Lamb, lamb, and lamb. They are like the star in autumn in Norway. I never thought lamb can be seasonal meat, but in Norway, it sure is!
What I noticed was that lamb meat is usually classified by the cuts (shoulder, rib, leg, etc) but here is a simple but good information when buying lamb meat.
Baby lamb: milk fed. Slaughtered at between 6 and 8 weeks.
Spring lamb: milk fed. Slaughtered at 3 to 5 months old.
Regular lamb: Slaughtered within a year.
Yearling: Lamb between 12 to 24 months.
Mutton: Over two years. It has much stronger flavour and less tender flesh.
Tips: When buying lamb meat, let its colour be the guide. In general, the darker the colour, the older the animal. Baby lamb is pale pink, while regular lamb is pinkish-red.
So, here is a recipe, using ground lamb meat!
Ingredients:
Spice mix:
1 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp black pepper corn
For the meat ball:
400 g ground lamb meat
1 clove garlic - pressed
1/2 onion - finely chopped
1 tbs butter for frying
2 tbs soy sauce
1 egg
2 tbs bread crumbs
3 tbs curry powder
1/2 tsp chilli
2 tsp of spice mix (above)
For the root vegetable bed:
1 sweet potato - peeled and cubed
1-2 carrot - peeled and cubed
1 parsnip - peeled and cubed
300 g swede (kålrot) - peeled and cubed
Rest of spice mix (above)
2 tbs curry powder
Olive oil
Directions:
1) Add all spices (rosemary, mustard seed, cumin seed, and black pepper corn) into a mortar and crush them.
2) Fry pressed garlic and finely chopped onion with a 1 tbs butter.
3) In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the meat ball (including fried garlic and onion.)
4) Using surgical glove, mix them well and make ca. 15 "flat" meatballs (they will shrink when cooked.)
5) Fry the meat balls only until surface gets nice brown color.
6) In a large oven-safe dish, mix everything for the "root vegetable bed", and flatten the surface.
7) Heat up the oven at 200 C degrees
8) Line fried meatballs on top of root vegetable bed.
9) Cover with aluminum foil, and bake in the oven ca 1 hour - until vegetable gets tender.