Pesto Lamb Pizza (slowcooker lamb part 2)

The holy grail combination. Everyone has some. Theres the very common dark chocolate and raspberry, honey and soy, lemon and fish... to the less common olives and white chocolate, oysters and kiwi or mushroom and blueberry (some of Hestons crazy favourites of course!) Everyone has favourites and to me, pumpkin and pesto and lamb and goats cheese ALWAYS hit the spot together. Put the two holy grails together and throw in some caramelized onion pine nuts and a delectably crispy pizza dough and this would have to be in my top 3 favourite meals ever. Just trust me. Don't question it, just make it!

Lamb Pesto Pizza

Prep time:20 (not including dough prep) Cooking time:30  minutes  Serves:4

Ingredients:

• Leftover slow cooked lamb
• 2 pizza bases or 1/2 quantity of pizza dough recipe
• 1 cup diced kent pumpkin 
• 1/4 cup toasted pinenuts
• 1 brown onion
• Small knob of butter
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of vinegar 
• 75g of goats cheese
• 4 tablespoons basil pesto

Method:

1. Place diced pumpkin in saucepan and boil until soft but not mushy. Place into a bowl with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

2. Chop onion in half and thinly slice onion. Add them to a frying pan over medium heat with the knob of butter and a small dash of oil to stop the butter from burning. 

3. Cook the onions until soft and transparent and add in sugar and vinegar. Cook for a further few minutes until mixture has thickened and is bubbling.  

3. Roll out your pizza dough into the shape of your pizza or baking tray and evenly spread on a layer of pesto- this can be as little or a lot, depending on how strong you want the pesto to be.

4. Top the pizza with pumpkin, lamb, caramelised onion, pine nuts and crumble on goats cheese. 

5. Bake in an oven until the pumpkin and goats cheese are browned and the bottom and edges of the pizza are crisp. 

Slow cooker lamb (part 1)

"Daddy, I'm never eating lamb EVER AGAIN!!!" I cried with as much passion as my 10 year old self could muster. It was the summer 10 years ago and I'd just spent the weekend on my great Aunts farm. Along with having a great time during shearing season, I had also unfortunately learnt some of the harsher truths of farming, namely, that orphaned lambs don't often survive. At the time, I was distraught and stubborn in my "no lamb" stance but  to be honest, I think I resisted maybe 2 lamb roasts before caving and coming back to the dark side (ironically I ended up being vegetarian for quite some time in my teens but thats a post for another time) . Thinking about it now, while my intentions were good I think I was crazy! Lamb is one of my favourite proteins and the convenience and adaptability of this recipe makes it irresistible. 

Slow cooker lamb

Prep time: 15 mins Cooking time: 6 hours  Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• Boneless lamb shoulder (leg can also be used)
• Dried or fresh rosemary
• 4-5 cloves of garlic 
• 500ml of chicken or vegetable stock 
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Cracked pepper

Method:
*To cook this recipe I used the Breville 'Fast Slow Cooker'*

1. If your slow cooker has a 'sear option' like mine, place a good splash of olive oil into it as well as your lamb and season with salt and pepper. Sear for a few minutes on every side until its thoroughly "sealed" to keep the lovely flavour and juices inside as it cooks. Once seared, remove and set aside on a plate.  Alternatively, if your slow cooker DOESN'T have a sear function then sear your lamb in a large frying pan following the same instructions as above.

2. Chop garlic and add to slow cooker with a little extra olive oil and sauté until softened. Alternatively, cook garlic in frying pan and then add to your slow cooker. 

3. Add rosemary  (I used approx. 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary as my plant is looking a bit bare at the moment) and made up chicken stock to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Add a trivet to the slow cooker and place your lamb on top. Re-season with salt and cracked pepper and sprinkle the top with some extra dried rosemary.

4. Set slow cooker for 6 hours on high and enjoy the delicious aromas that are sure to fill your whole house and keep your mouth watering all day. 

 5.  After 6 hours the lamb will be done. Take care when you pull it out of the slow cooker as its so tender it will be sure to fall apart, 2 egg flippers and steady hands did the trick for me. 

6. This night we served the lamb with some sweet potato that I had peeled, diced and seasoned with olive oil and salt and pepper (yep, this girl loves her seasoning!) and roasted in the oven and some simple steamed green beans. 

8. The meal was complete with some thickly cut slices of crusty sourdough to mop up those delicious juices. 

*Stay tuned for most posts on ways to use this slow cooker lamb including a pesto pizza and of course, soulvlakis!*