Oxford St Market + Generous Friend = Tasty Dinner

The Oxford St Market in Leederville has been in existence for a few months now, and I finally got around to checking it out on Sunday with my friend C. After arriving, finding parks and beginning our perusal, we both realised that we'd spent all our cash at the pub the previous night and so had to immediately turn around and leave to address this situation. I then discovered that my usual Westpac ATM on Oxford St has apparently been removed, and no amount of standing around looking confused seemed to change this fact so I had to pay a fee to get my money out by using an ANZ ATM. All of this before breakfast too, it was enough to give a girl a headache. If perhaps she didn't already have one for reasons mysterious and unknown.

Rob's Meats

The Oxford St Market is quite small, but has a few good stalls. First up was Rob's Meats, enticing us with their advertised "Sexy Italian sausages". They sell a range of meats and seafoods, and also were selling sausages in a bun! We declined the sausages in a bun, but C bought some of the award winning Lamb & Rosemary sausages. She also wanted a lamb roast but they had sold out. Boo.

Guinea Grove Farm

Next on our journey was the Guinea Grove Farm stall, selling four types of olive oils. Luckily they had them out for tasting with bread, and we made our way through all four. The lemon pressed olive oil was particularly delicious, and would go perfectly with some lightly grilled asparagus or as a simple salad dressing. I wanted to buy some, but as they offer a good discount if you bring your own container I will be going back at a later stage to take advantage of this offer. They also had guinea fowl eggs to sell, which the nice woman running the stall explained is due to them having far too many to eat themselves. They have guinea fowl in amongst the olive trees to keep down pests, and they leave little eggy presents in their wake.

from the pot

We lingered at the 'from the pot' stall for some time, trying out many of their jams, preserves, chutneys, pickles and spice mixes. Both of us had to buy the Fig & Ginger Preserve after trying it.. the combination worked beautifully and it was both chunky and not too sweet. I also got the aubergine pickle, which has a good kick to it, and some Chilli Garlic & Herb rub.

A cupcake seller

There was a woman selling cupcakes, which looked mildly enticing, but I was in no state to eat cupcakes. I did notice however that one of the types of cupcakes was the exact image of the Crabapple Bakery Orange & Poppyseed cupcakes. Controversial!

Juice and cheese sellers

Crepe makers

Can you see the empty board at the crepe makers stand? That was where they were advertising their savoury crepes before we realised we had no money. When we returned... they had sold out! Disaster! I was unable to face a sweet breakfast so we ended up going down into the heart of Leederville and having breakfast at Sayers. A fine breakfast. I really should get around to reviewing Sayers.

Other stalls at the Oxford St Market included a florist, organic skin products, organic fruit & veges and a coffee maker. Please forgive my somewhat half-arsed review of the markets, I was not in my most energetic state of mind. I must've eaten a dodgy prawn the previous night.

Err.. not the best segue but now onto tonight's dinner!

I was lucky enough to be visited by a good friend who I had not seen for some time this morning, and she came bearing gifts! From her garden! Edible gifts! I scored a huge bunch of rhubarb, a big fennel bulb, a bag of artichokes and a bag of broad beans. Woo!

My housemate had a few lamb steaks in the fridge that needed eating, so I decided to make a warm salad with some of my newfound produce, the spice rub I'd bought at the markets, and the lamb.


Artichoke, beetroot and bean salad with spiced lamb
Adapted from a taste.com.au recipe

Serves 2 very hungry post-gym girls

Ingredients
3 small lamb steaks
Spice rub of your choice
3 small or two larger beetroot, washed and stalks removed
4 artichokes
Juice of one lemon
250 g shelled broad beans
180 g green beans, topped & tailed and chopped up a little if they're big
30 mL olive oil
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
0.5 Tb tahini
1 garlic clove, crushed
Salt & black pepper
100g feta

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Wrap the beetroot in foil and roast in the oven until tender (I did mine for around 1.5 hours).
3. Allow to cool slightly then rub off the skins and set aside.
4. Peel off the first couple of layers of leaves from the artichokes, and trim the stems. Cut each one in half and remove the hairy choke (tee hee! Hairy choke!) using a teaspoon. Place the halves in a large bowl filled with water and the juice of the lemon.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, and then add the broad beans and green beans, cooking until tender (around 5 minutes). Remove from water and refresh under cold water. Drain very well and set aside.
6. Remove the artichokes from the lemony water and cook in the salted boiling water until tender (when you stick a skewer in the stem), around 10 minutes. Remove from the water and refresh until cold water. Drain very well and set aside.
7. Combine the olive oil, Tb lemon juice, tahini and garlic in a bowl. Mix well and taste, adding more lemon juice if necessary and also salt and pepper.
8. Cut the beetroot into wedges.
9. Serve the salad with the artichokes, beetroot and beans on your plates. Crumble the feta over the top.

Undressed salad

10. Heat your griddle or frying pan until quite hot, and while it is heating rub the lamb with your spice rub (you can also do this earlier).

Lamb all dressed up and ready for a hot night out

11. Oil up your pan and cook the lamb until done to your liking. Remove from heat and allow to rest for a little before slicing up.
12. Dress the salad with the tahini dressing, and place the lamb on top.
Enjoy!