Cape Malay — savory, rich, and spicy lamb curry from South Africa with rice, roti, and pickled tomato-onion relish.

The list of ingredients is long but, an Ottolenghi-groomed mise-en-place-enthusiast, I breezed through it with pleasure. This is my favorite way to cook acquired years ago reading books by Fu Pei Mei, a distinguished Chinese culinary artist: lists and steps.

Besides curry, a pleasant discovery was the relish, or sambal. There was so nothing special in the list of ingredients that I almost skipped making it — the abundance of garden tomatoes became the decisive factor. Glad It happened — the relish turned out quite special, which I credit to the combination of white vinegar, sugar, and salt.

Step 1 — dry toasting whole spices until fragrant:
— 2 cinnamon sticks
— 6 green cardamom pods
— 6 allspice berries
— 6 cloves

Step 2 — sautéing aromatics until caramelized and thick:
— 1/2 cup neutral oil
— 3 onions, chopped
— 5 garlic cloves, minced
— 1.5” piece of ginger, minced
— 3 tomatoes, grated

Step 3 — dry spices — 10 min simmer:
— 1 tsp turmeric
— 2 tsp chili powder
— 1 tsp chili flakes
— 2 tsp cumin
— 2 tsp coriander
— 10 curry leaves
— 1 tsp sugar
— 1 tsp salt

Step 4 — meat and vegetables — simmer:
— 1/2 cup boiling water
— 2 lb lamb, cut into 1.5“ cubes — 30 min, covered
— 1 lb potatoes, cut as lamb — 30 min uncovered

Step 5 — garnish:
— cilantro
— scallions
— chopped fresh chilies

RELISH:
— 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
— 2 tsp sugar
— pinch of salt and pepper
— 1 chopped tomato
— 1/2 minced onion
— 1 green chili pepper
— chopped cilantro

#food #stew #lambcurry #cookingathome #cookingslow
If you live where I live you’d know what “bread and milk” means. If not and curious, go to the YouTube, enter these three words and you’ll get the answer.

When snow, rain, sleet in the forecast, this is my favorite inclement weekend fix — a good size overnight roasted pork shoulder. Bread I bake myself and no one drinks milk here anyway.

Some spice rub — any mix or just plain salt, 30 minutes at 450°F, and off to bed while it is getting to the proper condition in the oven at 195°F overnight.

Pulling off a few charred hot bits of crispy skin and watching snow fall on a Sunday morning — heaven.

Plus, the next week’s dinners are set — tacos, Cuban sliders, refried rice…

#snow #inclementweather #roastedporkshoulder #porkroast #cookingslow #chicharrones #tacos #cubansandwich #refriedrice #roastedpork #cookingathome #homemademeal #lovetocook #cookingtherapy