I guess I’m starting to get settled because I’m doing Jamie again 😉 So much to talk about today; Fresh Paradise, lamb and proper food labeling.
I love Fresh Paradise http://www.frischeparadies.eu/stores/stuttgart.html ! All the food I could normally get in the Sens, France farmers’ market is here. There is a very cool guy in the meat section of the market who was a professional chef for 9 years and knows what he is talking about as he helps me choose among the products. All of today’s meal comes from there, including the lamb, potatoes, olives and tomatoes. Frugal, he pointed out the Welsh lamb but you know me, New Zealand , baby 🙂 M. Parret says that the Mont St. Michel, France has the best lamb in the world and I’ll have to try that when I’m home during the season but for now it’s “a place like no other”!
Over before lunch Proseccos, my husband and I were discussing egg labeling in the EU. It’s really a great system, mandatory, that allows the public to choose the kind of egg they would like to eat. The code works like this : 0 is an organic or Bio egg, 1 free range, 2 barn raised and 3 cage raised. The country of origin is included in the egg code, as is the specific farm. Hello, America! Why aren’t we doing this? When we have those bizarre salmonella outbreaks we wouldn’t have to run around like “chickens with our heads cut off” looking for the source. Young and not so young Americans, the Pro-Choice movement should not only include reproductive rights but also, and more importantly I think, the right to choose what we ingest into those reproductive free bodies. As not everyone would choose an abortion, not everyone would choose to buy organic eggs, but the choice should be available. Just saying.
So, Sunday lunch. I was inspired by a super simple Jamie Oliver recipe that includes Anya potatoes. I don’t know if the potatoes I found at Fresh Paradise were Anyas but they looked like them.
The mixture of smashed potatoes, olives and tomatoes is something I’ll probably use again and again. Jamie is so brilliant! I only fiddled with a couple of things.
An antipasti salad was the perfect entree for Jamie’s lamb.
My absolutely perfect husband bought us an espresso machine for Christmas so that I could have a coffee. He makes them just like in France 🙂
Jamie’s Lamb with Olives and Tomatoes
2 racks of 6 lamb chops
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, smashed and slivered
1 lb Anya potatoes, boiled and smashed
1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved and seeded
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
Olive oil
Season the racks of lamb with salt and pepper, brown in the olive oil then remove and set aside. Add the garlic to the pan and cook until it begins to brown. Add the potatoes and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, olives, parsley, rosemary and a glug of olive oil, then transfer to a roasting pan.
Place the lamb racks on top of the vegetables and roast at 375 F for 20 minutes.
That dish is just amazingly beautiful!
Thank you Amanda. It was delicious also 🙂
Jamie has integrity and you can’t beat olives, tomatoes and garlic 😉
I’m sure I heard about a German egg labelling scandal last week – where the free range stamp was being used on factory farmed eggs…
http://www.dw.de/egg-fraud-scandal-hits-already-food-conscious-germany/a-16625982
Jesus, Mary and Joseph and all the Saints! Thanks for the info Mad.
Your lamb dish looks AMAZING!
Thank you Anne.
Hee, hee, hee, doing Jamie! Ahem, everything here looks delicious. I want the lamb first.
Thank you Greg. Have it all.
oh i so agree with you about choosing our eggs..i had never heard of actually having a choice on the “grade” you could buy..once again us americas are so un cool..lol your lamb chops look just beautiful… lovely post..sarah
Thank you Sarah. My complaint about the U.S. is that we don’t label our products. As in Europe, I know that everyone can’t afford organic/bio products, but they should be allowed to choose or do without.
Lovely looking dish Rosemary. Surely, people can taste the difference between the eggs? The battery ones are just awful. The free range, reasonable. Real free range, excellent.
Thank you Conor. You can certainly tell the difference but if you grew up eating the “battery” ones, that would be the way eggs taste to you and you might be uncomfortable with the taste and appearance of free range/bio eggs. Still, I’m for choice.
Choice is good.
Damn that looks good!
Thank you food.
Lamb and perfect accompaniments! Looks wonderfully yummy, Rosemary! Congrats on the new espresso machine too! I have one and it’s addictve!
Thank you Daisy. Yes, we are constantly having a “coffee” 🙂
I’d vote for you. And for that lunch.
Thank you Michelle.
Wonderful post with great food. Simple and delicious. By the way, I’m not totally convinced by the “O” for organic. I’m not at all convinced about organic, unless I’m with the guy who grew it on his land , and he then confirms it’s organic. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t think that supermarket labels should be trusted any more than the president of Syria.
Thank you Roger. Of course you’re right. It’s just better to be in Sens, France where the farmers’ market is a 2 minute walk away. The people who sell eggs have chicken farms and the vegetables still have dirt on them. I am overwhelmed by and suspicious of this city life!
In Edinburgh I had salmon with mashed potatoes like this, and it made me wonder why I’d never thought to do this myself!!! thank you for reminding me!
I’m glad I found out 🙂
Mmmm……the second picture of the lamb is perfect!
I liked that one too 🙂
mm, I love lamb chops! great post. Thanks for sharing.