Lamb with honey and apricot sauce

Agnello con salsa al miele e albicocche
Normally you wouldn't expect to find curry in Italia cooking, but some chefs like to play around with the ingredients like Isidoro Consolini. He is allegedly the brains behind this composition that mix Asian, Arabic and Italian influences.
The result is surprising and delicate and definitely one of our family favourites.

Ingredients
2 lamb loin steaks
Olive oil
150 g red and green lentils

For the sauce
2 shallots
½ dl white wine
½ dl white vinegar
100 g dried apricots
3 tbsp honey
Mild curry powder

Preparation
Start with the sauce. Peel and slice the shallots, fry them in olive oil, add wine and vinegar, and boil to let some of the liquid evaporate.
Chop up the dried apricots, and boil them with the shallots for 5 minutes.
Blend the sauce adding honey and curry to taste.
Fry the meat until brown on both sides.
Roast the lamb in a preheated oven (200°C/375°F) for about 20 minutes.
Serve with boiled lentils (Please note, that the photo cheats. Boiled red lentils turn into a grey mush, which frankly speaking, does not look very appealing).

Apricot salad

Insalata di albicocche
Last night I watched a rerun of Jamie Oliver in south Italy, where he complained about the innate stubbornness of Italians when it comes to food: People prefer dishes their mothers served while unknown recipes and combinations of ingredients are automatically rejected or treated with the utmost skepticism.

During the show affirmative head nodding left me dizzy, as I have all but given up on trying to repay the kindness and hospitality of Italian friends with homemade food, unless the dishes are an exact replica of their traditional foods. No use introducing foreign ways here. Italians are a population of spoiled schizzinosi and food chauvinists - but given the range and quality of their national cuisine, I think they are entitled to be fastidious. Just don’t offer them a taste of this delicious salad that mixes sweet with salty ingredients, unless they absolutely insist;)

Ingredients
10 mature apricots (or 5 peaches or nectarines)
100 g firm white cheese (I use caciotta leccese, but ricotta salata or feta work as well)
1 red onion
Fresh mint leaves
Vinegar
Olive oil

Preparation
Bring a casserole of water to the boil. Toss in the apricots for a minute, before you slice them in halves and remove the skin and the stone.
Mix a dressing of olive oil and vinegar and pour it over the apricots. Leave them in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Before serving mix the apricots with finely chopped onion, mint and cubed cheese.