Juniper and Elderberry Lamb Stew

Autumn is upon us, in Scotland, so it's time to empty the freezer to make way for hearty soups and stews.

I know that lamb isn't a seasonal dish in Autumn, but I bought 1kg of lamb in the Spring (it was £2 and I can't resist a bargain). It's been sitting in the freezer, waiting for today. I think this stew would be enhanced by using some type of game meat.

The other ingredients I'm using are:

A locally-produced Elderberry wine
Juniper berries, which I foraged in Aviemore and dried.
Redcurrant Jelly, which I made from foraged redcurrants on a previous excursion.

This recipe is a true "makey-uppy" because I'm just using what I have in my cupboards/freezer.

Juniper and Elderberry Lamb Stew

Ingredients

1kg lamb, diced (I used lamb steaks)
4 carrots
2 onions
3 heaped tablespoons of flour
1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
500ml Elderberry wine
1 tbsp juniper berries, crushed
Oil
Salt
Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 150°C
Soften carrots and onion in a pan with oil.
Remove and reserve once softened.
Mix lamb with flour, juniper berries, salt and pepper.
Brown lamb in the same pan used for carrots/onions. (I did this in batches)
Remove lamb and deglaze pan with a little of the wine.
Return lamb, carrots and onions to the pan and add the rest of the wine.
Bring to the boil and then place in preheated oven.
Cook for 1hr and then add redcurrant jelly.
Cook for another 1-1 1/2 hours, or until lamb is tender
Check for seasoning
Enjoy.

UPDATE: This was delicious! Definitely one for the cookbook.

Bramble and Apple Strudel (Virgin Strudel)

Low-mileage Fruit

October is upon us and that means that my driving is rather more erratic than usual, as I swerve to investigate apple trees.

In the spring, I made a mental note of the locations of apple blossom and went back to check them last month. I was rewarded with some beautiful wild cooking apples. And what better to pair with them than Brambles (Blackberries to non-Scots).

I am very proud to say that both the apples and the brambles came from patches within 10 minutes walk of my house, so probably the lowest mileage of any foraged fruits I've ever used.

I made an apple and bramble strudel. This was my first ever attempt at making a Strudel, hence the Virginal aspect of the name. My name was also once misheard as Virgin Strudel, so it seemed particularly appropriate.

I used this recipe, although I found the dough very wet and added about 100g of flour whilst kneading it.

Another word of warning would be not to fold the ends of the pastry over the top, as this means the pastry underneath will be undercooked (if you'll pardon the pun).

I ate too much raw pastry while making this, so I don't think I'll be able to sample the cooked product until tomorrow. It does, however, smell delicious.