Sunday roast for dad
Plaka has the perfect recipe to impress your dad with this Sunday. We’re also giving away three Plaka vouchers worth R500 each to treat your father.
Plaka has shared this simple but delicious two-course Sunday roast and Greek rice pudding recipe with us. They’re also giving away three R500 vouchers to treat your dad.
All the details on how to win are below.
Ingredients
For the lamb:
2kg/4½lb leg of lamb, on the bone
For the garlic and rosemary butter
3 large garlic cloves
20g/1oz butter
4-5 stalks fresh rosemary plus extra for garnish
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the gravy
125ml/4½fl oz red wine
small knob of butter
equal amount of plain four
Preparation method
. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Remove the lamb from the fridge and allow it to get to room temperature.
. Make the garlic and rosemary butter. Peel the garlic cloves and grate them finely with a grater. Place into a bowl with the butter.
. Strip the leaves off the rosemary stalks and chop finely. Add to the bowl with the garlic and butter. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mash to a paste with a fork.
. With a sharp thin knife or a metal skewer, make between 30 and 50 small incisions into the flesh of the lamb. They should be large enough for you to stick just your fingertip into.
. Work the butter and garlic mixture into the lamb by massaging it into the meat, trying to work it into the holes that you've created.
. Place the lamb in a roasting tin, cover loosely with foil and place in the preheated oven. As it heats up, the butter will melt and help the rosemary and garlic to work their way into the holes and really penetrate the lamb.
. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and leave to roast for a further 50-60 minutes (for medium) or until cooked to your liking.
. At the end of cooking time, remove the lamb from the oven and leave it to rest in the roasting tin for 10-15 minutes, with some foil on top to keep it warm.
. Make the gravy. Heat a heavy-based frying pan on the hob. When hot, pour the pan juices from the roasting tin into the pan (be careful as it may splatter). Add the red wine. Turn the heat down and leave the sauce to reduce.
. To thicken the sauce, make a beurre manie by mixing together the flour and butter in a clean bowl to make a paste. Add about a teaspoon of the beurre manie to the pan and whisk well, until the sauce has the desired consistency.
. To serve, slice the lamb and pour over the gravy. Garnish with a couple stalks of fresh rosemary. This would be good with potatoes dauphinoise and fresh vegetables for a Sunday lunch.
Dessert
Greek rice pudding is thick and creamy and it is a definite treat. It takes quite a bit of stirring action to thicken properly, but the end result is really worth the effort.
A note about the rice: Rice pudding devotees are quite emphatic about the kind of rice they use. One of my aunts insists that her brand of long grain rice is the only way to go.
I have found that my best results come from using a short, round grain rice. The Greeks call this pudding rice “glace” (glah-seh) and it resembles Arborio rice in its appearance. You can try the recipe with both a long and short grain rice and decide which you prefer.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6 (4 oz.) servings
Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 quart milk
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup rice (see above)
• 3 inch strip of lemon rind
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten well
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ground cinnamon for serving
Preparation:
In a large saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the milk and pinch of salt and bring to a boil.
Add the rice and lemon rind and boil for approximately 25 minutes stirring frequently to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. You want the rice to be tender but not mushy.
When the rice is cooked, remove the lemon rind and stir in the sugar.
Add about a cup of the warm milk mixture to the beaten eggs to temper them and prevent them from curdling.
Reduce the heat to low and add the egg – milk mixture into the pot, stirring constantly and continue to cook until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract and cool.
To serve, dust with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon. You can enjoy this recipe at room temperature or chilled.
WIN one of three R500 vouchers to enjoy a meal at Plaka. Simply email [email protected] with the subject line ‘Plaka’ and tell us what your dad’s favourite meal is.
* Winners will be announced on Tuesday.
Please note this competition is now closed
