Written by Karen Watts
Photography by Chris Watts
At midnight last Saturday Greek Orthodox Lent ended with a bang, actually, here in town, many bangs. Christ having risen and brought “the light” back to the world is perhaps the most important occasion in the Greek calendar and is signalled by much partying, fireworks, the firing of gunshots, a massive amount of spit roasting and, most relevant to this blog, the religious permission to eat meat again. In all our previous years on Rodos Chris & I have failed to adequately stock up for the Easter weekend, when in the past, almost everything has shut down from the Thursday evening till the following Tuesday afternoon. This year we decided not to be caught out and actually stocked up our fridge for the occasion. Ironically our island is slowly slowly becoming more Westernised and a lot more shops and supermarkets were open than we have seen before at this time of year.
For our end of Lent meal I took my inspiration from Kye Lockwood and Marcus Wareing – http://www.marcus-wareing.com/ . While Kye was here on Rhodes the week before he had made a slow cook shoulder of lamb. He did his shoulder of lamb for 3 – 4 hours and the meat deliciously and literally dripped off the bone. Chris & I love lamb like this, as do the Greeks, but we also have a penchant for lamb that is some what more rare. I decided to do a slow cook that took slightly less time and was therefore slightly pinker. I cooked the carrots and garlic to go with this meal in the style of Wareing – a man who understands cooking timings on vegetables in a way that gets the most flavour from what ever you are cooking. The lamb “massage oil” is also Wareing’s
Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Local Vegetables
A Gluten Free Recipe
For the Meat:
Bunch of Rosemary, leaves picked
12 Garlic Cloves, peeled and quartered
4 tbsp Olive Oil
10 – 15 gr Sea Salt (the amount depends on your penchant for salt – I prefer 15 gr, Chris prefers 10)
Shoulder of Lamb, on the bone
For the Vegetables:
New Potatoes, scrubbed, halved, boiled and tossed in Butter and Sea Salt
7 tbsp Olive Oil
6 Carrots, peeled and cut into batons
A few sprigs each of Rosemary and Thyme
1 Whole Head of Garlic, cut crossways in half
200 gr Fresh or Frozen Peas
Bunch of Mint, leaves picked and shredded
Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Heat the oven to 140°C.
Put the rosemary and garlic in a blender with the olive oil and salt and blitz until well chopped and mixed. Using your hands, massage (lovingly, trust me this is important) the mix all over the lamb in a roasting pan. Cover with foil and roast for 2 hours. Remove from the oven and leave the lamb to rest while you cook the vegetables and garlic.
Start your potatoes 5 minutes before the end of the lamb’s cooking time.
Heat 4 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the carrots, rosemary, thyme and some seasoning and fry for about 15 minutes, tossing them frequently.
Meanwhile, in a separate frying pan, cook the garlic, cut side down, in 1 tbsp of hot olive oil for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Cook the peas in a pan of boiling salted water for 3 minutes, drain and toss with 1 – 2 tbsp of olive oil and the mint.
This lamb’s time will give you perfectly rare and delicious meat. Cook for 15 minutes longer if you prefer it more medium rare.
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This weekend we were privileged to be commissioned to photograph one of the most stunning Lindian houses we have ever seen. A fabulous truly traditional Lindian house lovingly renovated by it’s owner in a style that fuses original features with practical day to day reality without destroying the house’s “Lindian Essence”.
Chris & I spent our first year on the island in Lindos. Our house was not this house. Our house had been neglected for years by its owner and had predominantly been used as worker accommodation, had been hewn out of the rock side in the 1980’s and had no maintenance on it since it’s original build. The house is at the other end of the spectrum completely. The original parts of the house having existed since 1909, the couple who bought it 10 years ago have obviously worked incredibly hard to bring the spirit of this house back to life in the current century.
Lindos is a very special place in this world, this villa has the soul of that specialness.
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Last week Chris & I went to visit one of VLK’s, and our, favourite suppliers. Giorgos of the Trees can be found at the No 1 Garden Centre just off the main Rodos – Lindos Road at the Ladiko turn off.
George is a wonderful gentle man who reminds me of a beautiful giant tree himself. His knowledge of all things plant is astonishing – got something growing and don’t know what it is? Snap it on your mobile phone, show George the image and he’ll identify the plant; have a problem with a weird bug on the leaves of your trees and plants – jar a leaf and take it to George and he’ll give you a fix it solution that will save the life of your beloved green things; have a terracotta pot addiction – George is “the man”.
Now that our summer has begun I was desperate to replace my beautiful Basil that didn’t make it through the winter. We left George of the Trees with amongst other things (I’m not capable of visiting and only purchasing one thing) three different varieties of Basil and a great but rather weird tip – give your Basil plants a spoonful of sugar before watering. It’s only been a week since I planted them and the plants have shot up and are, if anything, healthier than last year’s.
…continues CLICK HERE
