mall in Centurion recreates the atmosphere of a European Coffee Shop. (No, not Amsterdam Coffee Shop).

When you step through the doors at Doppio, you are greeted with the scent of freshly baked bread and cookies. Doppio Zero has their own bakery, which delivers freshly baked Artisan goods every day.

Ideal for a first date, I invited a girl that I have only spoken to on the Internet to join me for a drink at Doppio. The friendly and warm atmosphere at Doppio is perfect to put two nervous people at ease. Also, eye witnesses should I go missing.



Image source.

The ambience did its job and soon, with wine in hand, we were chatting like we have known it each other for years. We quickly decided that we will upgrade this date from ‘Drinks’ to ‘Dinner and Drinks’. Doppio’s menu offers Mediterranean dishes with a South African twist. They have a lot mouth-watering dishes including one of my favourites – Gnocchi. Much like a pasta dish, Gnocchi is made from potato dumplings and served with a pasta sauce you desire.

Image source.

The breakfast menu at Doppio Zero is something special with many unique dishes that you don’t normally find on a breakfast menu making Doppio a lovely place to go for breakfast.

Hey, speaking of menus, Doppio Zero why do you put you menus on your website as pdf files? Not only do I have to wait for the menu to download, the menus are not searchable. If you want to make one change to the menu you have to redo the pdf and upload the file again. If you had the menu in HTML you could make the change quickly without a lot of hassle. Do yourself and us a favour by uploading your menus in good ’ol HTML.

According to your website, you don't have pizza.

That said, Doppio is an enjoyable upmarket and relaxed place for breakfast, lunch or dinner. How did my dinner date go?

As of now, my date is now my fiancé.

 

 

 

Review: Dinner @ Capeesh! Capeesh?

REVIEW: DINNER @ CAPEESH!

Let me start with a little story first, before reviewing this awesome restaurant.  I've been a patron of this restaurant since 2010.  So when me and the fiance started dating I decided on sharing this experience with him. 

 

I clearly remember it being May 2012, a Tuesday night, just before we were to go away for the weekend to Parys, I asked him to dinner at this nice Italian restaurant. And it being "Half price Pasta Evening" was just an extra bonus!

 

We were busy having a lovely dinner, chatting away about our past (we were both married before), the present (how lucky we were to have met each other) and the future! What a shock it was on my poor digestion when this handsome man across the table form me told me that he liked me BUT that he was not in love with me! Oh my goodness, I wanted to choke on the delicious piece of steak in my mouth, but decided to rather finish the whole bottle of wine in front of me!

 

But let me tell you this, that Friday evening after that terrible Tuesday, we were in Parys and with the fire going and the red wine flowing, this man watched me with longing eyes while I was preparing our pasta.  And it gave me quite a kick to tease him with soft kisses and to quote myself my reaction was: "You won't get lucky tonight Hun, because you're not in love with me"!

 

And as a matter of fact he lied to himself and me that Tuesday night, the handsome bugger, because today we are planning our wedding!!!!  And every time he looks into my eyes I can see and feel the love!

 

Okay now on to the review.

 

Capeesh is a family orientated Italian restaurant (it being in the same family for some decades) situated in Brooklyn, Pretoria, South Africa. 

 

The ambiance is relaxed, romantic and upper class.

 

The quality of service and dishes is of a high standard. From the carne dishes (beef), pizza, pasta right through to the pesce dishes (fish) you can expect a delightful, tasty and innovative range to choose from off their menu.

 

They also won the Platinum award for wine list of the year 2011.  A wide range of wines are always available at this restaurant, from Vrede and Lust to Rupert and Rothschild (I can vouch that you don't get these wines easily at any restaurant)

 

 

And the best thing about this restaurant for us: It is not a cheesy franchise, it is unique and you're always treated like family! A nice personal touch!

 

Do yourself a favour, doesn't matter if you're a local or a tourist coming to South Africa, go and have a meal at this restaurant! You won't be disappointed.

 

 



Substitute Ingredients for some hard to find ingredients

Substitute Ingredients for some hard to find ingredients

My fiancé and I like to try out recipes from exotic cultures from all around the world. As a consequence we often run into ingredients that aren’t readily available from the shops close by.

So we compiled a list of some of the harder to find ingredients and what you can use as a substitute if you can find them.

 

Fenugreek

Fenugreek is often used in Indian dishes. Recipes might call for either Fenugreek seeds or Fenugreek leaves.

You can substitute Fenugreek seeds with mustard seeds or fennel seed.

A tablespoon of Fenugreek leaves can be substituted with fresh chopped celery leaves or chopped watercress leaves.

Some chefs says that fenugreek, if not available, can be left out altogether.

 

Kashmiri

Kashmiri chili powder is a medium / mildly hot with a lot of flavour. It is also used to colour dishes. It has a taste that is a lot like paprika but is a bit hotter.

It is recommended you use paprika and cayenne pepper as a substitute for Kashmiri. Paprika will add the colour while cayenne will add some heat.

 

Asafoetida / Asafetida

Asafoetida is a spice typical found in Indian cuisine. It functions as a flavor enhancer and is used in condiments, pickles and curries. It has a strong onion-garlic flavour.

To substitute Asafoetida, use garlic powder or onion powder.

 

Potato flour

Potato flour is used in gluten-free baking. Potato flour has the ability to absorb a lot of liquid and therefor make a good thickener of soups, stews, etc.

Potato flour can be replaced by using an equal amount of bread flour or AP flour.

 

5 spice

Often used in Chinese dishes, 5 spice usually consists of a mixture of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and fennel seeds.

You can make your own 5 spice by mixing  

·        2 teaspoons of Szechuan peppercorns (which naturally leads to the Szechuan peppercorn substitute)

·        8 ground star anise

·        Half teaspoon of ground cloves

·        1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

·        1 tablespoon of ground fennel seeds

 

Szechuan peppercorn

Found in Asian Cuisine, Szechuan pepper is not as hot as chillies with a slight lemon taste.

If you can’t find Szechuan peppercorn, use freshly ground black peppercorns.

 

All spice

Also known as Jamaican Pepper is often used in Caribbean cuisine.

All spice can be substituted with cloves.

 

Bok Choy

Also known as Chinese Cabbage, Bok Choy is found in soups, stir fries, appetizers and main dishes.

Substitute Bok Choy with normal cabbage or spinach.

 

Cilantro

Every now and again, I run into a recipe calling for cilantro. Cilantro is just another name for coriander.

 

Sake wine

Sake wine is a Japanese wine made from rice.

Sake can be substituted with white wine or Shaoxing wine.

What is a substitute for Shaoxing wine? Fuck knows. It is getting late and this article is getting too long now.

Camembert and Cranberry Fillet

Camembert and Cranberry Fillet

For my company's year-end lunch we went to one of those Medieval restaurants where you have to eat potatoes and fish balls with your hands. You don't get napkins and if your fingers get dirty you HAVE to ask the person next to you to lick your fingers. Fuck, what an ordeal.

I needed something to balance this out or Friday would be nothing but a big suck-fest. Luckily my fiance (or m'lady in shining armor) rescued me from my Medieval nightmare. She bought the best beef fillet she could find along with some Camembert Cheese and Cranberry sauce.

Ingredients:
Beef Fillet (size = depending on how shitty your lunch was)
Camembert Cheese
Woolworths Cranberry sauce with crushed berries
Crushed Garlic
Salt flakes
Olive Oil
Red Wine
Balsamic
Sugar
A Spring of Parsley
A Small Spring of Thyme
A Small Spring of Rosemary
A Spring of Coriander
Onions

Prepare the beef fillet by rubbing some olive oil, crushed garlic and salt flakes on the meat. Let it stand for a while.

After the fillet stood for a while, cut slits into the side of the fillet to create a cavity in the side of the fillet. Fill the cavity with Camembert Cheese and finely chopped parsley, thyme, rosemary and coriander. To ensure that the filling don't spill out when you cook it, tie some string around the fillet or if you don't have string, you can use toothpicks to keep the fillet together.

Put the fillet aside for time being, it is now time for the Cranberry sauce with Red Wine.

Heat some olive oil in a pan. Fry the onions until translucent and soft. Stir two teaspoons of sugar into the onions. The sugar will caramelize the onions.

Now stir in the Cranberry sauce and a dash of red wine. Cook for 5 minutes while stirring continuously.

Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, turn down the heat and let it simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. If the sauce gets to thick, you can add some water to dilute the sauce.

While the sauce is simmering you can start cooking the steaks. Cook them which ever way you prefer your steak - Charcoal, medium or bloody as hell.

Once the steak and the sauce is done, it's time to dish up! Pour some of the Cranberry sauce over your steaks and enjoy with a side dish of your choice. You can go for rice, mash or a nice salad.

 

Friday - rescued!

Quiz on Red Wine

For everybody that loves wine, there is a Wine Quiz posted on www.food24.com.

The quiz is rather hard and will test your wine knowledge to the full.

Date Night Dish Gone...Right

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Herby Potatoes and Feta and Avo Salad

Pan fried baby potatoes with mushrooms and fresh herbs

Me and soon to be hubby (YAY) make time for date nights every week.  This is usually when we try out new recipes, have sushi or make a concoction of our own.  It was Thursday night and date night and the fiancee decided to surprise me with a dish (and a beautiful orchid - now isn't that sweet - and no that doesn't make him a wussy just a man with taste).

 

I was in charge of the side dishes and decided on pan fried mushrooms and baby potatoes covered with herbs fresh from our own herb garden and a nice crisp summer salad.

 

The Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Ingredients:

4 deboned and skinless chicken breast fillets

Gypsy ham

Fairview feta cheese

Calamata olives

Olive oil

Italian herbs

Salt and pepper

 

Prepare the chicken by slicing the breast thinly down the middle, be cautious not to cut it through completely.

Insert the Gypsy ham, Fairview Feta Cheese and Calamata olives into the cavity you just created.

Bind the chicken together with some rope or toothpicks if you can't find that rope staring you right in the eye.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the Italian herbs.

Place the chicken pieces in the oiled pan and fry on low heat for about 40 minutes or until done, turning continuously.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

This is date night, so don't get carried away with all the smooching and foreplay that you totally forget about the chicken (luckily we remembered in time).  Rather set the timer for in case things get too hot in the kitchen.

 

Pan fried potatoes and mushrooms with fresh herbs:

Ingredients:

Baby potatoes (as many as you like)

Small button mushrooms

Garlic

Flat leave parsley

Sprigs of Rosemary

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

 

Pre-cook the baby potatoes until they are soft.

Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the potatoes, mushrooms, garlic and some of the herbs to the pan.

Stir often until mushrooms are golden brown.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

The Feta and Avo Salad:

Here you can let the artistic juices flow..... come on, go wild.

This was a nice salad as a side dish. (If I were to serve just salad I would have been more bold and make it as kinky as I can be). 

 

We highly recommend the KWV Shiraz to go with the dish.

 

Go ahead, do a date night, experiment with some new flavours and get jiggy with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magical Muratie

A Rainy Sunday Afternoon at Muratie Wine Farm

Unique.  That is the first thought that comes to mind when you enter this small wine farm a few kilometres away from Delheim Wine farm.

When you enter this farms tasting room your eyes meet so many interesting features, that for a little while you almost forget that you are actually here to taste some wine.  From the dog that just lays in front of the entrance to the interesting paintings and vintage wine press.  This was definitely a feast on the eyes!  See for yourself.

We sat down near the fire place and the web covered window, tasting some of the most exquisite wines and ports.

If you are lucky you can get some of it in a booze shop, but overall they are rare.  We enjoyed it so much at Muratie that we spent almost whole of the afternoon there getting totally sloshed.  That was fun.  Luckily there weren't any pork chops (a.k.a. traffic cops) on our way home.

The service was very good and this wine farm is a MUST see for anyone who deems themselves a wine connoisseur.

for more information see www.muratie.co.za

Hake with red pepper relish

Hake with red pepper relish

Ingredients

For the fish:
4 Fillets of hake
Some Himalayan crystal salt / coarse sea-salt
Tablespoon butter
Olive oil

For the Red Pepper Relish:
5 Red Peppers
1 Red Chilli
1 Onion
2 Garlic cloves
2 Sprigs of Thyme
1 Bay leave
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
5 Tablespoons olive oil
A pinch of salt
Some fresh fennel
Some smoked paprika

Cover the hake fillets with some Himalayan crystal salt (or normal course sea-salt) and set aside for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes or so, rinse the fish with cold water, use a paper towel to pat the fish dry and set aside.

Now for the Red Pepper Relish.
Crush the Garlic cloves.
Finely chop the onions.
Slice the fennel into fine pieces.
Cut the Red Peppers into Julienne strips.

 Heat the 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan together with the red pepper, garlic, fennel, onion, red chilli, thyme, bay leave and a pinch of salt.

Cook for 15 minutes on a low heat until the onions and the peppers are nice and soft.

Add the paprika, balsamic, paprika and honey into the relish.

Cook until this mixture has been reduced by a third.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer gently for a while.

In a sauce pan, heat enough olive oil to cover the base of the pan.

Add the butter.

Pan fry the hake for more or less for 4 minutes on each side. Once done, set the hake aside to rest.

Once the fish has rested, it is time to dish up.

This was a great dish and we enjoyed it a lot. Only thing to mind though - don't take so many pictures of it afterwards that it is completely cold by the time the girlfriend finally decide there is enough photos we can now eat.

This dish works very well as an aphrodisiac. Believe me.

Lavender and Thyme Chicken with red wine sauce

When I heard about mixing red wine with chicken I was intrigued, usually the experts will only recommend white wine with chicken, and so we decided to take up this experiment.

Ingredients:
4 portions skinless deboned chicken breasts
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
(get the good shit, not the cheap crap my boyfriend has in his pantry)
8 shallots (that is now the fancy pancy word for small onions)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup of red wine
(go for the decent bottle in your wine rack, it's only one cup, you can have the rest while making this awesome dish)
1 cup of chicken stock
4 twiglets thyme
2 tsp lavender flowers
shredded skin and juice of 1 orange
salt and pepper to taste

Garnishing the chicken you will need the following:
1 orange, peeled and divided into sections
A few lavender sprigs
4 tsp lavender flowers

So now the experiment can begin, I must say besides being intrigued I was also sceptic.  But me and the boyfriend is one mean team and we were sure that we will pull this off successfully.

The Method:
Heat the butter and "good shit olive oil" in a pan, once heated, add the chicken breasts.
Fry the breasts until they are brown (fondle the breasts of your girlfriend while waiting for the chicken, see that is why a man is handy in the kitchen).
Once the chicken is done, move it to a ceramic bowl.
Fry the shallots in the pan until golden brown and soft.
Add the shallots to the chicken in the bowl.
Add the flour to the pan, cooking whilst stirring continuously.
Add enough red wine and chicken stock to the pan to create a thin sauce.
Bring to boiling point whilst stirring continuously.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in the following:
Thyme twiglets
Lavender Sprigs
And the shredded orange skin and juice.
Pour this combo over the chicken and shallots in the bowl.
Cover and simmer for 40 minutes and Bob's your uncle.

Dish up and garnish the chicken artistically with the orange sections, lavender sprigs and lavender flowers.

You can basically serve this dish with any starch, in retrospect I think cous cous would have been a big hit, but we went with baby potatoes, see the boyfriend just LOVE potatoes, so I had to repay the favor mentioned earlier in this blog :)

And now you can take the word of two self taught amateur cooks that red wine does go with chicken.

Make your own Basil Pesto Pizza from scratch

 

Making your pizza from scratch is not that hard. It might be time consuming but it is a nice activity for the family to do together.

Making the pizza dough

Ingredients:
4 Cups of all purpose flour
1 Sachet of dry yeast
1.5 Cup of lukewarm water
2 Teaspoons salt
1 Teaspoon sugar
Olive oil

Put the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a bowl and combine the lot. Note: if you had cut your finger minutes ago (like I did) your girlfriend might say things like "You fainted when you saw your own blood so maybe I should take over". I never fainted. I just laid down for a quick power nap on the kitchen floor.

I need the power nap because the next part takes some  effort if you don't have a mixer to combine everything. If you have a mixer switch the mixer on and while it is running add the water and two tablespoons olive oil. If you don't have a mixer you will have to do the mixing yourself which could be quite strenuous.

Mix until the dough comes together in a nice solid ball.

Note: if the dough is very sticky add more flour. If the dough is too dry add more water to the mix.

When the dough had formed a nice ball remove the dough from the mixer. Now it's time to put in some elbow grease. Knead the dough into a firm ball.

Grease a bowl with 2 teaspoons of olive oil put the dough in and cover with plastic wrap. Put the dough somewhere warm for approximately an hour. The dough should double in size during that time.

While waiting for the dough it is time to start with the Basil Pesto.

Basil Pesto

Ingredients
Two cups of fresh Basil leaves.
Quater of a cup walnuts or pinenuts.
Two thirds of a cup Olive oil.
Two cloves of garlic.
Half a cup of Pecorino chees.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine the Basil leaves, walnuts, garlic in a food processor. Pulse until it's course. Add halve of the Olive Oil and season with salt and pepper. Pulse until a nice smooth paste is formed.

Now put the paste into a bowl and stir in the cheese.

Making the Pizza

Ingredients
Pizza dough (see entry above)
Basil Pesto (see entry above)
Tomato Paste
Mozzarella cheese
Dried Origanum
Fresh Parsley
Any Pizza toppings, we went with:
Salami
Avocado
Calamata Olives

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Once the dough is ready roll it out into an oven proof pan.  Spread the Tomato Paste across the dough.
Do the same with the Basil Pesto.

Spread the Mozzarello cheese evenly across the base and toss the rest of the ingredients on the Pizza.

Put the Pizza in the oven form +- 20 minutes.

Potjie in Paternoster

Ok, apparently this is illegal. But stick with me and I will tell you how to make the most amazing west coast lobster potjie. (Or west-fokken-coast as the locals call it).

When you get to Paternoster for the first time the thing that will catch your attention is all the people selling lobsters. They are every where and they are not making a secret of it - you can buy lobster anywhere. Buying is so easy that you can scarcely believe that it is illegal. It was only after our visit in Paternoster that somebody brought it to our attention that what we did was illegal. How the fuck should we know? Maybe they should put up a sign or something.

Nywayz, to get your hands on fresh lobster in Paternoster is real easy, and so is this recipe for making an awesome lobster potjie.

 

Ingredients:
Onions
Olive Oil
Freshly Chopped Garlic
Chilli powder
Salt
Pepper
Red Pepper
Peppadews
Ina Paarman chilli sauce (or any kind of sauce)
Lobster (legal or otherwise)


How to do:
Heat the olive oil in a potjie.
Add the onions, chilli powder and the garlic.
Add peppers.
Cook until something something. I guess until the onions are golden brown.
Add the lobster.
Cook until the lobster is nearly done.
Add the the Ina Paarman sauce and let it simmer for a while.

Once it is done, enjoy the meal. It might be the last one for a while if the cops get you.

Paternoster Visit August 2012

Paternoster Visit August 2012

Having met on a dating site in February 2012 and hitting it off instantly, we decided to go on holiday. The obvious choice was the barren west coast of South Africa.

We decided on the quaint little town called Paternoster, two hours drive north of Cape Town.

 

 

We instantly fell in love with this picturesque town.  Everywhere we looked we just saw brilliant photo opportunities. Exploring the town and its restaurants were a thing of beauty and remebrance.

 

 

 

We visited the following spots:

 

Panty Bar at the Paternoster Hotel

The Noisy Oyster

Blikkies Pizzeria

 

Blikkies is situated in the one of the oldest buildings in Paternoster and serves some of the best pizza we've ever tasted.  Definitely a place where you can chill, chat and throw back a few ciders and beers on a lazy August afternoon.

 

 

 

We really hope to see Paternoster soon and can recommend this old world town for a relaxing and unforgettable holiday.





Herb-crusted Rack of Lamb with New Potatoes

The mission: Herb-crusted Rack of Lamb with New Potatoes

So we decided on playing around with some herbs.  We recently started growing our own herbs and were excited to start using them in our cooking.

We had a rocky start to the mission.  We walked the Spaniels and made a quick stop at the local butchery to pick up our lamb for the evening.  On our way back, the small "smeagle" look-alike spaniel, named Zoë, broke loose from the leash and charged on down the street.  I instantly became a sprint athlete and chased the little shit and caught her a few blocks down and averted a tragedy which would have ruined the evening.

Spaniel still intact we can now go on to the evening.

The ingredients:
Rack of lamb.
5 (or so) medium sized potatoes.
White bread crumbs (in reality we could only get Corn Flake Crumbs from local grocer).
Two large garlic cloves. Crushed or chopped.
Mix a handful of rosemary, thyme, flat leave parsley and marjoram together.
(Get some extra herbs for presentation)
Quarter cup of melted butter, mix in salt and pepper to taste.
Argument with girlfriend about grammar.
Salt & Pepper.

To go with the lamb we went with tomato and olive oil infused lentils. And of course New Potatoes (see title of blog post).
For the lentils:
Chopped onion.
Argue with girlfriend about blog content.
Receive spelling lessons from girlfriend.
Black Lentils (no shit).
2 tbsp Olive oil.
Chopped Italian tomatoes.
Chopped fresh parsley.

Pre-step 1.
Cook potatoes.

Right, step one!
Preheat oven to 220 degrees or whatever that is in Fahrenheit.
Mix corn flake crumbs with garlic, chopped herbs and butter. !IMPORTANT! You should have started drinking red wine by now!
At this point it is about time the girlfriend should lose an argument (finally).
Rub the mixture on the meaty side of the lamb.
Roast the lamb +- 40 mins. Or 25 mins if you are all 'Twilight' and you like bloody stuff.

Step number twice.
Heat a pan with olive oil and cook the onions until soft.
Add lentils and tomatoes and cook until the lentils are soft.
Add parsley.
Season to taste.

Step three.
Cut potatoes into quarters.
Wrap lamb in foil.
Put potatoes in the pan with the lamb.
Season with rosemary and flat leave parsley.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Season with Himalayan Crystal Salts and pepper.
Roast in the oven for 10 mins.

Mission accomplished.
With everything done, dish the lamb, potatoes and lentils.
Decorate with extra herbs for presentation.
!IMPORTANT! - Have some more red wine.

With the Spaniels safe, and the food cooked, it is time to just chill, drink some more red wine. Enjoy some good company and good food.