The far distant land of the 1970s.

We had some left over lamb from a roast. Too good to chuck. And a pancake party on the Tuesday so a bit of a busy week. All this inspired me to reach for a different time rather than a different place this week. I just couldn't stop thinking about rissoles  - something my mum used to make but that somehow never grace our meal table. Maybe we eat too much of the roast. Maybe it always feels just a bit too 1970s. But those succulent little patties made of ground cooked lamb and potato.. so delicious. And so evocative, for me, of home cooking. So, with my mums trusted recipe and a bit of help from the BBC food site we were all set for a Time Travelling Wednesday!!

THE DISH
Rissoles for 3-4

• 1 small onion finely sliced
• Cooked and ground lamb mince
• Any left over gravy or juices from the roast
• Two cooked potatoes
• Three tbsps breadcrumbs
• 1 egg

Mix all ingredients together and make into small flattened balls.  Flour well with flour seasoned with pepper and salt. Shallow fry until browned.

Veggie version for 1-2

• 1 open mushroom chopped finely
• 1 small onion chopped finely
• 1 potato  mashed
• 1 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp chopped nuts
• 1 egg

Mix it all up. And do as above.

Serve with reheated left over jacket potatoes and frozen sweet corn and petit pois for maximum 70's effect. A prawn cocktail would have been nice to start with.


THE REACTION
No one even complained about anything.  Which was marvellous since it was v late and we were all v hungry. They may have all been distracted by the mini 'ashing service' we had just done in front of the fire to mark Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Eldest and me had ash crosses on our heads and maybe this always distracts from bad food vibes - I should try it more often. It may also have been because I said (in true 70s style) we could have tomato ketchup. Eldest had got a bit more organised this week with outfits - so donned my mum's original 1970s stripey shirt, with winged collars to die for. It was only when she was looking round for something to wear with it that I realised the tight glittery grey shorts she wears everywhere over her tights is pretty much exactly what my mum wore with that shirt. Only she called them Hot Pants and she was probably a little over 11 when she wore them!


THE VERDICT

• Eldest: It was ok but I didn't like the thingamajigs. Well I kind of liked them. I didn't like the ketchup. (By thingamajigs I think she was referring to the rissoles...)
• Middle: no complaining and ate two of them. Amazingly. And everything else on his plate. Maybe that's his culinary problem: born in the wrong decade century.
• Youngest: amazingly, again, no complaining here. I mean his plate was awash with red sauce, but at least the sweet corn and peas stayed on his knife. And he ate at least one half of a rissole. Which is a triumph, I can tell you!

PUDDING
Oh yes, the joys of pancake day (yesterday) and left over waffle mixture. How 1970s can you get: we even have a gadget which makes nice flowery shaped ones. (Mind you this was the latest in Danish technology when we were married. They are a bit stuck, in many ways, in the 70s though. I mean. All those sausages. And bread products. And flags. And buses which run on time. Shocking.) Not sure the maple syrup would have been much in evidence in small town Surrey in the 70s though. I think we had to make do with the golden variety. Not that we had waffles at home ourselves, of course. We didn't even get a colour telly till 1981.

If brandy snaps had been easily made in advance these would have graced the table too. Sadly I didn't have time to either make them or buy them today. They'll have to wait for another visit to a distant decade.

And what with Lent Adventure kicking in on Tuesdays from now til Easter, Lent Groups on Mondays, and trying to think more deeply about 'beauty' in our neighbourhood (Purple Posts) I think it might kill me to produce a culinary adventure like this every week. So, I seem to be in the interesting position of giving it up for Lent. Which feels all wrong somehow.. Any way the kids are pleasingly distraught (well, OK, a little miffed) and I've promised that every now and then we'll go visiting somewhere exotic... So, don't hold your breath, but we'll be back....