The Fat of the Lamb

FAT IS GOOD.
Below is an extract from an article it not only talks about the value of organic foods but also about about the necessity of  eating saturated fat.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-john-salerno/why-i-recommend-organic-f_b_403348.html

"The answer which I ( Dr Salerno) propose in Dr. Salerno's Silver Cloud Diet is to eat a nutrient rich diet made up of plenty of saturated fat, protein and fruits and vegetables which are organic, grass fed, and wild caught.

I get a lot of surprised looks from my patients when I tell them to eat more saturated fats to lose weight. They will start in telling me they've been eating a low fat diet for years. But they don't make the connection between this diet and their health problems, including overweight, type two diabetes, memory problems, and arthritis.

I explain to them that the body must have saturated fats for proper brain function, cell development, and satiety. Plus it just makes people look better. Fat carries flavor and makes people feel full and satisfied quicker.

I can spot the low fat dieter in a moment. Dry skin, wrinkles, and broken fingernails. Those are the telltale signs that show. Lab work reveals many more.

So I propose that people eat plenty of saturated fat, protein and organically grown fruits and vegetables for optimum health and weight maintenance. It works for my patients."

About twenty years ago when i was starting out my Shiatsu practice in London, I read an article in a publication called "What doctors dont tell you".   - in fact I just checked and its now an online magazine

http://www.wddty.com/

The author claimed that with regard to coronary heart disease, saturated animal fat was not the problem,
(the so called lipid hypothesis - that the ingestion of saturated fats caused the build-up of cholesterol which clogs arteries). The ingestion of carbohydrates; that is sugars, regardless of their complexity, create insulin production, the excess of which causes all kinds of inflammation and arterial damage. Cholesterol is in fact the bodies' attempt to repair this damage. We don't need the carbohydrates they are in fact the source of the problem. Certainly not the vast amount that modern humans eat in very processed forms
The next very important risk factor was processed food and the amazing array of  food-like substances was the issue.  That our paleolithic omnivorous digestive systems were perfectly adapted to fairly significant amounts of saturated fat, but were completely unable to assimilate all the strange chemicals and non-food, food-like substances contained and created by processing food. The body in response to these substances simply stored them in our fatty tissue, toxifying us and eventually  compromised the function and responsiveness of our internal organs, liver, kidneys, heart, pancreas etc eventually this inability to digest, assimilate and eliminate further toxifies us leading to organ compromise degenerative illness and failure. I guess it looks to me that Dr Salerno is talking about much the same thing...

And so to food.

A recipe ( reasonably complicated)- Lamb meatballs with a spiced Moroccan sauce and Honey Chard

( Im going to suggest that you make a large batch of this sauce- because it takes time and effort, freezes perfectly and you WIll want to have it again- so the recipe is for a large quantity)

For the Sauce

8 lbs of Tomatoes, ripe and sweet. ( if you buy them a little unripe leave them to ripen till soft on a sunny window sill for a few days)

3 small or 2 medium bulbs of garlic

6 med red onions

The spices

Ground cumin, ground coriander, ground allspice - 2 full tsps of each

2 sticks of cinnamon

4 stars of star anise

3 Guajillo or hot red chillies

Saffron - 1 pinch ( soak in a few tsps of water)

Ketchup/ Tamari/ Cooking sherry / Salt

Finely chop the onions ( a cuisinart / food processor does a great job and saves tears) , dice the tomatoes, finely chop the garlic.

Drop some Ex virgin Olive oil in a stockpot and add the onions and start to sautee. When soft add the garlic and tomatoes, mix  together and cook for a few mins then add all your spices,  cook the mixture down for a few mins, then  add water to cover fully, generous splash of cooking sherry and a good squeeze of tomato ketchup. and lastly the saffron and saffron water.

Bring to boil , simmer and reduce for about 4-5 hours.

For the lamb meatballs

1 lb of ground lamb

1 egg

2 cloves garlic chopped fine

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp harissa

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Handful of chopped parsley and cilantro

salt

Mix all the ingredients together , fashion into meatballs and fry till golden brown .

For the chard

Stalk the chard so its just leaf, chop into large pieces and sautee in a pan with a spoonful of butter and a tsp of honey, salt and pepper to taste.

For the couscous

Boil 1 cup of chicken or lamb stock , turn off, add 2/3 cup of couscous. Cover with lid and let the couscous absorb the liquid.

When you serve, put a dollop of live bulgarian yoghurt over your sauce ( not compulsory but pretty good and looks beautiful)

Obviously if you dont want to make vast quantities of the sauce then adapt the recipe accordingly.

Also save the lamb fat it makes wicked home made fried potatoes.....

Trust me this one is worth the effort.  Invite some friends and show off and share.

Until we eat againxxxx