a VU on Food

As you all know I am quite carnivorous. I do love my veggies and am improving on my fruits, but nothing can really beat a juicy steak or Sunday roast (except for maybe anything fried).  So I thought I’d share a little slide show of the meat I’ve been eating. Hope you enjoy! 

Sunday Roast - Rosemary Garlic Lamb

Perfectly crispy, fluffed, roast potatoes

So many people give the Brits a hard time about their “plain” food, but as I’ve come to learn plain is just another word for simple. And if you have good quality ingredients, you don’t always need a whole lot of them. The above is courtesy of Mr. Chris Hutton (the boyfriend). Lamb was the very first thing Chris ever cooked for me, and three years later I’m still around! He stuffs garlic cloves and rosemary into the meat and rubs English mustard powder and a bit of flour on the outside. Since rosemary is such a fragrant herb, it can really stand on its own. (Tarragon and sage are other unique, distinct herbs) Be sure to keep it covered ~75% of the cooking time so moisture isn’t lost. It’s SO simple, but when done right it’s such a comforting meal.. Especially when it’s accompanied by perfectly crisp, fluffed potatoes! It’s not fair the Brits get such good potatoes. I have neeever been a potato person, but I’m definitely a convert! A classic trick is to use some goose fat to brown your potatoes in. It’s a natural product and will give you super crispy results! For crispy fries/chips, ensure you have dried, cooked potatoes before frying. Stick them in the oven for just a minute or two to finish off the drying process and voila! 

As you may remember from many previous posts, my family loves steak. My Dad’s specialty is char-grilled steak. We have this incredible grill that gets up to very high temperatures which is crucial to achieve that perfect char crust. So as requested the parents supplied the kids with a classic dinner with Dad’s steak, fresh sweetcorn grilled and sautéed with shallots, bacon and chives (by Mom), roasted potatoes and fresh green beans. But since my family doesn’t do anything small, there was a ton of leftover steak. So the next day Chris and I decided to use the leftovers for brunch  

Steak & egg sandwich with roasted garlic mayo (on ciabatta)

For those of you who aren’t too familiar with Vietnamese food, we love pork. Lots and lots of pork. One of my favorite dishes I’ve grown up with is Bún Thịt Nướng. It’s marinated grilled pork over rice vermicelli noodles served with nuoc cham (type of fish sauce dipping sauce of course!), fresh herbs, lettuce, cucumber and optional pickled vegetables. This is a classic Vietnamese dish that’s perfect for summer. I recently learned that in the South it’s traditionally made with lemongrass but in the North it’s made without. Also some recipes use sugar or honey in the marinade, but it’s not entirely necessary (although it will help to offset the pungent flavor of fish sauce). The trick to this dish is to marinade it with just a bit of fish sauce (enough to coat the meat). After you’ve grilled the meat on very high heat, throw it into a large bowl of fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, green/spring onions and red chili peppers. The meat will soak up all the flavors and the sauce will get a bit of the smokiness from the meat. Serve on a bed of cold noodles, romaine lettuce, cilantro/coriander, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil and some fresh cucumber on the side! Roasted peanuts are also optional. It’s best with Vietnamese fried spring rolls on the side (cha gio). 

Bun Thit Nuong (Grilled Pork on Rice Noodles)

Hope you enjoyed! What’s your favorite way to eat meat?