Food: Q & A

Apr 20 2008 Michael Kilkie

Q My family love roast lamb but it takes too long to cook. Is there a quick way?

A Ask your butcher to butterfly your leg of lamb, which means taking the bone out and opening the meat out into one large flat piece. This will cook much quicker. It's also great marinated and barbecued.

Q My butcher is now selling spring lamb.

How is this different to normal lamb?

A Lamb is available all year but spring lamb is only on sale, surprise, surprise, during spring. The meat is paler and rosier, more tender and the flavour is far more subtle.

Q A seafood recipe I want to try calls for bivalves. What are they?

A Bivalves are not a particular type of seafood but the name for shellfish that has two shells, such as scallops, mussels, clams and oysters.

Q My friends keep raving about a dish they tried in Greece called baklava. It sounds tasty but what is it?

A Baklava is filo pastry layered with melted butter, honey and ground nuts. A mix of honey and rosewater is then poured over it before serving to make a sweet, nutty, delicious pastry.

Q Can I use a jar of passata when a recipe calls for tinned tomatoes?

APassata is tomatoes that have been pureed then sieved to remove the skins and seeds. You could use this instead of chopped tomatoes but the result will be smooth rather than chunky.