All my favourites

I was totally spoiled for choice having to cook with the letter 'L' for this week's #abcmeals challenge.  A lot of my favourite foods begin with 'L' - lamb, lasagne, lemon, lime, leek, linguini (well any pasta really), lollies, limoncello, lemon lime and bitters, licorice, lemongrass, lamingtons, the list could go on and on.  Narrowing it down to two courses, manageable on a week night was a big challenge.  I settled on lamb, leek and lemon, but changed my mind so many times on what I might actually cook.  In the end I couldn't go past a classic lamb rack, which are honestly one of the easiest things you can cook.  For dessert I went with my new favourite tart - a No-bake Lemon Tart, which only requires four ingredients.  And of course we had real Lemon, Lime and Bitters to drink!

Rack of Lamb with Leeks and Potato Gallette
Lamb
1 whole rack of lamb, fat trimmed (3 - 4 cutlets per person)
2 - 3 fresh Rosemary sprigs
2 - 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup good red wine (whatever you plan to drink when cooking and eating)

1. Place lamb in a large snaplock bag.  Add rosemary leaves and garlic and rub them into the lamb.  Add red wine.  Seal bag and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour.
2. Heat an oven-safe frypan on a medium-high heat.  Remove lamb from marinade and place directly into pan.  Sear for 3 - 4 minutes on each side.
3. Place frypan into a pre-heated over at 180C and allow lamb to roast for up to 10 minutes - depending on the thickness of the piece and how you like your lamb cooked.
4. Remove lamb from frypan to a warmed plate.  Cover with alfoil and keep in a warm spot to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Potatoes
2 Kipfler potatoes
80g unsalted butter, melted
1 - 2 garlic cloves, minced

1. Slice potatoes into thin discs.  If you use a mandolin for this, please make sure you use the guard so that you don't slice your finger tips!
2. Combine all ingredients.
3. Arrange potato in an overlapping circle on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
4. Season with salt and a little pepper.
5. Bake at 180C for 15 - 20 minutes, until potatoes are browned and starting to crisp up.

Leeks
1 Leek, white part only, sliced finely
80g unsalted butter
50mL cream

1. Place sliced leeks in a small pan with the butter, over a medium-low heat.  Allow them to gently soften and cook.  Add more butter if it's getting a bit dry, so that they don't burn.
2. When leeks are cooked add the cream and season with a little black pepper.

No-bake Lemon Tart
1 packet Arnott's Granita biscuits (250g)
125g unsalted butter, melted
2 cups lemon curd
500g creme fraiche or mascarpone cheese

1. Using baking paper, line the base of a 20 - 25cm loose-bottomed tart tin. 
2. Crush biscuits in a food processor and combine with melted butter. 
3. Press into the base and up the sides of the prepared tin.  If you use a smaller tin, don't overfill with the crust.  Instead use the remaining crust in mini tart tins or a muffin tin to make some smaller tarts as well.  No point in wasting it!
4. Refrigerate base for at least 20 minutes.
5. Combine lemon curd and creme fraiche.  Pour into chilled base.  Refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours.
6. Serve with fresh berries or lemon and lime wedges and a dollop of cream.

 Thanks to Cooking with Nonna for this recipe. 

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Kale, Kangaroo and Kiwi Fruit

It certainly was a week for 'K'. First off it was meeting the lovely Kylie Minogue on the weekend, then it was onto Dinner with 'K'. As the title suggests, I used kale, kangaroo and kiwifruit. I have never used kale or kangaroo before and I have failed with kiwifruit before. None of the recipes are tricky.

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale - 1 green kale and 1 red kale
olive oil spray
chilli flakes
salt and pepper

Rip up the kale leaves and spray with olive oil. Lay out on baking tray and sprinkle with chilli flakes and salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at a low heat till the leaves become dehydrated crunchy.

Kangaroo, Parmesan Mash, and veg

2 fillets kangaroo
olive oil
salt and pepper
potato
parmesan cheese
broccoli
tomatoes

I marinated the kangaroo fillets in the olive oil and S&P for an hour +. Place the fillets in the frypan and cook for 8 minutes on each side. Place in oven at 180C for 10 minutes. To make some mash boil up the potatoes, mash them up and add some grated parmesan cheese.  Serve with some broccoli and slow roasted tomatoes.

Kiwi Ice
6 kiwifruit
1 orange
1 Lemon
1 cup of apple juice

Peel the kiwifruits and chop up. Squeeze the orange and the lemon into blender, add the pieces of kiwifruit and the apple juice. Blend up.
Freeze in a container in the freezer for a couple of hours - do not freeze firm.
Serve with some fresh berries.