Lamb Shanks with a Mint Mash

Ingredients

seasalt and whole cumin

3 lamb shanks
2 carrots chopped
2 celery sticks chopped
¼ leek chopped
2 onions chopped
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 sprig of thyme and rosemary
750ml beef stock
1 glass of red wine
For the mash
4 large potatoes peeled and chopped 
A handful of fresh mint

Method:
Remove any excess fat from the shanks. 
Ask your craft butcher to cut around the very top of the shank. 
This allows the meat fall down the bone during cooking. Season generously with ground up cumin and salt rub. 
Heat a frying pan until hot and add rapeseed oil. Sear each lamb shank until brown on all sides. 
Remove and set aside.
To a heavy based saucepan/tray add the carrots, celery, leek, onions, garlic and herbs and cook over a high heat until all the vegetables are browned. 
Deglaze the pan with the red wine and reduce by two thirds. Add the lamb shanks and the stock. The stock should cover the shanks by about three quarters.
Cover the pot and simmer for 1 and a half to 2 hours. 
The lamb shanks are cooked when the meat has fallen away from the top of the bone. 
When it is succulent and juicy it is ready. 
Take the shanks out and set aside covering with tin foil to keep them warm. 
Strain the cooking liquor through a sieve into a saucepan and reduce until it reaches a nice consistency. 
The sauce should have a really shiny glaze and should coat the back of a spoon.

Beef Wellington with a Kelly's Twist 

This recipe is fantastic for when you have a big crowd of people over for dinner. It is so simple to make and when you make it once you will want to make again and again. I often decorate with a flower cutter pastry cutter.

Ingredients

400g of beef fillet

400g of mushrooms of your choice

300g of kellys white pudding

English mustard for brushing the meat

200g of puff pastry

2 cloves of garlic

3 sprigs of thyme

2 eggs yolks

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200oC.

Heat some oil in a large pan and quickly fry the beef seasoned with sea salt and cracked blacked pepper all over until it's brown. Remove and allow to cool. The point of this is simply to sear the beef and seal all those juices in, you don't want to cook the meat at this stage. Allow to cool and brush generously with the mustard.

Roughly chop the mushrooms and white pudding and blend in a food processor with the thyme, garlic and salt to form a puree. Scrape the mixture into a hot, dry frying pan and allow the water to evaporate. When sufficiently dry (the mixture should be sticking together easily), set aside and cool.

With a pallet knife or spoon spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the pastry

Place the beef fillet in the middle and neatly roll the pastry over the beef.

Refrigerate for 10 -15 minutes on a plate, this allows the Wellington to set and helps keep the shape.

Roll out the pastry quite thinly to a size that will cover the whole beef (you can use frozen puff pastry). Egg wash the edge of the pastry and place the beef in the middle. Roll up the pastry, cut any excess off the ends and fold in the ends neatly covering both sides. Keep the lip of pastry to the bottom of your tray. egg wash over the top. Chill again to let the pastry cool, approximately 5 minutes. Egg wash again before baking at 200c for 35 - 40 minutes. Rest for 8 -10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy.

(Serving suggestion: serve with some sautéed potatoes with some garlic, rosemary and sea salt)

Beef Stir Fry (Quick and Simple)

1 Red Onion 

3 mixed peppers

1 thumb sized piece of ginger

1tbsp of fish sauce

4tbsps of sweet chilli

3tbsps of mango chutney

2 Striploin Steaks cut into strips

1 handful of cooked rice noodles

Method

In a hot wok with some oil seal off the beef with some salt and pepper in batches and set aside until needed. Slice up the peppers and red onion and seal off in some oil. Add in the ginger, sweet chilli, fish sauce and mango chutney. Bring to the boil and then add in the beef and noodles. Stir through for 1-2mins adjust the seasoning if needed and serve.