Let’s have lamb for Christmas
Published:Thursday | December 12, 2019 | 12:00 AMRocheda Bartley/Gleaner Writer
What is a staple at your Christmas dinner table? Vanessa Williamson-Mighty, lamb and vegetarian chef at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, is spreading joy for the holidays by introducing a few non-traditional options for the festive feast.
Manoeuvring her way around the kitchen for the past 10 years, she absolutely loves what she does. “I can’t imagine doing anything else. I believe it’s the zeal I have for it that sets me apart from others,” she shared.
She invited Food into her sizzling workstation, where she showed us how to make the best of lamb.
She prepared the dish that won her the title in the Taste of Jamaica Culinary Competition. This was jerked lamb with sorrel mint reduction, topped with curried lamb, callaloo cake, and a zesty jackfruit slaw in a thyme biscuit. Its ambrosial flavour spread in the atmosphere, inviting everybody in the room to dig in. The expert is confident this will be a favourite among dinner guests.
Lamb chop is another appetising choice that Chef Williamson-Mighty recommends for the festive season. She made her signature Sorrel Christmas Rock. It’s a combination of risotto gungo rice with a sorrel chutney and cassava crusted lamb chops. It is served platter style.
VEGETARIAN OPTIONS
The Runaway Bay HEART Academy-trained chef is also offering options for vegetarians. How does a festive vegetarian ham sound? The dish, made of purified tofu with ackee, lima beans, chickpeas, onion, scallion, garlic topped with pineapple glaze, is definitely a dish that you need to try.
Chef Williamson-Mighty also made a gluten trio consisting of blackened gluten steak topped with honey beetroot flavoured gluten, spicy curried mango and gluten served with mushroom rundown in a beggar’s purse. It is finished with pumpkin and plantain sausage that is grilled with beans and plums.