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For the Love of Lamb!

The great thing about lamb is that even the free-range organic grass fed heritage lambs are shockingly easy to work with.

And the taste! I knew I found a gem when I first opened up a pack of lamb chops from my farmer and the first thing I smelled was clovers.

Here, I won't give a recipe, because it's completely unnecessary... just an approach. I will post some stellar lamb recipes this fall when I get my next year supply from the farm, but for now, the simplest and most delicious way to enjoy heritage lamb.

Plate - season with coarse or Kosher salt - cast iron skillet - melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter on medium until lightly smoking - sear - 2-3 minutes per side - tent under foil for 3 minutes.

Whatever you're serving this with, make it in advance because once you're ready to go with the lamb, it should have your undivided attention. This is for a couple of reasons - a) it cooks fast and b) it would be truly tragic to ruin one of the best quality (and possibly expensive) meats you'll buy. You truly want to enjoy this rare to medium rare, so be cautious. Better to take it off a bit too soon and refire if it's too rare for your taste, than to have an over-cooked chop that you can do nothing to salvage. [Here's a helpful tip - you should be able to tell doneness by touching the meat with your finger. Blue feels like your cheek; rare-medium like your chin; well-done (or ruined) feels very firm.]

This hit my table at least three or four times this past year. I remember the first time I delicately cut into the meet with my knife and tasted that tender, buttery goodness, dropped my utensils and ate the rest like a neanderthal. Why does food always taste better when you eat it with your hands?

Summer Simplicity

Next to the bright sweet variety of tastes it offers, my favourite thing about summer cooking is the simplicity of the food. After all, on a hot summer day, it's not like we really want to be in a hot kitchen cooking. But if you have the right ingredients on-hand and plan ahead, you can be full and have clean dishes with hours of day light left.

Certainly it helps if you have some pre-cooked chicken on-hand, or meat that cooks quickly like fish or steak. But for me the most important aspect of being prepared for a work week in summer is a fridge stocked with local vegetables. Taking an hour or so once a week can make all the difference and will ensure everything gets eaten.

Right now, I have a local farm that happens to do weekly deliveries, so not only is the veg delicious, bright and nutritious, it's also sustainable. But wherever you get your fresh produce, wash and dry in advance - you'd be amazed how much easier this makes week night meal time.

When you're not interested in spending time in the kitchen or prepping the BBQ, a simple cold or hot salad is always the best way to feed everyone and only have a bowl or a pan to clean. You can even add a simple carb to your salad by mixing together flour, water, oil, herbs, salt and pepper to a dough, roll it out on a floured surface and make little tortillas or naan bread, and either cook it in a dry pan or in the oven on a greased baking sheet (a process that takes 20 minutes from start to finish).

A cold salad is simply a matter of finding your favourite combination of ingredients for a quick dressing (i.e., oil, lemon, salt and pepper), fresh veg and a quick steak, shrimp or some left-over chicken. Personally I love a quick hot salad, for example, a fajita-style salad (sautéed local onions, white peppers, garlic, mushrooms; topped with sprouts with some quick home-made naan bread).

When you have fresh seasonal produce washed and ready to go, it allows for some playfulness and creativity, because you know the veg is that much easier to just toss in.

The Real Shepherd's Pie

Can you really get any better than meat and potatoes? Sure, if you "Brit" it up a bit and bake the works in a hot, gooey, buttery casserole. This 200 year old classic is certainly one of my favourite autumn comfort foods and is easy as........ ah, you thought I was really gonna go there!

I would hazard to guess that, if you're like most people, and me up until a year ago, you've only ever experienced this with beef, which is truly the classic Shepherd's Pie, but Shepherd's Pie with lamb (or more accurately, mutton pie) will take you from that home comfort experience to the next level. So as my year's supply of free-range organic lamb dwindled this past spring, I decided to work on perfecting one of my childhood favourites.

BRAD'S CLASSIC SHEPHERD'S (MUTTON) PIE

(For 4-5) 1 lb ground free-range lamb; 6-7 medium russet potatoes roughly chopped; 1 1/2 cups green peas (preferably fresh, or the larger frozen peas); one white onion finely chopped; 3-4 medium carrots finely diced; 1/2 cup beef stock; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 3-4 tbsp unsalted butter; tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; 2 tsp smoked Paprika; Kosher salt; fresh pepper

Prepare a deep baking dish (preferably 8-10 inch) by greasing with butter. Preheat the oven to 375.

Steam potatoes until tender, set aside. In a cast iron or steel skillet, melt a tbsp of butter and sauté onions and carrots until the onions are soft and add the lamb. Season well. Once the lamb is cooked, add the 3/4 cup of the peas and cook for a minute. Then add the flour and stir. Add the tomato paste. Then add just a splash of the stock and scrape the pan to deglaze. Then add the rest of the stock, bring to a boil and and reduce to a simmer for 5-7 minutes or until you like the consistency (should be the thickness of lava). Stir in 1 tsp of the paprika, and spread the mixture in the baking dish.

In a bowl, mash the hot potatoes by hand with the butter. If they're too stiff, add a splash of milk and even some sour cream for even more flavour. It should be creamy. Stir in a good bit of S&P (to taste) and add the rest of the peas. Spread over the meat mixture and grate fresh Parmesan. Sprinkle over the rest of the paprika.

Bake this off for about 20 minutes. If you like a crispy top, pop the temperature to 475 for the last 5 minutes.

Compliments to the Sea

There are few things that have an effect on me in the same way as pan fried cod. Served with just the right kind of crispy batter is so tantalising, mouth-watering, and nostalgic to me that this will make its way into heavy rotation during the peak cod season. And it goes awesome with mash potatoes.

BRAD'S TRADITIONAL PANKO PANFRIED COD

(For 4)

4 fresh cod fillets; 2/3 cup all purpose flour seasoned with sea salt and fresh pepper; 1 1/2 cups Japanese panko bread crumbs seasoned with paprika, sea salt and fresh pepper; 2 eggs beaten with a small splash of milk; grapeseed or other vegetable oil; fresh lemon.

Set up for three stations - moving progressively closer to the pan, in dish 1 put the flour, dish 2 put the egg mixture, and dish 3 the panko.

Preheat a heavy skillet on medium with oil. Once hot to a very light smoke, start dredging. Roll the fish first in the flour, then the egg, then press on both sides in the panko making sure it's completely coated. Add to the pan. Be sure not to crowd the pan. If you can only comfortably fit two at a time, do it in batches. As soon as they're done, season with extra sea salt and serve with a fresh cut lemon.

BRAD'S AMAZING DILL MASH POTATOES

3 regular organic Yukon gold (or your favourite) potatoes - or if you feel like it, one Yukon gold and one sweet potato - all peeled and cubed; handful of fresh dill frawns; 1/3 cup 14% local organic sour cream; tablespoon of real mayo; Kosher (or sea) salt and fresh black pepper.

Steam potatoes until soft. Drain off water and return to pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and hand mash - finish off to get a nice texture by stirring quickly with a wooden spoon.

AMAZING side to fish.

Easy Alfredo

You can make Alfredo sauce your own way - and in less time than it takes to cook the chicken.

BRAD'S CLASSIC CHICKEN ALFREDO

(For 4)

1/2 box fettuccine or your favourite pasta; 2 free-range chicken breasts (preferably bone-in, skin-on); 1/3 cup organic local cream (your choice - anywhere from 10% to 35%, depending on how bold you're feeling); 1/3 cup organic local milk; 2 tbsp organic local butter; 5-7 cloves organic garlic, sliced; Kosher salt and Fresh black pepper; 1/2 bunch fresh Italian parsley chopped; Parmesan to taste.

Roast the chicken in a pre-heated 400 degree oven drizzled in olive oil and seasoned well until 170 degrees at the interior or until juices run clear when pricked (about 35-40 minutes). Let rest 5-10 minutes after it's done before cutting.

Meanwhile, boil pasta in generously salted water.

In a saucepan, heat butter to a light smoke, and add garlic - sauté for about 1-2 minutes. Season generously and then add milk and cream. Whisk and simmer low for about 2-3 minutes. If you like thick alfredo sauce, mix about a tbsp of corn starch with a splash of cold water until dissolved, and whisk that into the simmering sauce.

Toss sliced cooked chicken into sauce.

Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Dump in the sauce mixture and toss. Toss in some parsley and garnish with fresh Parmesan and extra salt and black pepper to taste.

Note - this is not for the waist-watcher ;)

Caesar can be Health Food

Most people love caesar. But there are two important misconceptions. One is that it's a salad and therefore healthy... if you think that... oh, we need to have a talk. When it comes to restaurant Caesar salad this packs more of a punch for calories and fat than a burger and fries. The second misconception though, among people who know that Caesar is often some nasty stuff, is that this is a given. There are a few culprits: 1) the bacon; 2) the chicken - it's often deep fried, low-quality (or dry and overcooked); 3) the croutons; and 4) the dressing. Well, good news. My Caesar finds ways through those dilemmas and what you get is a healthy, satisfying salad meal.

BRAD'S CHICKEN CAESAR

(for 2)

1/2 head of romaine; chicken meat (your choice; about 4-6 oz); 1/2 a day-old baguette or your favourite bread cubed; 4 strips bacon; fresh Parmesan

Dressing: 1 free-range egg yolk; tbsp finely chopped capers; juice of a lemon; 1/3 cup olive oil; 1/2 tsp anchovy paste; S&P.

For dressing - whisk egg yolk, and whisk in capers, anchovy paste and lemon juice - season well. Slowly pour in olive oil, whisking vigorously. Let sit while you make the rest of the salad.

In a heavy skillet, sauté bacon, draining off the grease until crisp. Remove it from the pan. Sauté the bread cubes in the same pan until crisp and golden (add extra olive oil if necessary). Season well.

This is a great use for left-over chicken, but if you're making fresh chicken for this, I recommend bone in, skin-on (roast at 400 degrees with olive oil, S&P for 35 minutes or until 170 degrees / when juice runs clear), or if you prefer, boneless skinless (same, only for 25 minutes).

Roughly chop, wash and dry the lettuce. Toss everything together in a big bowl when you're ready to serve. Grate fresh Parmesan over each serving and generous amount of fresh black pepper.