The Collective "Ooooh"

After 6 years of attending Cricket matches I still find myself in the position of being a novice when it comes to the game of starchy whites and a blatant display of ball rubbing.  I understand the basics but the technical tactics hold very little in the way of interest for me. 

Having said that, there is something about cricket which is always so very civilised and keeps me going back for more.  Maybe it is the way the crowd come together replete with stylish (and not so stylish) sun hats, superman outfits and cool boxes and chorus in the collective ‘ooooh’ at pivotal moments in the game.  It is, perhaps, one of the very few sports in which hundreds of people seem to be of one mind and voice at exactly the same time.  The universal language of cricket crowd participation is not extensive but seems from my seat to be only 5 or 6 phrases.  Obviously there is the “oooooh” normally followed by a concurrence of “he played that very well”, the cries of the ecstatic “oh yes” and of course its partner (which is worked up from a quiet but hopeful beginning and ends in a minor frenzy when it all works out) “ooooohhhhh..... yesssssss!” and finally the questioned but no less important “referral?”.

The volume of the crowd is undeniably linked to the excitement of the game.  That may seem an obvious thing to say but it is by no means an obvious connection.  The more boring or tactical the game, the louder and more raucous the crowd participation is as they begin to make their own entertainment.   The enthusiasm and spontaneity of volleying a beach ball around the stands during moments of cricket monotony and the – in any other circumstances – bizarre games which hold everyone’s rapt attention such as ‘how high can we stack beer glasses while passing them around the stand?’ are strangely engrossing.

However entertaining all this is, for me the best part of any day at the cricket has got to be food related.  Today’s glamorous lunch affaire was held over 8 fold up plastic seats, a plethora of plastic food containers and matching knives and forks.  White “tea” or red “tea” was on offer having already partaken in a very ‘early doors’ glass or two of Gordon’s finest. 

The trick to the cricket lunch is to make it easy to eat and yet more exciting than the everyday lunch menu (and of course making enough to feed all of your guests and most of the stand you are in).  In anticipation of achieving this, yesterday I came up with an idea for a Morrocan Lamb Samosa while musing over a can of Chick Peas (excitement sometimes reaches fever pitch in our house).  Clearly there was more on offer for lunch than just this dish but it did work out surprisingly well and is great as one of many snacks for a day at the cricket.  Add more heat if you want to or just leave it as a warm fuzzy in your mouth.

Makes 24 Samosas or 48 Canapés

500g minced lamb

1 small onion (finely chopped)

3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

Drizzle of Olive Oil

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp cayenne pepper

Seasoning

1 tin chick peas

2 tbsp sundried tomato puree

½ cup chicken stock

Zest of 1 lemon (can substitute with dried apricots for a more fruity flavour)

10 cherry tomatoes (quartered)

Handful of fresh coriander

2 packs filo pastry

50g unsalted butter (melted)

Heat a pan with some olive oil and add the shallot, cook until turning translucent.  Add the garlic, and all the spices and cook for 1-2 minutes until the spices release their aroma.  Add in the minced lamb and brown off (do not add more oil as the lamb will release its own).  When browned, add the tomato puree and the zest of the lemon.  Mix well while over the heat, add the chicken stock, chick peas and tomatoes and cook for about an hour in the oven at 180 degrees.  Remove from the oven after this time and add in the chopped coriander and season to taste.  Leave to cool.

When the lamb is completely cool, start preparing the pastry.  Cut each pastry sheet in half down the longest side leaving you with long strips of filo pastry.  Taking one sheet at a time (cover the remaining pastry when not in use with a damp tea towel to stop it from drying out) brush the melted butter around the edges of the pastry.  Put a dessert spoon of the lamb in the top corner and fold over in a triangle.  Keep folding this triangle over (long side and then short side) so the meat becomes completely encased in the pastry.  When you have folded over the entire sheet, brush the triangular pastry with the melted butter and place on a non stick baking sheet.  Continue with the remaining sheets.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.  Remove from the oven, leave to cool for a few minutes before trying one (cooks prerogative).