Pan Fried Rump With Seeded Mustard Served on Brown Rice

Summer's not to far around the corner people, enough with the hearty food time for serious healthy food! High in protein, low in fat, great amino acids and iron, none other than BEEF! When buying meat, never EVER buy it from a supermarket, support your local butcher and get it there. Firstly the meat is fresher and secondly cheaper, not to mention there are usually less or zero preservatives.

To make it even more healthy, I decided to serve this on a bed of brown rice rather than mash or white rice.

Ingredients:

• 1x kg of Rump
• Salt & Pepper to rub over steak
• 2x Tablespoon of Olive oil
• 1x Teaspoon of Oregano (optional)
• 2x Cups of Brown rice
• 2x Teaspoons of seeded mustard
• Instant gravy (I'm being lazy, was a quick meal, usually I would make my own)
• 3x Cloves of Chopped Garlic
• 1x Chopped Spanish Onion
• Some cheap wine to de-glaze the pan

Method:

• Cook the brown rice before you do anything, it takes much longer to cook in the rice cooker (mine has a mode for brown rice, w00t!) If you don't have a rice cooker, hit up the web on instructions
• Dry the rump with paper towels, transfer onto a place and rub with salt and pepper & olive oil
• To make 'lazy gravy', add some olive oil to a pot and carmelize the onions & garlic, then add in instant gravy mixture, reduce heat and leave to simmer
• Heat up a non-stick pan and add in the 1x tablespoon of olive oil, cook the rump on high heat around 2~3 minutes each side or until nice and coloured. Reduce to medium heat and cook either side until done to how you like it
• Remove the rump, and cover it up with foil and let it rest
• Increase the heat again and add in splash of wine to de-glaze the pan (this is where it flames up and really impresses chicks!)
• Add in the 'lazy gravy', mix and scrap off all meaty bits left on the pan, reduce heat and simmer until thickens up, remove and then transfer to gravy jug
• Portion rump, and plated up
• Add 1x teaspoon of mustard to each piece of rump and smear over with a butter knife
• Serve with gravy over the rice & meat...

Preparation Time: 10 minutes (excludes cooking rice, my cooker takes 1 hour)

Cooking Time: 15 minutes (meat & gravy)

Servings: Two

Cost: ~$15

Lamb Chop Ratatouille without Zucchini

 Decided to make Ratatouille on the weekend and went shopping for the produce in Canley Heights. Turns out asian stores do not stock zucchini, so that was a fail. On the upside dish turned out fantastic nevertheless and Brooke enjoyed it!

Ingredients:

• 4x Lamb Chops (leave fat on if desired, also can use lamb cutlets)
• 2x Cans of Roast tomatoes (can roast your own if you have time)
• 1x Eggplant (cubed in nice chunky sizes)
• 2x Onions (diced, not too finely)
• 4x Cloves of garlic (diced finely, you can use less, I just love garlic)
• 2x Cups of button mushrooms (cut into quarters or however you like them)
• 1x Cup of beef stock
• 1x Teaspoon of Paprika
• 2x Teaspoons of Oregano
• 2x Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to Taste

Method:
Combine cracked pepper, salt, paprika and oil to lamb chops and leave it to rest in the fridge whilst preparing the vegetables.

Heat up a heavy base pan, add olive oil and brown lamb either side. Do not cook lamb at this stage, ideally you would want to spend around 1~2 mins either side on high heat, remove lamb, and leave to rest.

Immediately turn out heat and add in onions, garlic, eggplant and cook till nice and coloured. Add in mushrooms, then everything else. Leave to simmer for around 15 minutes or until thickens. Add in salt and pepper to taste.

Once base is complete, add in lamb stir and cover the lamb. Immediately close the lid and turn off the heat and let it sit for around 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with some nice crusty bread or even on its own!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time:  25 minutes
Servings: Two
Cost: ~$15