FLOWER POT KITCHEN: LAMB MADRAS BURGER WITH A HOT CURRY TOMATO CHUTNEY

27 Mar 2013

LAMB MADRAS BURGER WITH A HOT CURRY TOMATO CHUTNEY

TODAY I WAS IN A GUSTO (not gastro!) COOKING MOOD, JUST WANTING FLAVOUR! SO IT RESULTED IN A SPEEDY FABULOUS JUICY FLAVOURSOME MADRAS CURRIED LAMB BURGER WITH A REDUCED QUICK TOMATO CURRY CHUTNEY.

INGREDIENTS

(makes 8)

FOR THE BURGERS

500g minced lamb

500g minced beef

big pinch salt and white pepper

2 tbsp madras curry powder

1 small onion fine chopped

2 cloves garlic grated

1 red chilli fine chopped

1.5" root ginger grated

TO FINISH

4-8 burger buns toasted

cheese slices (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together, using your hands is more fun and better as you can squish all the ingredients together. I like to check my seasoning by pan frying a small meatball, once you are happy with the seasoning form into 8 balls and then push down and squash the ball out flat to the thickness of 2 x pound coins.

Heat a griddle or non stick pan and sear your burgers for a couple of minutes each side. To serve I like to toast my bun and layer with salad, onion and some of the curry chutney, as for the cheese I put this on my burger for the last minute to go all gooey, stuff in your bun and enjoy!

FOR THE CURRY TOMATO CHUTNEY

1 small onion fine diced

1 clove garlic fine diced

1 red chilli fine chopped

tbsp of ghee

1 tin of tomato's

1 tbsp madras curry powder

2 tsp tamarind paste

1 tsp turmeric powder

100ml chicken stock reduced

Pan fry the onion, garlic and chilli in the ghee for 5 minutes or so until soft and not coloured, add the madras curry powder and chicken stock and reduce by half, add the tomato's, tamarind paste and turmeric powder and simmer until nice and thick, season to taste.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.