Work In Progress

Pictured is today's expérience culinaire: a sort of Balkan-ish mutton stew, featuring four large mutton chops purchased from the inestimable butchers in Bishops Castle as we were leaving for home yesterday. I browned the [floured] chops in olive oil and butter, then sautéed the potatoes [salted and just brought to the boil and drained], half a dozen whole cloves of garlic, a diced Romaine pepper, one chunked brown onion, one sliced red onion and three carrots cut into decent-sized chunks with hot paprika. Once everything was browned and softened, I transferred it to a suitable pan for the oven; deglazed the skillet with red wine and added that and vegetable stock to the pan with the meat and vegetables. I cooked the lot for around one and a half hours on a very low heat, then let it rest in its own juices. Tomorrow I'll separate the meat and vegetables from the sauce, thicken it and return the solid stuff to it and cook it down for a further hour or two on low. More jazz cooking: a basic framework of technique and knowledge, good ingredients and time: always time. Add in a good dollop of improvisational uncertainty and there you go. I'll post on the results tomorrow evening.