Page 1 of Recipe help...Gravy

Got my ex coming over tonight, probably. If she does I am cooking her roasted lamb, potatoes and veg. I want to finish it with proper gravy made from the pan so I have bought a decent heavy based roasting pan to put on the hob top. I plan to roast the lamb with some garlic bulbs cut in half and some onions quartered, with rosemary and garlic stuck into the lamb. I then plan to rest the lamb on a warmed plate, heat the pan on the hob top and add some butter, chopped shallots and red wine. Then reduce. Have I missed anything obvious? Got a feeling I have but cant put my finger on it, I`m just trying to remember what I have seen on cooking shows.

good ex, or bad ex?

if she is a bad ex, i think you forgot to pee in the gravy.

Don`t forget the mint sauce!

All sounds alright to me. I usually add some plain flower to the fat in the pan, mix it in before adding the stock (the stock is perhaps the thing that is missing - I will often use the water the veg is cooked in). This will thicken the gravy. If you are adding wine to the gravy, make sure it is well cooked out so the alcohol evaporates off - tastes `orrible otherwise.

---

The flour`s the thing! When the juices are hot on the hob, add a dessertspoon of plain flour and mix to form a paste (called a roux). Allow this to cook for a short while (the gluten in the flour wakes up), and then blend the stock, wine, herbs etc in and reduce to get the required thickness. Add salt/pepper to taste, or even a splash of lemon juice or Worcester sauce if you feel it needs "sharpening".

Yep, I normally use the water from the brocolli. I will have some flour on standby.

She`s a good ex. We have stayed friends, and talking this weekend this were getting a bit ;-) . The bad ex would have drunk the wine before I noticed it was missing, and then told me who she had slept with and that she hated me, before passing out on the sofa.

Try and use corn flour(less problems with lumps)and make sure there`s not too much fat in the gravy, otherwise it sounds great............anymore space at the table. I wont play gooseberry.....honest.

Pete :)

bet you sold your soul for that idea about corn flour eh? :p ....funnily enough I quite agree. Found that corn flour was a great thickener in my attempt at gravy over Christmas.

My collection

This item was edited on Monday, 5th March 2007, 16:19

Thanks for all the help. No problems with lumps. I wasnt sure whether I am supposed to discard the garlic and onion before making the gravy, so I left them in, added the butter and flour and mixed it to a roux, added the shallots, some wine and the water from the veg. Came out very well for my first time. I just pushed it through a seive and ended up with a lovely thick tasty gravy with a subtle red wine flavour.

Oh and the ex couldnt make it, she had to work a night shift at work at late notice. :(

Hope the meal went well. Just saw your post and realised you cooked it yesterday!

Maybe a thought for next time. :D

When we roast the lamb, place it on some chunky veg ideally carrots or onions cut in half. We use arrow root to thicken graveys (or anything come to that!). It`s easy, no lumps and doesn`t change the colour of what you`re thickening.



Niteowl

This item was edited on Tuesday, 6th March 2007, 08:52

:B

you could use starch as well as regular all purpose flour as a thickerner. but with the starch you have to add it in a separate glass with cold water n shake n pour into your liquid stir slowly in medium to low heat and keep stirring, as for the flour cook it in the pan with some of the meat juices n butter until it gets dark, thats done to get rid of the raw flour taste., then add your liquids as for both and wine. ;)