Shivi Ramoutar’s ideal Mother’s Day menu
How do you like to spend Mother's Day?
Mother’s Day in our house is a slow day. We all pile into the bed for a cup of tea in the morning, after which we take a long walk and then help each other to make a delicious lunch. Yes, I am often still a part of the kitchen chaos, but I love it. We’ll sit for hours around the dining table (or for as long as my two little rascals can stay put), going back again for seconds. It’s heaven. I think that’s what makes it memorable for me. The fact that we stop to breathe and aren’t rushing around doing our usual routines.
What does Mother's Day mean to you?
Mother’s Day to me is enjoying the blessings of being a mum surrounded by my family. I don’t take it for granted and I celebrate all the little joys that we share together. Each year, I appreciate my own mother more and more as I learn from the example that she set.
Introducing Shivi Ramoutar
Do you have any traditions that you follow on Mother’s Day?
Cooking together has definitely become a tradition. I also adore the handmade cards.
If you could spend Mother’s Day anywhere in the world, where would it be, with whom and why?
I might sound like a broken record here, but it would be on my sofa or in bed embracing all those little hands and feet while they still let me do so!
What’s your idea of a perfect Mother’s Day meal?
Ooh, it has to be a feast. Something you can keep going back for more of. Good, happy, homely food like a Sunday roast, spaghetti with meatballs or low and slow roast lamb. And of course, it must end with a dessert and lots of chocolate.
Shivi Ramoutar’s low and slow lamb recipe
This recipe looks impressive but takes little effort to rustle up.
Ingredients
‘Adapt this recipe to the amount of people around your dinner table this Mother’s Day,’ says P&O Cruises Local Food Hero Shivi Ramoutar. ‘To feed a family of six, you’ll need...
- Around six cloves of garlic
- Three sprigs of rosemary
- Four medium-sized potatoes
- Three large carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
- Three large onions, peeled and quartered
- A 2kg leg of lamb will generously feed around six people, so scale the veg up or down accordingly.’
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- In a large roasting dish, combine the prepped potatoes, carrots and onions.
- Using a sharp knife, make incisions all over the lamb and stuff the holes with sliced garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs.
- Rub all over with olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper, then sit the lamb over the veg.
- Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 130°C, cover with foil and cook for 3 to 4 hours, until the lamb is falling apart and the vegetables are tender.