BN Cuisine with Chef Fregz: Keresimesi Leg-go

Bonjour!

Ladies and gentlemen it’s that time of the year when everyone enters the “let’s eat the world! It is Christmas” mode. It’s excusable to “ball out” on everything. From gifts to Champagne (wait that’s every wedding… oh well) but also it’s the time when food on Christmas day is the main attraction.

Our western world has shown us that if you did not roast a nice big turkey, then set it in the middle to be carved Christmas never happened. Now, the issue is turkey to me looks so good when it’s browned and nicely decorated but I still marinade and do a turkey for my aunt Sisi every year and I find a few problems with turkey.

1. It dries out pretty easily; especially as most of it is breast meat and the turkey is already leaner than a chicken
2. The sheer patience you have to seek the face of the Lord for before it’s ready

With that being said I know and have a few tricks that can give you a better tasting turkey in case you want to go ahead and roast a turkey.

1. Brine it first. In cold water add some vinegar, some citrus juice, whole spices like coriander, fennel, cumin, whole cinnamon, dried chillies, whole bulbs of onions and garlic, sugar, salt and immerse the turkey in a solution and leave to brine overnight in a cool area (since we do not have winter you could just ensure its next to the coldest a/c in your house)

2. After brining mix your spices to season the bird with butter or good quality margarine and massage it deep beneath the skin of the bird.

3. Roast the breast side down for the first hour so all the juices run down to the breast to keep it as moist as possible.

4. Seek the Lord in prayer for the patience to wait while the smell of the bird torments you and it’s not ready.

But it’s not really about the bird today. I wanted to do something a bit for familiar drawing influences from Asian and Nigerian cuisine. I present to you my Festive Peppersoup Leg of Goat.

After looking through what I could do differently this year I was inspired by the huge legs of goat I see when I go shopping in Goodies. I thought to myself “we Nigerians tend to eat a lot of goat. So why not make it the center of attraction?”

I immediately thought peppersoup spice and BBQ sauce ask me why? Not sure till now but I tried the mixture and it worked!

I made a simple but extra tasty Saffron Fried Rice! yes its Christmas please go ahead and spend that two thousand Naira on a couple of strand of the most expensive flower threads in the world.

Also my roast bell pepper sauce made it here for a few reasons, ease being the main one and it goes well with the goat and rice.

Here are a few tips for the goat

You want to buy from a supermarket like goodies who have cleaned the leg pretty well (if it still has a lot of dirt ) and have not smoked the hide of the goat so it’s not the cliches “goat meat”. This way you can play a a bit more as per seasoning and not restricted to salt and pepper in a way. If you do not have time to start buying goat leg this recipe works well with chicken, lamb and turkey!

The Leg of Goat

You’ll Need

1 leg of Goat about 2kilos
4 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
2 tablespoon whole/coarsely ground black peppercorns
4 tablespoons good peppersoup spice mix (the)
5 tablespoons hoisin sauce (Chinese BBQ sauce)
4 tablespoons pureed garlic
2 tablespoon pureed ginger
4-5 tablespoons suya pepper
Seasoning cube like Knorr to taste
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil

How To
Place the leg of goat on a tray or a chopping board. Remove whatever nerve linings or tendons or just ask your butcher to do it for you. Jab at the goat all over creating incisions or holes for seasonings to permeate well.

In a dry pan (preferably non stick) place the coriander, cumin and peppercorns and dry roast till fragrant. At this point you have two options; to use them whole or blitz them to a fine powder. I used them whole here but if you cant stand biting into whole spices use your small blender attachment or coffee/spice grinder to get your powder mix.

Mix with the suya powder, peppersoup spice, the hoisin sauce, seasoning cube, salt, garlic, ginger and coconut oil. Mix till it s forms a paste and massage well into the flesh and all the incisions you made on the goat. leave to marinade in the fridge for an hour or overnight.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, place the leg of goat on your oven tray and cover with foil paper. Leave to cook for one and a half to two hours. Make sure your tray is in the middle of the oven. Uncover after the time and leave to cook for another 30 minutes to get some colours and breakdown even more.

When it comes out of the oven brush it with some more coconut oil and hoi-sin sauce for that final glaze of approval.

Please note you can baste the meat with juices that form in the tray from cooking.

The Rice {Serves 4}

2 cups Basmati Rice
1 large Carrot
1 large Zucchini/Marrow
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper
Good pinch saffron or saffron powder
50g butter
1 serving spoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
Knorr seasoning to taste
Salt to taste

Place the saffron strands in a a few tablespoons of warm water to allow the saffron release its flavour. If you’re using powder you clearly do not have to bother about this step.

In pot place the oil and butter and heat till the butter melts. Add the seasoning cube and onions and stir fry for about 3 minutes and add the rice. Add the garlic at this point and stir fry for another 2 minutes then top with water to cover just about 2.5 inches above the rice. Add the saffron and stir around till the water has taken on the golden colour. You want to cook on high heat till it boils then turn the heat down to a low heat for about 10mins. When the water is about to dry out place some foil paper directly on top of the rice to trap the steam. I find steam cooks Basmati or any rice perfectly. Even after the water dries out, turn off the heat and leave the foil over the rice. The steam just cooks it perfectly!

The Roast Bell Pepper Sauce

This sauce is one of my inventions since last year. The red bell pepper gives is hint of heat with sweetness. The rosemary and the char from the pan give the sauce a unique flavour. Passing through a blender at high speed gives it its bright orange colour and velvety finish.

You’ll Need

500g red bell peppers/tatashe (about 10 pcs) deseeded and left whole
2 large onions cut into large chunks
3 big cloves of garlic
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
Water or Chicken Stock to cover
Seasoning cube to taste
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

How to
In a saucepan heat the oil till smoky then add the bell peppers and onions and whole cloves of garlic. Stir fry quickly for about 5 minutes till the onions and bell pepper have charred/blackened slightly. Then add the stock or water, letting it cover a little just over the peppers and onions, sprigs of thyme and rosemary, seasoning cube (if you stock be easy on the seasoning cube and salt.)

Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes then transfer to a blender (that can withstand heat or allow to cool for 10 minutes) and whiz on the highest speed till well emulsified and transfer to your sauceboat to gravy dish and you’re done!

The Biggest Thank you to Adebayo Rotilu for the Pictures. Please for all your food and product shots Check out the Twelve 05 Photography page on Facebook or for more info [email protected]

Let’s quickly talk about Chef Fregz’ Special. The 12th edition of Chef Fregz Special is here again!

So Le?
Chicken Pieces Marinaded with Lemongrass, whole spices and a touch of efirin leaves all seared then simmered in a yellow coconut curry garnished with fresh coriander. Served with a festive fried rice and a salad garish
3000

Eminado
A Sweet Spicy and Creamy Seafood Pasta. Juicy Bits of Squid, Shrimp and Prawns Tossed in a Spicy Creamy sauce with Green and Red Pepper Coulis with a Rocket Garnish
3500

Pull Over
Slices of Prime Smoked Beef Fillet topped with peppers, a cranberry salsa sauce, caramelised onions and cheese wrapped in a soft taco. Served with fries or Black Bean Rice

XO
A Detectable Strawberry Cheesecake topped with whipped cream with a Baileys Butter Cream Caramel Drizzle and Crushed biscuits
1500

Do not forget!
The date is Sunday Dec 29th (only 9 days away!)

Venue is the GET ARENA, Oniru Estate by Four Points Hotel, Lagos.
Kicks off from 12noon!

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Chef Fregz loves to cook! He is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Paris Culinary Arts School in France and hosts monthly “Chef Fregz Specials” where he whips up a yummy menu with a different theme each time then everyone enjoys a taste. He also caters special events and private dinners. To find out more visit www.cheffregz.com. Chef Fregz provides premium private catering services. For bookings and orders email [email protected] – @Chef_Fregz on Instagram and Twitter. You can check out the Chef Fregz Page on Facebook as well.