Meat – Page 6 – Myfrenchkitchen

I dedicate this post to Ovarian Cancer Awareness. Continue reading under the photos.

Ostrich is an extremely healthy meat, loaded in protein and vitamins, low in fat. It is tender and tasty on its own and delicious served with sauces like a mustard sauce or even a sweeter orange sauce. Served with bright green and yellow coloured vegetables like broccoli and carrots, you’ll have a visually appetizing as well as healthy meal.

Ostrich strips with mint carrot salad.

4 pieces of ostrich, cut from the steak, about 3 cm thick.
whole peppercorns
caraway seeds
fleur de sel or kosher salt
3 carrots
chopped fresh mint
chopped fresh Italian leaf parsley
freshly squeezed lemon juice
olive oil and/or coconut oil
toasted walnuts
broccoli
créme frâiche
grated cheddar cheese

Peel the carrots and then peel into thin ribbons with the peeler.
Finely chop the mint and parsley, add to the carrots along with the walnuts, lemon juice and olive oil. Mix together lightly.
Steam the broccoli, dry and turn out into a 4 ramekins. Top each with a teaspoon of créme frâiche, sprinkle with cheese and brown under the grill until the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper.
Crush the peppercorns and caraway seeds together in a mortar and pestle. Rub some oilve oil onto all sides of the ostrich fillets, cat entirely with the crushed pepper mixture and leave in the fridge for an hour.
Heat some coconut oil or olive oil in a pan, and fry the pieces of ostrich about 4 minutes on each side for a medium rare fillet. Slice each piece into strips, season with fleur de sel/kosher salt and serve immediately with the broccoli gratin and the carrot salad on the side.
Variations on the carrot salad: Instead of ribbons, cut into julienne, grate or cut into thin spaghetti. Substitute walnuts for dry roasted pine nuts. Add a teaspoon of honey to the lemon, olive oil dressing.

Serves 4 people

…just had my monthly facial and pedicure…

O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchenand Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are asking you to donate to the:
Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67. The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2008 and about 15,520 women will die from the disease.
The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose. There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.

In spite of this patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.

With our weather being somewhat cooler and the rain pouring down constantly, our bones are in need of some warmer nourishment. The grey skies whispered lemon chicken. So we had the old classic, lemon chicken with herbs. An ever popular meal, so easily done in the oven and sliced at the table, which leaves you with ample time to indulge in that book you just glance at every time you speed past it.

Oven baked lemon chicken with herbs

Do I need to give the recipe?

Take a chicken, clean it. Flee into your garden and cut herbs to heart’s delight…tarragon is a must. Lemon cut into chunks is a must. As is some butter, salt and pepper and two or three shallots. Then just stuff the chicken with all ingredients, rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake in a 180 deg. C oven for about an hour or until you have clear juices running when piercing the chicken into the thick flesh of the thigh next to the bone, normally the part which takes the longest to cook. Turn the chicken over and drizzle often with the pan juices.
In the meantime prepare some vegetables. I used green asparagus, of which I snapped the ends off and some cherry tomatoes. Clean and dry them.
When the chicken is done, remove from the pan and cover with foil on a serving platter. Skim off the excess fat from the pan.
Arrange the asparagus in the pan and roast at 200 deg. c until nicely caramelized. Add the tomatoes 10 minutes before the asparagus is done and roast until the tomatoes start shrinking.
Serve on the platter alongside the chicken, drizzle with the pan juices and serve the rest of the sauce on the side.

*for more about herbs and it’s uses, see “In my herb garden”